Top 10 Greatest Sports Movies of All Time Ranked
- shaunalexandercraw
- Jul 15
- 12 min read
Bringing drama, heart, victory, and defeat — these are the Top 10 Sports Movies as ranked by the Venus Fry Cook
Some of the best movies of all time are sports movies. They’re inspiring. They’re dramatic. They can be perfectly formulaic, and they can be surprisingly unpredictable. Putting this list together, we were surprised (but not) about how often the theme of belief came up. Believing in yourself. Believing in your team or your family. Believing in love. Believing in something special. Perhaps that’s why sports movies are truly great. Few things are as powerful as the act of believing. And sports is the arena of belief. There’s a notable overrepresentation of baseball — it is America’s pastime, and Hollywood’s in America — but there’s a decent representation of some different sports down here. Also, props to Kevin Costner for multiple appearances on the list. But Costner aside, let’s get to the Venus Fry Cook’s favorite Top 10 greatest sports movies of all time.
10. FIELD OF DREAMS
It’s more magic than sports, but it’s about a baseball field, and that’s enough for the Venus Fry Cook. And the way sport plays a role in Field of Dreams is distinct from the classic, formulaic sports movie. This is a movie about family. About real people doing unreal things. Based on the book Shoeless Joe by Canadian author W.P. Kinsella, Field of Dreams gives us a man on an unimaginable mission. Passionately performed by Kevin Costner, the character of Ray Kinsella ploughs over his corn field and builds a baseball diamond all because he heard a voice say the iconic words, “If you build it, he will come” and came to believe he could bring back Shoeless Joe Jackson, the long-dead baseball player who was banned from the game.
Field of Dreams is the kind of movie that would simply never be made today. It comes from a time when whimsy and enchantment were more readily at hand in the collective consciousness. Audiences happily went along for the ride as Kinsella listened to the voice, believed, and eventually reunited with his estranged (long-dead) father in a classic game of father-son catch. And that all came on the heels of the most epic James Earl Jones speech in cinematic history. Costner’s Kinsella ultimately realizes he already has everything he could have ever dreamed of. A good reminder for those of us who are lucky to have the ones we love within arm's reach. And it was all because of baseball. Field of Dreams would rank even higher on the VFC’s favorite movies ever, but through the lens of sports, it just creeps inside the Top 10.
9. THE REPLACEMENTS
First, we were afraid. We were petrified. Thinking we could never live without The Replacements by our side… and so on. There is nothing complicated about this movie. It is a straight-up team of misfits with a likeable lead who gets the girl and wins the game in the end. And it’s an absolute delight. It was an odd film for Keannu Reeves between decades where he rocked the world of cinema with The Matrix and John Wick franchises, and yet there it was. An unassuming football movie about replacement players during a strike, loosely based on the NFL Players' strike in 1987. And it’s perfect. We also have to acknowledge that, intended or not, the plot of The Replacements very much resembles the mostly forgotten Necessary Roughness from 1991 (great title).
Keannu Reeves is quiet and endearing as the heart of the team, quarterback Shane Falco, who was once on track to stardom before a tough college football game loss sabotaged his confidence and career. The team is full of has-beens and never-weres who have been given a second chance at their dreams — something a lot of people can latch on to. Gene Hackman is flawless as the coach who drives them all to greatness. And it all hinges on a classic scene where — after a bar fight — the team bonds in a jail cell by singing and dancing to Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.” It makes no sense and yet somehow it defines the film.
8. THE ROCKET
You’ve probably never seen this movie unless you spent some time in Canada, but The Rocket (2005) is an exquisite film. Telling the story of NHL hockey legend, Maurice “The Rocket” Richard, this movie is sports to the bone. Hard-nosed athletes who break their bodies and push their hearts to the limits because they have this undeniable fire to win. It burns quietly, fiercely, and never goes out. And the result is sheer greatness, both on the ice and on the screen. Little-known Canadian actors Roy Dupuis, Stephen McHattie, and Julie Le Breton deliver soulful performances in this gritty, period piece about real men with true hearts. The muted color palette conveys a cold, industrial world that grounds the story in the souls of the characters. And despite the lower budget of a non-Hollywood film, the cinematography of the on-ice action would make the sports god weep with pride.
7. TIN CUP
Sorry to all you Caddyshack and Happy Gilmore lovers out there, but this is the best golf movie ever made. Brilliantly blending golf with the romantic comedy genre instead of the slapstick comedy tendencies of the aforementioned golf movies, Tin Cup is a charming flirtation of a film that transforms into pure sports drama by the time the unexpected climax punches you in the gut and then makes your heart fly — over the water hazard and right into the hole. Kevin Costner and Rene Russo have chemistry as hot as the Texas desert the film is set. And the misfit entourage that follows them around, including a dancing caddy (a surprisingly dynamic performance from Cheech Marin) and stripper ex-girlfriend, is reliable for a lot of great laughs and good conversation.
The dramatic turn of the third act elevates Tin Cup beyond standard romcom status, delivering a largely forgotten gem of a film. In Roy McIlroy (Costner’s) climactic moment, it’s Dr. Molly Griswald (Russo) who delivers the thrilling speech that solidifies the epic proportions of what we’ve just witnessed. “It was the greatest 12 of all time. No one’s going to remember the Open five years from now, who won, won, who lost, but they’ll remember your twelve!” We could go on and on. This movie is jam-packed with fun faceoffs, heartfelt scenes — and defining moments.
6. THE SANDLOT
Trying to rank The Sandlot was the biggest pickle on this list. It could arguably be number one. In fact, from here on out, pretty much anything could be a solid number one sports movie of all time. The Sandlot is an absolute gem. You know what it is? It captures the magic, innocence, fleetingness, and yet lasting impression of childhood better than any other movie the Venus Fry Cook has ever seen. And it does it through the lens of baseball. Baseball and childhood are practically synonymous in this charming, enchanted movie. It takes us all back to the mindset of being 12 years old. Who wouldn’t want some magical place to go, tucked behind trees and houses and protected by a mosaic of old fences, where they could get in trouble, talk about girls, and play in the sun all summer.
But fun in the sun is just the start. The movie takes on mythic status when Benny Rodriguez is visited by Babe Ruth in a dream, inspiring him to pickle the beast — AKA hop over a fence to retrieve a baseball signed by the Great Bambino himself — in an act that became a legend in the town, and our memories. All we can say is thank you. You gave us Benny “the Jet” Rodriguez, Wendy Peffercorn, and “you’re killing me, Smalls!” You gave us The Sandlot. And for that, we are forever grateful.
5. ROCKY
We can already hear the theme music. If we were ranking greatest pure movies of all time, Rocky would probably fare better, but when looking at sports movies in particular, there are some others we just had to put higher on the list. That being said, the greatest movies — the greatest stories — can often be captured by a single word. For Rocky, that word is heart. From start to finish, this is a movie all about heart. First, Rocky is a love story. Sylvester Stallone has said this himself. The entire first act focuses on Rocky and Adrian, and their relationship becomes the bedrock of the sports story that unfolds. Second, Rocky is about going the distance. Leading up to his fight, Rocky gives a soulful monologue to Adrian in bed about going the distance. “No one’s ever gone the distance with Creed,” he says. “And if I can go that distance…”
Wow. We have chills just thinking about it. How much does that sentence capture for any human out there trying to live life? If I can go that distance. It captures all the possibilities of the world. All our potential. The classic shot of Rocky running to the top of the stairs (at the Philadelphia Museum of Art) is a metaphor for going the distance. And in the end, when the fight of his life is over, and Rocky did go that distance, he doesn’t win the fight or the title, but the movie ends with him and Adrian declaring their love for each other. Heart, baby. This is a movie about heart. What it means to open your heart to love. What it means to have the heart of a champion. And how doing both can only make the other stronger.
4. MONEYBALL
The most recent entry on this list, Moneyball, is near unanimously viewed as the greatest sports movie of the 21st century so far. It’s a fresh take on the genre, focusing less on the athletes and taking us behind the scenes to the general manager juggling a paradoxically rich / penny-pinching owner, a roomful of opinionated scouts, a grizzled old-school coach, and a motley crew of a baseball team — all with the goal of winning the last game of the season. Brad Pitt brings Oakland A’s GM Billy Beane to the screen in incendiary fashion in this story about a new, analytical approach to building a championship baseball club, flying in the face of over a hundred years of instinct and tradition. It shows us sport — and the love of sport — in a way we’d never seen before.
The character of Billy Beane still has all the passion and competitive fire of some of our favorite on-screen athletes. Maybe even moreso. As he says, this guy hates losing even more than he loves winning. Brad Pitt is brilliantly at his best and carries every second of this film, rounded out by an elite supporting cast. In the closing seconds of the film, a closeup on Billy Beane’s eyes — one of the VFC’s favorite endings and single shots in the last 25 years — reveals the quiet truth sleeping beneath the surface throughout the entire movie. Ultimately, this is simply a story about a man who loves baseball. Sure, he can try to win a championship. Sure, he can change the game forever. But all he really has to do is “just enjoy the show.”
3. RUDY
If there is a single movie that shows the power of hard work and perseverance over talent, it’s Rudy. You know what else is crazy about this? This actually freaking happened! Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger actually played for the first time in the last play of the last game after the stadium chanted his name — and he actually sacked the quarterback and got carried off the field on the shoulders of his teammates. The Venus Fry Cook is tearing up now just thinking about it. If anyone out there has a dream, and you’re tired, or you’re doubting, or you need a reason to keep believing, watch Rudy. He will show you the way. There’s simply not much more to it than that.
2. A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
A League of Their Own is a reminder of just how good movies used to be. The Venus Fry Cook loves certain big blockbuster franchises as much as the next guy, but man, when it comes to the pure movie magic of the 1990s, they just don’t make em like they used to. A League of Their Own is bursting with meaningful, rich, fully-realized, three-dimensional characters. From leads Dottie Hensen and her sparkplug little sister Kit, and role players “All the Way” May and Doris Murphy, to the incomparable Jimmy Dugan, this movie delivers one of the greatest casts of characters to ever hit the screen. Actors Gina Davis, Lori Petty, Madonna, Rosie O'Donnell, and Tom Hanks in the aforementioned roles all bring their A-game, each one in one could arguably be the performance of their lifetime. Yes, even Gina Davis and Tom Hanks, who both won Oscars for other films. It’s also worth mentioning that, in a time when female roles didn’t have as much to offer, this project must have been like an oasis in the desert for all these talented women — the irony not going unnoticed by the VFC, given the subject matter of the film.
As a sports movie, it’s obviously one of the best, giving iconic lines (amongst an ocean of iconic dialogue) like, “There’s no crying in baseball,” and, “The hard is what makes it great.” This was one of the first sports movies the VFC can remember watching where the “good guy” didn’t win in the end. But it didn’t matter. It’s not what it was about. It was about remembering how special it was. The time. The game. The team. The thing you loved, and the people you loved. And if that’s not a fitting metaphor for reflecting back on life in general, we don’t know what is. As we finished writing this description, the VFC almost convinced himself to make A League of Their Own number one on the list, but he just couldn’t do it…
1. BULL DURHAM
This is the greatest sports movie of all time. The Venus Fry Cook generally makes lists of his “favorites,” not the “best.” But in this case, his favorite movie also happens to be the best sports movie ever. Sports aside, this is an outstanding and probably highly underrated film. The writing is brilliant with some of the best dialogue that has ever hit the screen. But the sports aspect is not only there, it’s oddly integral to the movie without the formulaic buildup to a final game, match, or fight. The stakes are more about the characters and their relationship to the sport of baseball and how that relationship defines their character and, ultimately, their arc. It’s beautiful. And it captures sport with an authenticity that few other movies do. The locker room talk. The interviews. The dream of making it to “the show.” The speeches — the greatest intersection of sports and dialogue ever — will move you to the soul. And it has three of the best characters in film history. Annie Sullivan. Ebbie Calvin “Nuke” Lalush. And the bush league’s homerun king, Crash Davis. For the record, Crash, the Venus Fry Cook believes you could make it to the show as a manager. And in our head canon, you lived out the rest of your life with white balls for batting practice.
IN THE END, THOUGHTS…
In our intro, the Venus Fry Cook noted how many of these titles focused on the theme of belief. But as we rounded out the list with titles like Rocky, Moneyball, and A League of Their Own, we also noticed how much love played a factor. Love of the game. Love for a person. And if sports movies are ultimately about belief and love — and what they mean in life, well then it’s no wonder they’re so enduring. Perhaps that’s why sports movies are so great. So timeless. So soulful. So relatable. In the end, they’re simply some of the best stories about life.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
MIRACLE — It really hurt to leave this off the list. The VFC almost made it a Top 11 list just to include this movie. What makes it great? Two words: Kurt. Russell. The VFC thinks this might have been Russell’s greatest performance of all time and should have garnered an Oscar nom. We see you, Kurt. Thank you for making this movie so great.
MAJOR LEAGUE — A classic to be sure. And the VFC loves this movie. He’s seen it dozens of times. But it lands just outside the top 10.
CREED — Unexpectedly spectacular, Ryan Coogler, Michael B. Jordan, and Sly Stallone revitalized the Rocky brand with this top-to-bottom excellent boxing movie about the illegitimate son of Apollo Creed struggling with the legacy of the Creed name.
Biases
The Venus Fry Cook’s favorite sports are basketball, baseball, and hockey.
Disclaimers
If you’re a fan of Hoosiers or Remember the Titans, they’re not on the list. Sorry. The Venus Fry Cook enjoyed them, but just never found the love in his heart.
The Venus Fry Cook is not considering poker or professional wrestling as a sport — just for the purposes of this list. That being said, neither Rounders nor The Wrestler would have made it anyway.
The VFC did consider car racing and horse racing as sports, but none of those movies made the list. Sorry, Seabiscuit. (Also Seabiscuit wouldn’t have made it anyway).
Sorry, Raging Bull fans, the VFC just isn’t as much of a Raging Bull fan. We know it’s a sin.