5 of the Best Sports Movies to Watch If You Have a Disability

My 5 of the best sports movies to watch if you have a disability are films that have great life lessons in them. Three of the following choices are based on true stories. These 5 of the best sports movies to watch if you have a disability are in no particular order. Memorable cinematic performances abound via these films.

5 of the Best Sports Movies to Watch if You Have a Disability Choice 1: Radio (2003)

Cuba Gooding, Jr. gives a stunning performance as James Robert "Radio" Kennedy, a man with a cognitive disability who gets taken under the wing of Coach Jones (Ed Harris). He not only becomes a part of the football team doing manager-type of jobs as well as being a constant source of encouragement, Radio also becomes a part of the community. This film, based on a true story, shows that one doesn't have to actually play on a sports team to be positively affected by sports.

5 of the Best Sports Movies to Watch if You Have a Disability Choice 2: Inside Moves (1980)

Richard Donner directed this touching film about a group of disabled folks who hang out at a neighborhood tavern in Oakland. Led by Rory (played brilliantly by John Savage), this group emotionally supports one of their buddies Jerry Maxwell (David Morse) in helping him to overcome his leg injury after he gets a loan from a pro basketball player for the operation. The bonds of friendship are tested in this film after Maxwell becomes a pro hoopster and begins to diss his friends. But in the end, Maxwell learns that genuine friendship and support can come from anyone, no matter their physical situation.

5 of the Best Sports Movies to Watch if You Have a Disability Choice 3: Rudy (1993)

Daniel E. "Rudy" Reuttiger (Sean Astin) has dreamed of playing football for Notre Dame since he was a little boy, and his obsession often drove his family nuts. But his grades and "disability" of being too small for big time college football seemed to end his dream by the time he was eligible for college. But Rudy would begin his miraculous quest to play for Notre Dame after the death of his best friend. Yet his miracle of appearing for two plays in his last eligible home game as a senior would only happen after he took the initiative and persevered amidst terrible odds, hard work, and constant rejection. By the end of this biographical film, you may have some tears in your eyes.

5 of the Best Sports Movies to Watch if You Have a Disability Choice 4: Ice Castles (1978 Version)

When Olympic skating hopeful Alexis "Lexie" Winston (Lynn-Holly Johnson) has an accident while skating, the result is her losing virtually all of her sight. Yet she, through the tough love encouragement of her boyfriend Nick Peterson (Robby Benson), learns to skate effectively again and compete. Not only is this film one of the 5 best sports movies to watch if you have a disability, it's also one of my top 10 movies of 1978, which you can read more about at this Associated Content article here.

5 of the Best Sports Movies to Watch if You Have a Disability Choice 5: Fear Strikes Out (1957)

Having psychological issues doesn't mean you can't live a life on purpose. This baseball movie came out at a time when having such conditions could really stigmatize someone. Boston Red Sox star Jimmy Piersall (Anthony Perkins) had a bipolar disorder that challenged his life both on and off the field, but with the support of his loved ones, he overcame, and would have a long baseball career spanning 1950-1967 with five teams, netting two All-Star selections (1954, 1956) and two Gold Gloves (1958, 1961), according to his Baseball-Reference.com stats. While Piersall himself isn't a fan of the film because he felt it distorted the facts, according to Wikipedia, Fear Strikes Out still has a redeeming message in it about overcoming disability to be successful.

Sources for this article about 5 of the best sports movies to watch if you have a disability:

Internet Movie Database: www.imdb.com (for verifying dates and character name spellings)

Jimmy Piersall: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Piersall, Wikipedia

Jim Piersall: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/piersji01.shtml, Baseball-Reference.com