TOP 100 SPORT FILMS - Didinger & Macnow
This is the ultimate book of SPORTS MOVIES compiled by Ray Didinger and Glen Macnow. It was published in 2009 with a foreword from Gene Hackman. Here is their list. Although I do not agree with all their rankings and films they missed, I applaud their effort and courage to compile such a list.
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100 titles
- DirectorJohn G. AvildsenStarsSylvester StalloneTalia ShireBurt YoungA small-time Philadelphia boxer gets a supremely rare chance to fight the world heavyweight champion in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect.
- DirectorDavid AnspaughStarsGene HackmanBarbara HersheyDennis HopperA coach with a checkered past and a local drunk train a small-town high school basketball team to become a top contender for the state championship in 1950s Indiana.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroCathy MoriartyJoe PesciThe life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.
- DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsRobert RedfordRobert DuvallGlenn CloseA middle-aged unknown comes seemingly out of nowhere to become a legendary baseball player with almost supernatural talent.
- DirectorRon SheltonStarsKevin CostnerSusan SarandonTim RobbinsA fan who has an affair with one minor-league baseball player each season meets an up-and-coming pitcher and the experienced catcher assigned to him.
- DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsPaul NewmanMichael OntkeanStrother MartinA failing ice hockey team finds success with outrageously violent hockey goonery.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsBurt ReynoldsEddie AlbertEd LauterA sadistic warden asks a former pro quarterback, now serving time in his prison, to put together a team of inmates to take on (and get pummeled by) the guards.
- DirectorRobert RossenStarsPaul NewmanJackie GleasonPiper LaurieAn up-and-coming pool player plays a long-time champion in a single high-stakes match.
- DirectorHarold RamisStarsChevy ChaseRodney DangerfieldBill MurrayAn exclusive golf course has to deal with a flatulent new member and a destructive dancing gopher.
- DirectorTed KotcheffStarsNick NolteCharles DurningMac DavisA satire of American professional football in which a veteran pass-catcher's individuality and refusal to become part of the team family are bitterly resented by his disciplinarian coaches.
- DirectorPhil Alden RobinsonStarsKevin CostnerJames Earl JonesRay LiottaIowa farmer Ray Kinsella is inspired by a voice he can't ignore to pursue a dream he can hardly believe. Supported by his wife, Ray begins the quest by turning his ordinary cornfield into a place where dreams can come true.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsHilary SwankClint EastwoodMorgan FreemanFrankie, an ill-tempered old coach, reluctantly agrees to train aspiring boxer Maggie. Impressed with her determination and talent, he helps her become the best and the two soon form a close bond.
- DirectorSam WoodStarsGary CooperTeresa WrightBabe RuthThe story of the life and career of famed baseball player Lou Gehrig.
- DirectorSteve JamesStarsWilliam GatesArthur AgeeEmma GatesA film following the lives of two inner-city Chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional.
- DirectorBuzz KulikStarsJames CaanBilly Dee WilliamsJack WardenBased on the real-life relationship between teammates Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers and the bond established when Piccolo discovers that he is dying.
- DirectorGavin O'ConnorStarsKurt RussellPatricia ClarksonNathan WestThe true story of Herb Brooks, the player-turned-coach who led the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team to victory over the seemingly invincible Soviet squad.
- DirectorHugh HudsonStarsBen CrossIan CharlesonNicholas FarrellTwo British track athletes, one a determined Jew and the other a devout Christian, are driven to win in the 1924 Olympics as they wrestle with issues of pride and conscience.
- DirectorRobert RossenStarsJohn GarfieldLilli PalmerHazel BrooksA talented boxer's young career hits difficult terrain when an unethical promoter takes interest in him.
- DirectorBoaz YakinStarsDenzel WashingtonWill PattonWood HarrisIn 1971 Virginia high school football was everything to the people of Alexandria. But when the school board was forced to integrate an all-black school with an all-white one, the very foundation of football's tradition was put to the test.
- DirectorPeter YatesStarsDennis ChristopherDennis QuaidDaniel SternA working-class Indiana teen obsessed with the Italian cycling team vies for the affections of a college girl while searching for life goals with his friends.
- DirectorLeon GastStarsMuhammad AliGeorge ForemanDon KingBoxing documentary on the 1974 world heavyweight championship bout between defending champion, George Foreman, and the underdog challenger, Muhammad Ali.
- DirectorPenny MarshallStarsTom HanksGeena DavisLori PettyTwo sisters join the first female professional baseball league and struggle to help it succeed amid their own growing rivalry.
- DirectorPeter BergStarsBilly Bob ThorntonJay HernandezDerek LukeBased on H.G. Bissinger's book, which profiled the economically depressed town of Odessa, Texas and their heroic high school football team, The Permian High Panthers.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsMickey RourkeMarisa TomeiEvan Rachel WoodA faded professional wrestler must retire, but finds his quest for a new life outside the ring a dispiriting struggle.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsRobert RyanAudrey TotterGeorge TobiasExpecting the usual loss, a boxing manager takes bribes from a betting gangster without telling his fighter.
- DirectorDavid S. WardStarsTom BerengerCharlie SheenCorbin BernsenThe new owner of the Cleveland Indians puts together a purposely horrible team so they'll lose and she can move the team. But when the plot is uncovered, they start winning just to spite her.
- DirectorLloyd BaconWilliam K. HowardStarsPat O'BrienGale PageRonald ReaganThe story of legendary Notre Dame football player and coach Knute Rockne.
- DirectorJohn D. HancockStarsMichael MoriartyRobert De NiroVincent GardeniaThe story of the friendship between a worldly-wise star pitcher and a half-wit catcher as they cope with the catcher's terminal illness through a baseball season.
- DirectorCameron CroweStarsTom CruiseCuba Gooding Jr.Renée ZellwegerWhen a sports agent has a moral epiphany and is fired for expressing it, he decides to put his new philosophy to the test as an independent agent with the only athlete who stays with him and his former colleague.
- DirectorMichael RitchieStarsRobert RedfordGene HackmanCamilla SparvQuietly cocky Robert Redford joins U.S. ski team as downhill racer and clashes with the team's coach, played by Gene Hackman. Lots of good skiing action leading to an exciting climax.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsDenzel WashingtonMilla JovovichRay AllenA basketball player's father must try to convince him to go to a college so he can get a shorter sentence.
- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsAnthony QuinnJackie GleasonMickey RooneyKnockout performances by Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason, Mickey Rooney and Julie Harris highlight this hard-hitting drama of corruption in the ring. Featuring Muhammad Ali.
- DirectorSimon WincerStarsTom BurlinsonJudy MorrisMartin VaughanThe true story of a New Zealand racehorse that became a champion, with the help of a local stable-boy.
- DirectorJohn Lee HancockStarsDennis QuaidJD EvermoreRachel GriffithsA Texas baseball coach makes the major league after agreeing to try out if his high school team made the playoffs.
- DirectorWarren BeattyBuck HenryStarsWarren BeattyJames MasonJulie ChristieA Los Angeles Rams quarterback, accidentally taken away from his body by an overanxious angel before he was meant to die, returns to life in the body of a recently murdered millionaire.
- DirectorJonathan KaplanStarsBonnie BedeliaBeau BridgesDiane DelanoShirley Muldowney is determined to be a top-fuel drag racer, although no woman has ever raced them before. Despite the high risks of this kind of racing and the burden it places on her family life, she perseveres in her dream.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsBurt LancasterCharles BickfordSteve CochranThe triumph and tragedy of Native American Jim Thorpe, who, after winning both the pentathlon and decathlon in the same Olympics, is stripped of his medals on a technicality.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsCharles BronsonJames CoburnJill IrelandThe saga of a drifter who turns to illicit bare-knuckle boxing in Depression-era New Orleans.
- DirectorJohn BadhamStarsBilly Dee WilliamsJames Earl JonesRichard PryorIn the late 1930s during racial segregation, a star of the Negro League Baseball, Bingo Long, leaves his team and convinces other stars of the league to join him as free agent players touring the towns of the Midwest.
- DirectorCharles BinaméStarsRoy DupuisStephen McHattieJulie LeBretonA story about Quebec's most famous hockey player, Maurice "The Rocket" Richard, focusing on the struggles of a French Canadian in the National Hockey League dominated by Anglophones.
- DirectorJohn SaylesStarsJohn CusackClifton JamesJace AlexanderA dramatization of the Black Sox scandal when the underpaid Chicago White Sox accepted bribes to deliberately lose the 1919 World Series.
- DirectorFred C. NewmeyerSam TaylorStarsHarold LloydJobyna RalstonBrooks BenedictA nerdy college student will do anything to become popular on campus.
- DirectorHenry Alex RubinDana Adam ShapiroStarsJoe SoaresKeith CavillMark ZupanQuadriplegics, who play full-contact rugby in wheelchairs, overcome unimaginable obstacles to compete in the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece.
- DirectorMichael RitchieStarsWalter MatthauTatum O'NealVic MorrowAn aging, down-on-his-luck ex-minor leaguer coaches a team of misfits in an ultra-competitive California little league.
- DirectorGary RossStarsTobey MaguireJeff BridgesElizabeth BanksTrue story of the undersized Depression-era racehorse whose victories lifted not only the spirits of the team behind it but also those of their nation.
- DirectorLindsay AndersonStarsRichard HarrisRachel RobertsAlan BadelDespite success on the field, a rising rugby star senses the emerging emptiness of his life as his inner angst begins to materialize through aggression and brutality, so he attempts to woo his landlady in hopes of finding reason to live.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsRussell CroweRenée ZellwegerCraig BierkoThe true story of James J. Braddock, a supposedly washed-up boxer, who returned to the spotlight to win the heavyweight championship of the world.
- DirectorJohn DahlStarsMatt DamonEdward NortonGretchen MolA young, reformed gambler must return to playing high stakes poker to help a friend pay off loan sharks, while balancing his relationship with his girlfriend and his commitments to law school.
- DirectorGurinder ChadhaStarsParminder NagraKeira KnightleyJonathan Rhys MeyersTwo ambitious girls, despite their parents' wishes, have their hearts set on careers in professional football.
- DirectorMartin DavidsonStarsWilliam PetersenVirginia MadsenDermot MulroneyStory of the Tampico Stogies, a low minor-league baseball team, and its star player and manager, Stud' Cantrell, as they battle for the league championship amidst the corruption and racism of the American south.
- DirectorJohn G. AvildsenStarsRalph MacchioPat MoritaElisabeth ShueA martial arts master agrees to teach karate to a bullied teenager.
- DirectorLloyd BaconStarsRay MillandJean PetersPaul DouglasA scientist discovers a formula that makes a baseball which is repelled by wood. He promptly sets out to exploit his discovery.
- DirectorRobert TowneStarsBilly CrudupDonald SutherlandMonica PotterThe life of renowned runner Steve Prefontaine and his relationship with legendary coach Bill Bowerman.
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsHumphrey BogartRod SteigerJan SterlingAn ex-sportswriter is hired by a shady fight promoter to promote his latest find, an unknown but easily exploitable rising star from Argentina.
- DirectorAnna BodenRyan FleckStarsAlgenis Perez SotoJose RijoWalki CuevasDominican baseball star Miguel "Sugar" Santos is recruited to play in the U.S. minor-leagues.
- DirectorJay RoachStarsRussell CroweBurt ReynoldsHank AzariaThe residents of a small town get over-excited when their hockey team gets chosen to host a televised event.
- DirectorDavid AnspaughStarsSean AstinJon FavreauNed BeattyRudy has always been told that he was too small to play college football. But he is determined to overcome the odds and fulfill his dream of playing for Notre Dame.
- DirectorBobby FarrellyPeter FarrellyStarsWoody HarrelsonRandy QuaidBill MurrayA star bowler whose career was prematurely "cut off" hopes to ride a new prodigy to success and riches.
- DirectorMichael ChapmanStarsTom CruiseLea ThompsonCraig T. NelsonAn ambitious young football star is trapped in a dying mill town--unless his gridiron skills can win him a way out.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsStacy KeachJeff BridgesSusan TyrrellTwo men, working as professional boxers, come to blows when their careers each begin to take different directions.
- DirectorBilly CrystalStarsBarry PepperThomas JaneAnthony Michael HallRoger Maris and Mickey Mantle race to break Babe Ruth's single-season home run record.
- DirectorEricson CoreStarsMark WahlbergGreg KinnearElizabeth BanksBased on the story of Vince Papale, a 30-year-old bartender from South Philadelphia who overcame long odds to play for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles in 1976.
- DirectorNorman JewisonStarsJames CaanJohn HousemanMaud AdamsIn a corporate-controlled future, an ultra-violent sport known as Rollerball represents the world, and one of its powerful athletes is out to defy those who want him out of the game.
- DirectorDavid S. WardStarsJames CaanHalle BerryOmar EppsSeveral players from different backgrounds try to cope with the pressures of playing football at a major university. Each deals with the pressure differently, some turn to drinking, others to drugs, and some to studying.
- DirectorJim SheridanStarsDaniel Day-LewisEmily WatsonDaragh DonnellyYoung Danny Flynn is released from prison 14 years after "taking the rap" for the IRA and tries to rebuild his life in his old Belfast neighborhood.
- DirectorRon SheltonStarsWesley SnipesWoody HarrelsonRosie PerezBlack and white basketball hustlers join forces to double their chances of winning money on the street courts and in a basketball tournament.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsSteve McQueenRobert PrestonIda LupinoAce Bonner returns to Arizona several years after he abandoned his family, Junior Bonner is a wild young man. Against the typical rodeo championship, family drama erupts.
- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsNick NolteMary McDonnellJ.T. WalshA college basketball coach is forced to break the rules in order to get the players he needs to stay competitive.
- DirectorNorman Z. McLeodStarsGroucho MarxChico MarxHarpo MarxQuincy Adams Wagstaff, Huxley University's new president, accidentally hires bumblers Baravelli and Pinky to help his school win the big football game against their rival, Darwin University.
- DirectorMcGStarsMatthew McConaugheyMatthew FoxAnthony MackieWhen a plane crash claims the lives of members of the Marshall University football team and some of its fans, the team's new coach and his surviving players try to keep the football program alive.
- DirectorGeorge AbbottStanley DonenStarsTab HunterGwen VerdonRay WalstonA frustrated fan of the hopeless Washington Senators makes a pact with the Devil to help the baseball team win the league pennant.
- DirectorMichael MannStarsPeter StraussRichard LawsonRoger E. MosleyA prisoner gets a chance to take part in the Olympics.
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsKirk DouglasArthur KennedyMarilyn MaxwellBoxer Midge Kelly rises to fame...mainly by stepping on other people.
- DirectorJoe PytkaStarsRichard DreyfussTeri GarrDavid JohansenA nosy cab driver gets a hot tip on a race horse and wins big, but he can't seem to stop gambling. Will he go broke or walk home with a pretty penny?
- DirectorGary FlederStarsRob BrownDennis QuaidClancy BrownA drama based on the life of college football hero Ernie Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy.
- DirectorNorman JewisonSam PeckinpahStarsSteve McQueenAnn-MargretEdward G. RobinsonAn up-and-coming poker player tries to prove himself in a high-stakes match against a long-time master of the game.
- DirectorDennis DuganStarsAdam SandlerChristopher McDonaldJulie BowenAfter his grandmothers house is repossessed by the IRS, bad tempered hockey player takes his talents to golf to earn the big bucks and get his grandmothers house back.
- DirectorTaylor HackfordStarsJessica LangeDennis QuaidTimothy HuttonA Louisiana football legend struggles to deal with life's complexities after his college career is over.
- DirectorBill PaxtonStarsShia LaBeoufStephen DillaneElias KoteasIn the 1913 U.S. Open, twenty-year-old Francis Ouimet played golf against his idol, 1900 U.S. Open champion, Englishman Harry Vardon.
- DirectorSteven ZaillianStarsJoe MantegnaBen KingsleyMax PomerancA prepubescent chess prodigy is encouraged to harden himself in order to become a champion like the famous but unlikable Bobby Fischer.
- DirectorEriq La SalleStarsDon CheadleJames Earl JonesMichael BeachA dramatization of the life of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault (Don Cheadle), with a lot of factual based occurrences. A reformed junkie returns from prison to clean up his act and devote the rest of his life to the young kids of Harlem. 1996 was the 25th anniversary of the first tournament named after him.
- DirectorDavid Mickey EvansStarsTom GuiryMike VitarArt LaFleurIn the summer of 1962, a new kid in town is taken under the wing of a young baseball prodigy and his rowdy team, resulting in many adventures.
- DirectorAviva KempnerStarsReeve BrennerHank GreenbergWalter MatthauThe life and career of Hank Greenberg, the first major Jewish baseball star in the Major Leagues.
- DirectorRon SheltonStarsKevin CostnerRene RussoDon JohnsonA washed-up golf pro working at a driving range tries to qualify for the U.S. Open in order to win the heart of his successful rival's girlfriend.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsAl PacinoDennis QuaidCameron DiazA behind-the-scenes look at the life-and-death struggles of modern-day gladiators and those who lead them.
- DirectorChristopher GuestStarsFred WillardEugene LevyCatherine O'HaraA behind-the-scenes look into the highly competitive and cut-throat world of dog shows through the eyes of a group of ruthless dog owners.
- DirectorJames GartnerStarsJosh LucasDerek LukeAustin NicholsIn 1966, Texas Western coach Don Haskins led the first all-black starting line-up for a college basketball team to the NCAA national championship.
- DirectorSam WoodStarsJames StewartJune AllysonFrank MorganStar major league pitcher Monty Stratton loses a leg in a hunting accident, but becomes determined to leave the game on his own terms.
- DirectorBrian RobbinsStarsJames Van Der BeekJon VoightPaul WalkerA back-up quarterback is chosen to lead a Texas football team to victory after the star quarterback is injured.
- DirectorMichael RitchieStarsJames WoodsLouis Gossett Jr.Bruce DernGabriel's released from prison. His con man friend makes a foolish bet with Diggstown's owner on who'd win the boxing matches - their man against ten Diggstown men.
- DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsJack ThompsonGraham KennedyFrank WilsonBoardroom and dressing-room intrigues spill on to the field at the Australian Rules football club.
- DirectorThomas CarterStarsSamuel L. JacksonRick GonzalezRobert Ri'chardControversy surrounds high school basketball coach Ken Carter after he benches his entire team for breaking their academic contract with him.
- DirectorAshutosh GowarikerStarsAamir KhanRaghubir YadavGracy SinghThe people of a small village in Victorian India stake their future on a game of cricket against their ruthless British rulers.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsJames GarnerEva Marie SaintYves MontandAmerican Grand Prix driver Pete Aron is fired by his Jordan-BRM racing team after a crash at Monaco that injures his British teammate, Scott Stoddard.
- DirectorCarroll BallardStarsMatthew ModineJennifer GreyCliff RobertsonRomance and adventure happen during the America's Cup series of yachting races.
- DirectorHarold BeckerStarsMatthew ModineLinda FiorentinoMichael SchoefflingA high school wrestler in Spokane, Washington has trouble focusing on his training regimen when a beautiful young drifter takes up temporary residence at his home.
- DirectorJon TurteltaubStarsJohn CandyLeonDoug E. DougWhen a Jamaican sprinter is disqualified from the Olympic Games, he enlists the help of a dishonored coach to start the first Jamaican Bobsled Team.
- DirectorPeter MarkleStarsRob LoweCynthia GibbPatrick SwayzeA 17 year old farm boy is offered an ice hockey tryout. His brother drives him to Canada. He has fast legs, slow fists, but is chosen. Will he learn to use his fists and play ice hockey the Canuck way? Will he get the coach's cute daughter?
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsMichael CaineSylvester StallonePeléAs allied P.O.W.s prepare for a soccer game against the German National Team to be played in Nazi-occupied Paris, the French Resistance and British officers are making plans for the team's escape.
- DirectorGilbert MosesStarsJulius ErvingJonathan WintersMeadowlark LemonThe Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania basketball team is hopeless. Could they become winners with help from an astrologer and some new astrologically-compatible players?