The Five Best Sports Movies (for Non-Sports Fans) of All Time

We all have a sports movie that we love, even those of us that are not big fans of actual sports. I have compiled here a list of the five best sports movies for people that could take or leave sports competition.

The movies listed here are all about the sports themselves and the people that play them. So 'Field of Dreams' is not on the list because while it is a very good movie it is not really about a sports competition, it is about how one man remembers baseball and how he wants it to be.

#5 Necessary Roughness - 1991

Director: Stan Dragoti

Cast: Scott Bakula, Hector Elizondo, Sinbad

"I just want to show those kids what winning feels like." Not the words of the coach but of an aging college ball player who somehow qualifies for the college team even though he is obviously, at least, in his late 30's. but it works, you find yourself rooting for the team of misfits that is made up of all the stereotypes that you have seen before. There is a reason for film stereotypes, because we love to watch them and so filmmakers try to give us what we want. This movie is more than the sum of its parts and if you haven't watched it in a long time, or you skipped it entirely, give it a try. I think that you will love it as much as I do.

#4 Diggstown - 1996

Director: Michael Ritchie

Cast: James Woods , Louis Gossett Jr., Bruce Dern

The very best film on the subject of the rough and often brutal world of armature prizefighting. This movie is overrunning with heart and with good plot twists. Some of the characters turn out to be not quite what they seem and some just stay stuck in the place that life has carved out for them. Brilliantly acted and written with a comedic edge to some good human drama, this film deserves to be remembered better. If you love movies about the triumph of the underdog, but are tired of logic having to be thrown out the window to do it, this is a film for you.

#3 The Natural - 1984

Director: Barry Levinson

Cast: Robert Redford, Glenn Close

This movie is just about a guy, with a magic bat, that wants to play baseball. The universe intrudes and puts him out of the game for a long time. He claws his way back and gets into the big show.

The premise is a bit overdone, we have all seen the He-should-have-been-great-but, movie a hundred times with different things that he should have been great at. And the plot drags just a little in the middle of the film. But when that ball hits those lights, and the runners run, and the sparks fly, and the music comes up, I defy anyone with a pulse to not want to jump to their feet and cheer. Pure movie joy.

#2 The Pride of the Yankees - 1942

Director: Sam Wood

Cast: Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, Babe Ruth

The stunning story of Lou Gehrig. His rise from obscurity to fame and his battle with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Gary Cooper is great as Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth plays himself. It is black and white and just over two hours long but if there is a dry eye in the house as Lou proclaims himself to be the luckiest man on the face of the earth I will eat my hat. This film is a must see for fans of the history of baseball even though it takes some liberties with the facts this film itself is now a piece of that history. All fans of film should see this for the in jokes and references that others have made if for nothing else.

#1 Rocky - 1976

Director: John G. Avildsen

Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire

You knew this was coming. There are a legion of reasons why this is the best sports movie of all time but the simple fact is that this film shows us the world of boxing and how it can chew people up and how it can make all there dreams come true. It is a simple story about a guy that loves a girl and a sport. It contains some of the most realistic and convincing dialog in film and even though later installments of the franchise may have gone from not quite as good to downright silly, you know that when that theme plays and Rocky is running up those stairs that you get to your feet, fists to the sky, and wish that you were standing there next to him on that very cold Philly morning.