SportsCentury

SportsCentury

1999 5 Seasons 123 Episodes ⭐ 9.0 Documentary

SportsCentury is an ESPN biography program that reviews the people and athletic events that defined sports in North America throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. In 1999, ESPN counted down the Top 50 Athletes of the 20th Century, selected from North American athletes and voted on by a panel of sports journalists and observers, premiering a new biography highlighting each top athlete every week throughout the year. The episodes for the top two athletes, Michael Jordan and Babe Ruth, appeared on a special combined edition broadcast on Christmas Day on ABC. The top two names were announced in no particular order, and the final positioning was announced at the conclusion of the two episodes. An additional list of numbers 51-100 were announced on the ESPN SportsCentury website. Themed specials such as Greatest Games, Greatest Coaches, Greatest Dynasties, and Most Influential Individuals were premiered throughout the year, as well as six SportsCenter of the Decade programs. After the initial run was complete, the episodes were rerun at various times on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Classic. The original plan for the series was to expand to include #51-#100. Ultimately, the series featured nearly every athlete from #51-#100, and numerous other personalities, especially those who were recently deceased, or notable for more recent accomplishments.

SportsCentury is an ESPN biography program that reviews the people and athletic events that defined sports in North America throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. In 1999, ESPN counted down the Top 50 Athletes of the 20th Century, selected from North American athletes and voted on by a panel of sports journalists and observers, premiering a new biography highlighting each top athlete every week throughout the year. The episodes for the top two athletes, Michael Jordan and Babe Ruth, appeared on a special combined edition broadcast on Christmas Day on ABC. The top two names were announced in no particular order, and the final positioning was announced at the conclusion of the two episodes. An additional list of numbers 51-100 were announced on the ESPN SportsCentury website. Themed specials such as Greatest Games, Greatest Coaches, Greatest Dynasties, and Most Influential Individuals were premiered throughout the year, as well as six SportsCenter of the Decade programs. After the initial run was complete, the episodes were rerun at various times on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Classic. The original plan for the series was to expand to include #51-#100. Ultimately, the series featured nearly every athlete from #51-#100, and numerous other personalities, especially those who were recently deceased, or notable for more recent accomplishments.

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Seasons & Episodes

EP 65

Casey Stengel

EP 1

1900-49

The SportsCentury begins with this two-hour reflection of the major sports events that endeared themselves to the Americ

EP 2

No. 50 -- Chris Evert

EP 3

No. 49 -- O.J. Simpson

EP 4

No. 48 -- Pete Sampras

EP 5

No. 47 -- Edwin Moses

EP 6

No. 46 -- Eric Heiden

EP 7

No. 45 -- Bill Tilden

EP 8

SportsCenter of the Decade: 1950s

EP 9

No. 44 -- Bobby Jones

EP 10

No. 43 -- Julius Erving

EP 11

No. 42 -- Sandy Koufax

EP 12

No. 41 -- Wilma Rudolph

EP 13

No. 40 -- Lawrence Taylor

EP 14

No. 39 -- Walter Payton

EP 15

No. 38 -- Ben Hogan

EP 16

No. 37 -- Mickey Mantle

EP 17

SportsCenter of the Decade: 1960s

EP 18

No. 36 -- Oscar Robertson

EP 19

The Greatest Coaches of the Century

EP 20

No. 35 -- Secretariat

EP 21

Most Influential People in Sports

Counts down the ten non-athletes who left the greatest impact on the sports world in the 20th Century. Profiles include

EP 22

Greatest Dynasties

The teams that dominated their sport–the New York Yankees, Boston Celtics, Montréal Canadiens, UCLA Bruins, No

EP 23

No. 34 -- Lou Gehrig

EP 24

No. 33 -- Mark Spitz

EP 25

Greatest Games

EP 26

No. 32 -- Johnny Unitas

EP 27

No. 31 -- Bobby Orr

EP 28

No. 30 -- Larry Bird

EP 29

SportsCenter of the Decade: 1970s

EP 30

No. 29 -- Arnold Palmer

EP 31

No. 28 -- Red Grange

EP 32

No. 27 -- Jerry Rice

EP 33

No. 26 -- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

EP 34

No. 25 -- Joe Montana

EP 35

No. 24 -- Sugar Ray Robinson

EP 36

No. 23 -- Jackie Joyner-Kersee

EP 37

No. 22 -- Joe DiMaggio

EP 38

SportsCenter of the Decade: 1980s

EP 39

No. 21 -- Gordie Howe

EP 40

No. 20 -- Ty Cobb

EP 41

No. 19 -- Martina Navratilova

EP 42

No. 18 -- Bill Russell

EP 43

No. 17 -- Magic Johnson

EP 44

No. 16 -- Ted Williams

EP 45

No. 15 -- Jackie Robinson

EP 46

No. 14 -- Hank Aaron

EP 47

No. 13 -- Wilt Chamberlain

EP 48

No. 12 -- Carl Lewis

EP 49

No. 11 -- Joe Louis

EP 50

No. 10 -- Babe Didrikson

EP 51

No. 9 -- Jack Nicklaus

EP 52

No. 8 -- Willie Mays

EP 53

No. 7 -- Jim Thorpe

EP 54

No. 6 -- Jesse Owens

EP 55

No. 5 -- Wayne Gretzky

EP 56

No. 4 -- Jim Brown

EP 57

No. 3 -- Muhammad Ali

EP 58

No. 2 -- Babe Ruth

EP 59

No. 1 -- Michael Jordan

EP 60

SportsCenter of the Decade: 1990s

EP 61

Yogi Berra

EP 62

Derek Jeter

EP 63

Brian Piccolo

A profile of the late Brian Piccolo, the 1964 ACC Player of the Year at Wake Forest and later a member of the Chicago Be

EP 64

Brian Piccolo

EP 102

No. 50 - Chris Evert

EP 103

Joe DiMaggio

EP 104

Willie Mays

EP 105

Billy Martin

EP 106

Don Larsen

EP 5

Roger Maris

EP 1

Brett Favre

EP 2

Nancy Lopez

EP 3

Chris Webber

EP 4

New York Yankees, Part One

The most-recognized team in professional sports always gets the undeserved breaks. This episode, the first SportsCentur

EP 20

Anna Kournikova

EP 21

Yogi Berra

EP 1

Chris Evert

EP 2

Chris Evert

EP 3

New York Yankees: Part 2

EP 1

Lyle Alzado

EP 2

Ball Four

EP 3

John Wooden

EP 4

New York Yankees, Part Two

A nation of American baseball fans have grown to hate the Yankees. Their dreams were realized when the team went from d

EP 5

Roberto Clemente

EP 6

Dennis Rodman

EP 7

Pelé

EP 8

Jerry's Cowboys

Jerry Jones took over the Dallas Cowboys in 1989 to restore the glory of ""America's Team."" It worked, as the Cowboys

EP 9

Mark Gastineau

EP 10

Barry Sanders

For all the accolades he earned–the 1988 Heisman Trophy, a 2,000-yard rushing season in the NFL–Barry Sand

EP 11

Latrell Sprewell

For one incident with the Golden State Warriors, Latrell Sprewell became the most hated and reviled player in the eyes o

EP 12

Al Davis

EP 13

Terry Bradshaw

EP 14

Seabiscuit

EP 15

1981 AFC Playoff: Dolphins vs. Chargers

EP 16

Bart Starr

From a lifetime of tragic turns, Bart Starr emerged with visions that will endure forever. Five NFL Championships in se

EP 17

Tom Landry

As the coach of ""America's Team,"" Tom Landry stood for all the old American values. These were carried out with effic

EP 18

Bears' 46 Defense

EP 19

Jeff Gordon

EP 20

Mark McGwire

EP 21

Disciples of Jackie Robinson

EP 22

Steve Carlton

EP 23

Villanova vs. Georgetown

EP 24

Rick Pitino

EP 25

Phil Jackson

He has been despised by every fan of every NBA team that has never won the World Championship or died trying. To be sur

EP 26

Sammy Sosa

EP 27

Don King

EP 28

Steffi Graf

EP 29

Kevin Garnett

One of the young stars in the NBA was drafted at a young age. Kevin Garnett has become without question the biggest att

EP 30

Dennis Eckersley

EP 31

Pedro Martínez

EP 32

Mia Hamm

EP 33

Andy Roddick

EP 34

Sam Huff

EP 1

1999 Ryder Cup

EP 2

Peyton Manning

EP 3

Shaquille O'Neal

EP 4

Don Shula

He is the winningest coach in NFL history, with 347 victories. But how will Don Shula be remembered?

EP 5

Mike Krzyzewski

Duke is the Yankees of men's college basketball, winning its way to high tournament space year after year. While its co

EP 6

Phil Mickelson

EP 7

Pat Tillman

EP 8

Tony Stewart

EP 9

Alonzo Mourning

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