Highest-Rated Movies about 'Sports History'

Watermarks (2004), The Game of Their Lives (2003), Spirit Game: Pride of a Nation (2017), Thriller in Manila (2008), Facing Ali (2009), On the Map (2016), Fire in Babylon (2010), The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg (1999) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Sports History movies.

#1. Watermarks (2004)

Storyline: Taking its name from the Hebrew word for strength, the Hakoah Vienna sports club produced a host of talented female swimmers, who thrived in opposition to anti-Semitic trends that began to color Austrian society in the early 20th century. The club was a casualty of Hitler's rise to power in the 1930s, but several of the women who were team members went on to live long, colorful lives. Now senior citizens, they're reunited in this documentary about sports, survival and bravery.

Plot Keywords: documentary, jewish, holocaust, history, women, sports, austria ...

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#2. The Game of Their Lives (2003)

Storyline: At the 1966 World Cup, outclassed North Korea secured a surprise victory over European favorite Italy, leading to the first-ever quarterfinal appearance by an Asian team. British director Daniel Gordon gains uncustomary access from the isolated North Korean government to interview that team's surviving members. Using their first-hand accounts, he tells the story of an underdog team whose passion for the game and cult-like adoration of their nation's leader led to the victory of a lifetime.

Plot Keywords: soccer, history, true story, sports, inspirational, teamwork, victory ...

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#3. Spirit Game: Pride of a Nation (2017)

Storyline: The documentary follows The Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse Team on the road as they compete in the 2015 World Box Lacrosse Championships. For the first time ever, the Championship Games were held on an Indian Reservation, in Onondaga in upstate New York, the Capitol of the Iroquois Confederacy.—Chris Brewster

Plot Keywords: documentary, sports, cultural heritage, national pride, history, tradition, competition ...

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#4. Thriller in Manila (2008)

Storyline: The intense rivalry between American heavyweight boxers Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier is examined in this documentary. Smarting from his earlier defeat by Frazier, Ali fueled a bitter feud in the media, leading up to 1975's "Thrilla in Manila," the much-hyped Philippines-set rematch of the two titans. The film depicts the landmark fight, which lasted 14 rounds, and also reveals what was happening outside of the ring as Ali and Frazier relentlessly pummeled each other.

Plot Keywords: action, thriller, documentary, boxing, sports, history, biography ...

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#5. Facing Ali (2009)

Storyline: The life and career of Muhammad Ali (1942- ) as seen chronologically in archival footage: Ali as a fighter, a personality, a political lightening rod, and a man. Boxers who fought him describe what led up to major fights and the matches themselves; they also offer personal revelations about their own lives: George Chuvalo's family losses, George Foreman's conversion, Ken Norton's gratitude, Ron Lyle's teaching, Earnie Shaver's encounter with the Klan, and Joe Frazier's good humor pack their own punch. The fighters talk about Ali's quickness, cunning, and recuperative powers - and how fighting him changed their lives.—<jhailey@hotmail.com>

Plot Keywords: boxing, documentary, sports, biography, interviews, legend, career ...

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#6. On the Map (2016)

Storyline: ON THE MAP tells the against-all-odds story of Maccabi Tel Aviv's 1977 European Championship, which took place at a time when the Middle East was still reeling from the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the 1972 Olympic massacre at Munich, and the 1976 hijacking of an Air France flight from Tel Aviv. Through the of lens of sports, ON THE MAP presents a much broader story of how one team captured the heart of a nation amid domestic turmoil and the global machinations of the Cold War.—Dani Menkin/Jon Weinbach

Plot Keywords: documentary, sports, history, inspirational, true story, legend, teamwork ...

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#7. Fire in Babylon (2010)

Storyline: During much of the late 50s and throughout the 60s, the West Indies Cricket Team put up outstanding displays of both batting and bowling the world over, but were never exactly the undisputed best like England or Australia. All of this changed quickly enough when after clinching the 1975 World Cup under Clive Lloyd, West Indies travelled to Australia and were beaten miserably 5-1, with pace legend Dennis Lillee making a mockery out of the famed Caribbean batting line-up. Lloyd replicated the same formula and having beaten India 2-1 with pacers like Michael Holding and Andy Roberts at his disposal with the same strategy, travelled to England in 1976. However, English skipper Tony Greig still considered the scheme a fluke and stated in an interview that he "intends to make the West Indies GROVEL". Fuelled by what they deemed was racism from a South Africa born Englishman, Lloyd's battery wrecked havoc, winning the series 3-0. From there on, there was no looking back, with the likes Joel Garner, Colin Croft and a refined Malcolm Marshall too joining the squad, West Indies defeated each and every opponent in the path, paving way for future greats like Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, as West Indies from the start of 1980 till 1995 literally ruled world cricket, something no other team in the history of any other sport has ever accomplished till date.

Plot Keywords: documentary, cricket, sports, history, culture, race, colonialism ...

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#8. The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg (1999)

Storyline: The story of Baseball Hall-of-Famer Hank Greenberg is told through archival film footage and interviews with Jewish and non-Jewish fans, his former teammates, his friends, and his family. As a great first baseman with the Detroit Tigers, Greenberg endured antisemitism and became a hero and source of inspiration throughout the Jewish community, not incidentally leading the Tigers to Major League dominance in the 1930s.—George S. Davis <mgeorges@prodigy.net>

Plot Keywords: documentary, sports, biography, history, jewish culture, america, athlete ...

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#9. Dan Carter: A Perfect 10 (2019)

Storyline: All Blacks great Dan Carter has revealed that an "intimate" film about his personal life and his "challenging road" towards the 2015 Rugby. He's fallen in love with an impossible reach, a few thousand km away, and circumstances aren't making it any more possible.

Plot Keywords: sports documentary, biography, new zealand, athlete, career, legend, inspirational ...

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#10. The Damned United (2009)

Storyline: Taking over England's top football club Leeds United, previously successful manager Brian Clough's abrasive approach and his clear dislike of the players' dirty style of play make it certain there is going to be friction. Glimpses of his earlier career help explain both his hostility to previous manager Don Revie and how much he is missing right-hand man Peter Taylor who has loyally stayed with Brighton &amp; Hove Albion.

Plot Keywords: football, england, sports, biography, history, 1970s, rivalry ...

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#11. The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005)

Storyline: Near the turn of the twentieth century, young Harry Vardon becomes a champion golfer but learns that his amazing skill is no match for the class boundaries that exclude him from "gentlemanly" English society. A dozen years later, a young American, Francis Ouimet, fights against the same prejudice, as well as his own father's disdain, for a chance to participate in the U.S. Open against his idol -- Harry Vardon. The struggles of both men for acceptance provides the background for an amazing contest of skills.

Plot Keywords: sports, biography, history, inspirational, usa, true story, competition ...

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#13. Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos (2006)

Storyline: A look back at one of the more curious fads in American professional sports, the sudden rise and precipitous fall of the North American Soccer League, spanning its existence 1968-1984, as seen through the experience of its most famous club, the New York Cosmos. The NASL made very little impact in the US, where soccer had virtually no following, until in 1975 the New York Cosmos succeeded in signing the most famous player in the world, Pele. Attendence for Cosmos games exploded, outdrawing even the New York Giants and New York Jets of the NFL, to where exhibition games in Seattle were drawing huge crowds, and when Pele announced his retirement in 1977 his final game drew the biggest crowd to ever see a soccer game in the US. His retirement from the game began a slow but steady decline for the NASL as money issues for the league and the spending practices of the Cosmos became a running controversy.—Michael Daly

Plot Keywords: football, documentary, sports, history, 1970s, rise and fall, team spirit ...

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#14. The Flying Scotsman (2006)

Storyline: The Flying Scotsman is a feature film based on the remarkable true story of Scottish cyclist Graeme Obree. In 1993, and as an unemployed amateur, Obree broke the world one-hour record on a bike of his own revolutionary design, which he constructed out of scrap metal and parts of a washing machine.—Sharon Howat

Plot Keywords: sports film, biography, based on true story, cycling, scotland, inspirational, athlete ...

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#15. Borg vs. McEnroe (2017)

Storyline: It is the 1980 Wimbledon tennis championship. Bjorn Borg is the number 1 tennis player in the world and the undisputed king of Wimbledon. He has won the tournament four times in a row - a fifth consecutive time would be a world first. However, a new face has appeared in the tennis world and presents a serious threat to Borg's title hopes - John McEnroe.

Plot Keywords: sports, biography, history, competition, rivalry, 1980s, true story ...

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