Best Sports Movies Based on True Events

“We Are Marshall” is based on the tragedy of the 1970 Marshall University football team, most of whom were killed in a devastating crash of their chartered plane while returning home to West Virginia after a game in North Carolina. The film follows a surviving player and the new coach as they rebuild the team.

“Tommy’s Honour” is a 2016 film set in 1860s Scotland that details the challenges faced by early golfers. The film follows the dedicated young Tommy Morris as he wins his first Open Championship, and begins to outshine and defy his father, a golfing pioneering.

This film explores the complicated life of heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali from 1964 to 1974, during which time he changed his name from Cassius Clay, won the world heavyweight championship, and was stripped of his title after refusing to be drafted into the U.S. military.

Prefontaine chronicles the life of long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine, from his early days as a high school athlete to his competition in the 1972 Olympics to his untimely death at the age of 24.

This film is based on the lives of Major League Baseball pitchers Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel, who – despite having no baseball experience – were recruited by a bold sports agent after winning a reality television competition in India.

Based on the 2009 exposé “Game Brain” by Jeanne Marie Laskas, “Concussion” details the work of Dr. Bennet Omalu, a Nigerian-American pathologist who fights against the National Football League’s denial of a link between football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Inspired by the story of four best friends and New England Patriots fans who would do anything to meet Tom Brady, this comedy follows a group of spirited older women as they win tickets to the Super Bowl and run into numerous obstacles on their way there.

Former professional skateboarder and surfer Stacey Peralta looks back on his teenage years spent as a member of the Z-Boys, a now legendary group of skateboarders in Santa Monica and Venice who changed the sport forever.

Inspired by the story of thoroughbred racehorse Maria’s Storm, “Dreamer” is the story of a young girl who begs her father to keep an injured horse, and against all odds helps the horse recover to race again.

Based on the life of college football star Ernie Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy, “The Express” follows Davis from his childhood in Pennsylvania to his years at Syracuse University, where he led the team to an undefeated season and a national championship in 1960 despite the racism he faced both on and off the field.

When a housewife with no horse-racing experience agrees to take over her father’s stables, a veteran trainer helps her navigate the male-dominated business, leading her racehorse Secretariat to become the first in 25 years to win the Triple Crown.

“Invincible” is the story of Vince Papale, a struggling 30-year-old bartender from South Philadelphia who became an unlikely member of the Philadelphia Eagles in 1976 after the team’s new coach held an open tryout.

An adaptation of the autobiography of Doug Smith, “Goon” describes the career of a kind, simple man from an intellectual family who finds surprising fulfillment as a brutish enforcer on a minor league hockey team.

“The Greatest Game Ever Played” is based on the story of Francis Ouimet, an American amateur golfer from humble roots who, at the unlikely age of 20, went up against his idol – British Open champion Harry Vardon.

“Battle of the Sexes” is a fictionalized account of the 1973 tennis match between women’s world champion tennis player Billie Jean King and former men’s champion Bobby Riggs, a match that became one of the most watched sports events ever televised.

After a shoulder injury keeps Jim Morris from his dream of playing Major League Baseball, he settles down and becomes a high school teacher and baseball coach – until a stroke of fate gets him into the Major Leagues in his late 30s after all.

When a new coach takes on a struggling high school basketball team, he imposes a strict regime that turns them into undefeated champions. However, the students’ poor academic performance causes him to bench the whole team until they improve their grades.

“Foxcatcher” is based on the true story of Olympic wrestler Mark Schultz and his relationship with John du Pont, a wealthy heir to the du Pont chemical fortune. The film follows John’s increasingly erratic and destructive behavior, which eventually leads to the murder of Schultz’s brother Dave.

“Invictus” is a snapshot of Nelson Mandela’s first term as President of South Africa, as he works with the captain of the Springboks rugby team, Francois Pienaar, to help unite the country in the wake of Apartheid by getting their team to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship.

“Greater” follows the dedication of walk-on college football player Brandon Burlsworth, as he perseveres through ridicule about his weight to become one of the best players his team has ever seen – only to be killed in a car crash 11 days after being drafted into the NFL.

This film chronicles the racing career of Seabiscuit, an undersized and overlooked thoroughbred racehorse who became one of the most significant cultural icons of the Depression era and was ultimately recognized as the top racehorse of the ’30s.

“Cool Runnings” is loosely based on the story of the first Jamaican national bobsleigh team’s debut during the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, as the underdogs and their disgraced former Olympian coach defy odds and win hearts.

Based on the 2006 book “The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game” by Michael Lewis, this film details the youth of NFL player Michael Oher, a homeless teenager who was taken in by a wealthy family who eventually become his legal guardians.

Based on the memoir of Major League Baseball player Jimmy Piersall, this film follows Piersall’s struggle with anxiety and depression as he is pushed to his limits by his domineering father, eventually having a nervous breakdown and becoming institutionalized.

“A Prayer Before Dawn” recounts the trials of English boxer Billy Moore as he struggles with addiction in Thailand, eventually becoming incarcerated in a notoriously brutal prison and fighting in Muay Thai tournaments in an attempt to gain his freedom.

“Eddie the Eagle” follows Michael “Eddie” Edwards, a tenacious and dedicated young athlete who beats the odds to become the first contender in 60 years to represent Britain in Olympic ski jumping.

A fictionalized account of the WWII era All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), this film focuses on two sisters who are recruited onto the Rockford Peaches as they navigate sexism and their own rivalry in their attempts to keep the league alive.

Based on the Black Sox Scandal, this semi-fictionalized film portrays the conspiracy of eight members of the Chicago White Sox who accepted bribes to intentionally lose the 1919 World Series.

“Friday Night Lights” follows the 1988 Permian High School Panthers football team from the economically depressed and racially divided town of Odessa, Texas, as they compete for the state championship with the hopes of the whole town riding on their shoulders.

When star White Sox pitcher Monty Stratton loses his leg after a hunting accident, he learns how to make use of his wooden leg with the support of his dedicated wife and makes a minor league comeback.

“Without Limits” portrays the relationship between Steve Prefontaine, a track and field athlete who competed in the 1972 Olympics, and Bill Bowerman, the renowned track and field coach who co-founded Nike.

After being fired from multiple teaching positions, high school coach Jim White takes a job at a predominantly Latino school in the agricultural town of McFarland, California, and transforms a struggling cross-country team into one of the best in the state.

Born in a steel mill town, Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger dreams of playing football at the University of Notre Dame despite having low grades, no money for college, and a diminuative physique. Determined to follow his dreams, however, he works tirelessly to make it onto the team.

Under the guidance of player-turned-coach Herb Brooks, the 1980 United States men’s Olympic hockey team heads to the 1980 Winter Olympics to face off against the nearly invincible Soviet team.

“Remember the Titans” details the racial integration of a Virginia high school in 1971 through the lens of the school’s football team as the Black head coach and white defensive coordinator work together for the good of the team and urge the boys to overcome their differences.

This biopic on legendary American boxer Rocky Graziano tells the story of the knockout legend’s rise from a delinquent youth and Army deserter to World Middleweight Champion.

Based on the life of Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, a boxer who was wrongly convicted of murder, this film follows Carter’s nearly 20-year imprisonment and the dedication of a compassionate teenager named Lesra Martin who wouldn’t give up on Carter’s case.

“Heart Like a Wheel” tells the story of Shirley Muldowney, the first woman to earn a license to drive top fuel dragsters, overcoming significant gender barriers and going on to win multiple championships and become a drag racing icon.

“Chariots of Fire” follows two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics – one a devout Christian who uses his running to honor God, and the other a Jew who runs to overcome the prejudices he encounters despite his privilege.

This comedy-drama concerns a family of former professional wrestlers as their two children audition for the WWE, with their daughter Paige being chosen to train while their son Zak is left in the cold.

Based on the life of Burt Munro, a New Zealand speed bike racer who set a land-speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in 1967, this film details the years Munro spent rebuilding a 1920 Indian Scout motorcycle.

“Cinderella Man” follows the life of James J. Braddock, a former light heavyweight boxer who falls on hard times during the Great Depression and becomes a longshoreman, working with an injured hand, until he finds a chance at a comeback.

Inspired by the 1954 Milan (Indiana) High School basketball team, “Hoosiers” tells the story of a small town school in Indiana where a new school basketball coach attempts to turn the team into a winning squad along with the help of a local drunkard.

This film follows the life of figure skater Tonya Harding as she overcomes class discrimination to make it to the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and the Olympics, only to become involved in a vicious attack on rival skater Nancy Kerrigan.

Based on the 2003 book of the same name by Michael Lewis, “Moneyball” is an account of the Oakland Athletics baseball team’s 2002 season and their manager Billy Beane’s attempts at building an elite team using a scouting system based on statistical analysis.

“The Fighter” follows young boxer “Irish” Micky Ward as he realizes his potential while his trainer and older half-brother, former boxer Dicky Eklund, falls into drug addiction.

James Hunt and Niki Lauda are both talented Formula One race car drivers with contrasting styles who quickly become rivals and go head to head during the 1976 racing season.

“The Pride of the Yankees” is a homage to the life of legendary baseball player Lou Gehrig, who played 17 seasons for the New York Yankees and set several major league records before becoming terminally ill with a rare, incurable neurodegenerative disease.

“Raging Bull” is based on the memoir of vicious Italian-American middleweight boxing champion Jake LaMotta. The film portrays the self-destructive rage that helped LaMotta in the ring but destroyed his family and personal life.

Highlighting the rivalry between automakers Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari, this film follows a team of designers and engineers as they attempt to build a state-of-the-art racecar – the Ford GT40 – to defeat the Ferrari 330 P3 at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race.