Best sports movies of all time

RUDY, 1993
Nearly a decade before Sean Austin played a hobbit in the Lord of the Rings trilogy he was Rudy, a kid who was told he was too small to play football at the University of Notre Dame.

HOOSIERS, 1986
Hoosiers, directed by David Anspaugh and starring Gene Hackman, chronicles a small town Indiana high school basketball team on its way to a state title.

THE SANDLOT, 1993
Scotty Smalls moves to a new neighborhood, makes friends, plays baseball, eats S?mores, flirts with the local lifeguard, loses his step dad?s signed baseball and battles The Beast. You?re killin? us Smalls.

MILLION DOLLAR BABY, 2004
A determined young female boxer, played by Hilary Swank, seeks the help of a grizzled trainer (Clint Eastwood) in hopes of becoming a professional. Morgan Freeman also stars in this Eastwood directed film, which went on to win four Academy Awards, including Best Motion Picture.

42, 2013
The most recent sports flick to hit the silver screen takes on the barrier-shattering signing of Jackie Robinson and the Brooklyn Dodgers. Chadwick Boseman stars as Robinson and Harrison Ford as former Dodgers president Branch Rickey.

61*, 2001
Before Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds and baseball?s performance-enhancing drug scandal, two Yankees teammates put on one of the greatest shows in baseball history. Directed by Bill Crystal and starring Barry Pepper and Thomas Jane as Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle, respectively.

FIELD OF DREAMS, 1989
An Iowa farmer, played by Kevin Costner, starts hearing voices telling him to build a baseball field. Lo and behold, the Chicago Black Sox show up and he finally gets to have that catch.

ANY GIVEN SUNDAY, 1999
Directed by Oliver Stone alongside a star-studded cast including Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, Jamie Foxx, Dennis Quaid and LL Cool J, Any Given Sunday, takes an inside look at a group of modern day gladiators. Remember: ?On any given Sunday, a hero will rise.?

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, 2004
Based on H.G. Bissinger?s book, Billy Bob Thorton stars as the coach of the Permian High Panthers, the heroic high school football team in the poor town of Odessa, Texas.

A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN, 1992
Tom Hanks and Geena Davis remind us that, forever and always, there?s no crying in baseball. Penny Marshall directs this tale of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

LOVE AND BASKETBALL, 2001
Two star-crossed lovers find romance and friendship on the court. All?s fair in love and basketball. Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan star as the young couple.

PRIDE OF THE YANKEES, 1942
The story of the life and career of the world?s ?Luckiest Man? ? Lou Gehrig. Gary Cooper stars as the Yankees legend.

ROCKY, 1976
A small-time boxer (Sylvester Stallone) gets the once-in-a-lifetime chance to fight the heavyweight champion of the world (and then beat him and fight Mr. T and Ivan Drago in the rest of the series). The John G. Avildsen directed film won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

RAGING BULL, 1980
Robert De Niro won an Oscar for his portrayal of this self-destructive boxer. Directed by Martin Scorsese.

THE ROOKIE, 2002
A 39-year-old Texas baseball coach fulfills his dream of reaching the major leagues after agreeing to try out only if his team made the playoffs. Dennis Quaid stars as the hardthrowing lefty in this John Lee Hancock directed film.

SPACE JAM, 1996
Michael Jordan?s greatest accomplishment. No, really. His Airness helps the Looney Toons win a basketball game against a group of alien invaders. Bill Murray and an array of familiar animated creatures, including Bugs Bunny, co-star alongside Jordan.

HE GOT GAME, 1998
Ray Allen may be a two-time NBA champion and the reigning three-point king but he?ll always be Jesus Shuttlesworth. Directed by Spike Lee and starring Allen and Academy Award winner Denzel Washington, He Got Game, takes a look at a father who tries to convince his son to go to college so he can get a shorter prison sentence.

TIN CUP, 1996
Kevin ?King of Sports Movies? Costner stars as a golf-pro trying to qualify for the U.S. Open in order to impress his rival?s girlfriend. Rene Russo co-stars.

THE REPLACEMENTS, 2000
Post-Matrix Keanu Reeves leads a group of fill-in players during a pro football strike. Gene Hackman co-stars as the head coach of the fictional Washington Sentinels.

HOOP DREAMS, 1994
A documentary about the journey of two inner-city boys from Chicago, William Gates and Arthur Agee, through their college basketball careers and into the pros.

VARSITY BLUES, 1999
In rural Texas, high school football is everything. James Van Der Beek stars as a lackadaisical backup quarterback thrown into the high-pressure starting job.

THE MIGHTY DUCKS, 1992
Emilio Estevez (pictured) stars as an egocentric lawyer who is sentenced to community service coaching a youth hockey team.

REMEMBER THE TITANS, 2000
Newly appointed head coach Herman Boone (Denzel Washington) leads a first-time racially integrated football team to the state championship. Left side! Strong Side!

THE SIXTH MAN, 1997
Marlon Wayans (pictured) stars as a college basketball player assisted both on and off the court by the ghost of his best friend.

THE NATURAL, 1984
Roy Hobbs strikes out Babe Ruth on three pitches and hits one of the most electric home runs in movie history. Nominated for four Academy Awards, The Natural stars Robert Redford (pictured), Robert Duvall and Glenn Close.

BLUE CHIPS, 1994
A college basketball coach, played by Nick Nolte, must break the rules to stay competitive. Shaquille O?Neal (pictured) makes his big-screen debut as Neon Boudeaux.

INVINCIBLE, 2006
Vince Papale, a 30-year-old bartender, overcomes all odds to make the Philadelphia Eagles as a walk-on in 1976. Mark Wahlberg (pictured) stars as Papale in this fact-based tale.

THE BASKETBALL DIARIES, 1995
A young basketball star, played by a young Leonardo DiCaprio, falls victim to drug addiction and crime.

AIR BUD, 1997
A young boy, heartbroken by the accidental death of his father, befriends a basketball playing stray dog.

BAD NEWS BEARS, 1976
A downtrodden former minor leaguer coaches a team of misfits in the competitive California little league. Directed by Michael Ritchie and starring Walter Matthau (pictured).

BULL DURHAM, 1988
A veteran catcher (Kevin Costner, above) must deal with a baseball groupie (Susan Sarandon) and minor-league life when he?s sent down to coach a young up-and-coming pitcher.

NECESSARY ROUGHNESS, 1991
NCAA sanctions cause the Texas State University Fightin? Armadillos to field a football team entirely from their current student body. Scott Bakula (pictured) stars.

MAJOR LEAGUE, 1989
The Cleveland Indians owner purposely puts together a roster doomed to fail ? until they figure it out and win in spite of her. Charlie Sheen stars as Ricky ?The Wild Thing? Vaughn and Wesley Snipes plays the unfortunately named Willie Mays Hayes.

THE LONGEST YARD, 1974
Burt Reynolds (pictured) plays an incarcerated professional football quarterback who is tasked with leading a team of inmates against the guards.

Slap Shot, 1977
A failing hockey team uses on-ice fighting to get back on top. Starring Paul Newman (pictured) and directed by George Roy Hill, we?re talking the original Slap Shot, not Slap Shot 2 or 3.