A series of 34 short documentary films for ESPN featuring testimony from the only men alive to have scored a goal in a world cup final.
The story of the 1991 Michigan men's basketball recruiting class, called the Fab Five, one of whom (Chris Webber) was later involved in a notorious pay-for-play scandal.
The relationship between Chicago Cubs fans and Steve Bartman following Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series
The life of transgender athlete Renée Richards, who shocked the world with her entry into the 1977 US Open.
Sports agents Peter Greenberg and Eugene Lee are profiled with their clients Johan Santana, Jacquian Williams and Robert Hughes.
The run of Charismatic and his jockey, Chris Antley, at the 1999 Triple Crown.
A profile of Chuck Wepner, the original inspiration for Sylvester Stallone's Rocky Balboa character, and how Rocky-like glory eluded Wepner as he took several strange turns in an effort to stay in the spotlight.
The story of Chris Herren, a high school basketball star and NBA player; his career-long struggles with drug abuse; and his ultimate discovery of redemption and personal fulfillment through the game.
The continuing rivalry between Auburn University and the University of Alabama, focusing on the history between the two programs, the bad blood between their fans, and how this intense rivalry came to a pinnacle, just when they ended up needing each other most.
A look at the rise and fall of former USC and NFL quarterback Todd Marinovich, focusing primarily on the complex relationship between Marinovich and his father.
The life of Reece "Goose" Tatum who played in Negro League baseball and was an original member of the legendary Harlem Globetrotters.
The events and aftermath of former Los Angeles Lakers player Magic Johnson announcing to the world that he tested positive for HIV.
Life of Dewey Bozella and his 26 years behind bars, where he found strength and purpose through boxing (becoming the light heavyweight champion of Sing Sing prison), and his goal to be proven innocent and box professionally once he was released.
The story of Norwegian speed-skating gold medalist Johann Olav Koss, who founded the non-profit organization Right to Play, which brings sports to children in third-world and war-torn countries.
Nebraska Cornhuskers' coach Tom Osborne's decision to attempt a 2-point conversion at the end of the 1984 Orange Bowl vs the Miami Hurricanes, with the National Championship on the line.
The story of how the 1969 college football national champion was crowned and the drama that surrounded it. Using rare footage of Nixon and his unexpected antagonist, Joe Paterno of Penn State, this film captures the folly of the President as he waded through the hornet’s nest of polls and regional rivalries.
The NFL has staged 48 Super Bowls. Four photographers have taken pictures at every one of them. In KEEPERS OF THE STREAK, director Neil Leifer tells the story of this exclusive club, made up of John Biever, Walter Iooss, Mickey Palmer and Tony Tomsic. From ESPN Films and NFL Films.
For over two decades, International Cricket Star Sachin Tendulkar dominated his sport and claimed lost every record for his home nation India. But the one thing that eluded him was the sports ultimate prize - the cricket World Cup. In 2011, on his home turf, Tendulkar would get his one final shot, surrounded by teammates, many of whom grew up during his legendary career. The result would be dramatic campaign that spoke not just for Tendulkar's iconic career, but India itself.
Grantland Features' first full-length documentary, Son of the Congo, chronicles Oklahoma City Thunder star Serge Ibaka's improbable journey from his native Congo and return home as a top echelon NBA player. The film follows Ibaka's return home to war-stricken Congo to recount the poignant story of his childhood and confront the stark reality faced by a new generation of Congolese youth. Ibaka revisits the neighborhoods where he once slept in empty lots and practiced basketball without shoes. With grace and generosity, Ibaka receives and supports an endless stream of friends and strangers who hope he can change their lives through his unshakeable faith that a better future is only possible if you never stop trying.
Roberto Clemente went from a humble upbringing in Puerto Rico to become the National League Most Valuable Player in 1966 and a World Series hero for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1960 and 1971. Along the way, Clemente faced numerous obstacles: injuries, an antagonistic press corps and the racial injustices of the time. Inspired by the civil rights movement, Clemente became an unwavering defender of minorities, an advocate for Latino players' rights, and a great humanitarian.
In the early 1980s, the city of Baltimore was reeling, but in the city’s troubled East Baltimore neighborhood, there was one beacon of hope: The Dunbar High School boys basketball team. Over two seasons, they went 59-0, and 11 players on their rosters went off to Division I programs. Directors Marquis Daisy and Sheldon Candis chronicle the journey of four boys and their coach, who reached heights that they couldn’t have imagined, even if their saga was capped by a tragedy that made some wonder how far they ever really got away.
Morningside 5 is a unique story that chronicles the lives of five men through a 25-year window. It not only depicts the passion they had for the game but also documents how they coped with being local celebrities at the tender age of 18 and what came of their lives once the ball stopped rolling.
This enchanting film tells the story of Maine-Endwell, the smallest town to ever win the Little League World Series.
Coach Bobby Selkin leads a lacrosse team of at-risk teenagers on a most improbable and inspiring journey.
"D. Wade: Life Unexpected," chronicles three-time NBA champion Dwyane Wade’s experience on and off the court as he enters into his final year in the league, and reflects on personal and professional victories and set-backs throughout his legendary career.
Blackfeet Boxing follows a boxing gym on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation that trains women in self defense in response to the epidemic of missing Indigenous women.
After the COVID-19 pandemic shut down sports, many leagues were forced to figure out how to save their seasons. The WNBA created a single site at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida where 144 players across 12 teams played 147 games from July to October 2020.
The documentary, directed by Nicole Noren, tells the story of Betsy Sailor, a Penn State alum who was sexually assaulted during her time at the school, and Irv Pankey, the unexpected hero who helped as she confronted a predator, an institution, and a justice system.
The remarkable life and career of the legendary Dick Vitale, ESPN's voice of college basketball for more than four decades, and an inspiration as he battles cancer, a disease he's been fighting for years as well.
The film chronicles the story of lacrosse legend Paul Rabil and his fight to change the trajectory of the sport he loves by launching a new professional league, the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). After eleven years as one of the most decorated players within a professional lacrosse league that was anything but professional, Rabil decides to create his own league of the sport that made him a star. In partnership with his brother Mike, Paul raises capital, poaches the top players, fights off lawsuits, and navigates through a global pandemic to establish the PLL as the premiere destination for professional lacrosse in the country.
In 1977 and 1978, the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers squared off in back-to-back World Series. Each club was a tenuous collection of talent and personalities that threatened to combust at any moment, but ultimately managed to reach the pinnacle of the sport.
At Jason Wilson’s martial arts academy in Detroit, the students’ emotional well-being is prioritized over athletic prowess. Here, these young Black boys are given the rare and invaluable experience of being seen and cared for as the vulnerable beings they are.
Directed and produced by award-winning filmmaker Nicole Noren, with reporting by ESPN's Sam Borden, the film tells the gripping story of Ivan Gjorgievski, who was swept out to sea and survived 18 harrowing hours in the Aegean.
The experiences of players and coaches at Historically Black Colleges and Universities from the civil rights era to present day. First film by new "ESPN Films" division (pre 30 for 30). Part 2 aired the next day (3/17/08).
Harlem’s only high school football team, the Hellfighters, are a long way from Friday Night Lights. The bleachers are empty, practice space scarce, and the Board of Education bureaucracy ruthless, but under the perseverance of coach Duke Fergerson, the Hellfighters are fighting to overcome it all, one touchdown at a time. In their third season, the Harlem Hellfighters try to prove that they deserve to become Harlem's high school football team.
The longest winning streak in the history of American sports is the focus of this film chronicling the 2007-08 season of the Brandon High School (Tampa, Fla.) wrestling program which entered the season having won 451 straight matches dating back to 1974. Team members train for years to earn a coveted spot knowing that the pride and prestige of being a Brandon wrestler comes with the weight of expectation by fans, alums and themselves that the record is preserved.
The most defining stories and moments in the life and work of the highly acclaimed and revolutionary Olympic filmmaker, Bud Greenspan. Included are athletes that have stirred the world’s imagination, from celebrated winners, such as gold medal gymnast Mary Lou Retton, to largely forgotten also rans, such as marathoner John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania, who courageously finished a grueling 26-mile marathon on a badly damaged and bandaged leg in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
Focuses on former Major League player and manager, Bobby Valentine, and his current job managing one of Japan’s premiere baseball teams – the Chiba Lotte Marines. Unprecedented access to Valentine and his team, while exploring the impact globalization has on the game’s present and future.
Chronicles the personal struggles and triumphs of seven soccer players from six countries who participated in the 4th Annual Homeless World Cup. Produced by award-winning filmmaker Ted Leonsis (The Rape of Nanking) and directed by Susan Koch (Mario’s Story, City at Peace)
Recounts the December 28, 1958 game played between the Baltimore Colts and New York Giants at Yankee Stadium for the NFL championship. Johnny Unitas led the Colts to a dramatic 23-17 overtime victory. ESPN will create a new broadcast of this landmark event using the original film of the game and intercutting unique interview pairings of the surviving members of that legendary game and their modern day NLF counterparts from the Indianapolis Colts and the New York Giants.
Chronicles Ruth Lovelace, a woman coaching the boys’ basketball team at Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn, New York. The once highly accomplished and storied basketball program had fallen apart before Lovelace took over as head coach in 1994 at the age of 25. But Lovelace restored basketball excellence, leading the team to 13 straight playoff appearances.
Takes a look at the regular game day experience for the NBA great with unprecedented access. directed by Spike Lee. aka "Game Day with Kobe", originally slated to air in fall/winter 2008.
A football documentary about life. Executive Producer and Country Superstar, Kenny Chesney began shooting footage and football interviews for his new single "The Boys of Fall" in fall 2009. After shooting footage of friend and New Orleans Saints' coach Sean Payton at his high school alma mater, Chesney decided to expand the video into a full documentary film. Over the next several months he filmed youth football games, high school football games & locker room speeches as well as interviews with football greats. Interviews include Troy Aikman, Bobby Bowden, Mack Brown, Tony Dungy, Brett Favre, John Madden, Peyton Manning, Joe Namath, Sean Payton, Bill Parcells, Nick Saban and Jim Tressel. After an introduction that includes Payton speaking to his old high school team in the locker room before a big game, it depicts how those who do not go on to long, storied careers in the NFL, like high school wide receiver Chesney, the lessons learned on the field help to shape who they are today.
Wendell Scott was the only black driver to win a NASCAR race. ESPN Films, in conjunction with Emmy Award-winning NASCAR Media Group and Max Siegel Inc, chronicles his victory at Jacksonville Speedway in 1963, and his positive impact on the sport.
Explores the magnitude of what happened on April 13, 1986, when the 46-year-old Nicklaus charged from behind and won the Masters for the sixth time. He became the oldest player ever to earn the coveted Green Jacket at a time when many believed the legendary golfer would never win another tournament. The film includes fresh new perspective from Nicklaus, his son and caddy Jackie, and others such as Tiger Woods, Greg Norman and Tom Watson who offer special insight into the Nicklaus’ achievement. In the film, Woods, who became the youngest ever to win the Masters 11 years to the day after Nicklaus’ historic win, and Nicklaus sit down separately to watch highlights of the 1986 Masters and discuss their golfing careers then and now.
An MLB-produced special on the final day of 2011’s regular season.
