SportsCentury (1999–2005)

TV ShowEndedESPN ClassicDocumentary5 seasons, 123 episodes
SportsCentury poster
Trailers & clips

Plot

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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Episodes by season

Season0170Episodes1999–00Aired—Season avg
  1. S01E011900-49January 21, 1999—The SportsCentury begins with this two-hour reflection of the major sports events that endeared themselves to the American conscience in the
  2. S01E02No. 50 -- Chris EvertJanuary 22, 1999—
  3. S01E03No. 49 -- O.J. SimpsonJanuary 29, 1999—
  4. S01E04No. 48 -- Pete SamprasFebruary 5, 1999—
  5. S01E05No. 47 -- Edwin MosesFebruary 12, 1999—
  6. S01E06No. 46 -- Eric HeidenFebruary 19, 1999—
  7. S01E07No. 45 -- Bill TildenFebruary 26, 1999—
  8. S01E08SportsCenter of the Decade: 1950sMarch 9, 1999—
  9. S01E09No. 44 -- Bobby JonesMarch 12, 1999—
  10. S01E10No. 43 -- Julius ErvingMarch 19, 1999—
  11. S01E11No. 42 -- Sandy KoufaxApril 2, 1999—
  12. S01E12No. 41 -- Wilma RudolphApril 9, 1999—
  13. S01E13No. 40 -- Lawrence TaylorApril 16, 1999—
  14. S01E14No. 39 -- Walter PaytonApril 23, 1999—
  15. S01E15No. 38 -- Ben HoganApril 30, 1999—
  16. S01E16No. 37 -- Mickey MantleMay 7, 1999—
  17. S01E17SportsCenter of the Decade: 1960sMay 21, 1999—
  18. S01E18No. 36 -- Oscar RobertsonMay 14, 1999—
  19. S01E19The Greatest Coaches of the CenturyMay 22, 1999—
  20. S01E20No. 35 -- SecretariatMay 21, 1999—
  21. S01E21Most Influential People in SportsMay 23, 1999—Counts down the ten non-athletes who left the greatest impact on the sports world in the 20th Century. Profiles include: Walter O'Malley, B
  22. S01E22Greatest DynastiesMay 30, 1999—The teams that dominated their sport–the New York Yankees, Boston Celtics, Montréal Canadiens, UCLA Bruins, Notre Dame Fighting Irish–a
  23. S01E23No. 34 -- Lou GehrigMay 28, 1999—
  24. S01E24No. 33 -- Mark SpitzJune 4, 1999—
  25. S01E25Greatest GamesJune 5, 1999—
  26. S01E26No. 32 -- Johnny UnitasJune 11, 1999—
  27. S01E27No. 31 -- Bobby OrrJune 18, 1999—
  28. S01E28No. 30 -- Larry BirdJune 25, 1999—
  29. S01E29SportsCenter of the Decade: 1970sJuly 9, 1999—
  30. S01E30No. 29 -- Arnold PalmerJuly 2, 1999—
  31. S01E31No. 28 -- Red GrangeJuly 9, 1999—
  32. S01E32No. 27 -- Jerry RiceJuly 16, 1999—
  33. S01E33No. 26 -- Kareem Abdul-JabbarJuly 23, 1999—
  34. S01E34No. 25 -- Joe MontanaJuly 30, 1999—
  35. S01E35No. 24 -- Sugar Ray RobinsonJuly 30, 1999—
  36. S01E36No. 23 -- Jackie Joyner-KerseeAugust 6, 1999—
  37. S01E37No. 22 -- Joe DiMaggioAugust 20, 1999—
  38. S01E38SportsCenter of the Decade: 1980sSeptember 17, 1999—
  39. S01E39No. 21 -- Gordie HoweSeptember 3, 1999—
  40. S01E40No. 20 -- Ty CobbSeptember 17, 1999—
  41. S01E41No. 19 -- Martina NavratilovaSeptember 24, 1999—
  42. S01E42No. 18 -- Bill RussellOctober 1, 1999—
  43. S01E43No. 17 -- Magic JohnsonOctober 8, 1999—
  44. S01E44No. 16 -- Ted WilliamsOctober 8, 1999—
  45. S01E45No. 15 -- Jackie RobinsonOctober 15, 1999—
  46. S01E46No. 14 -- Hank AaronOctober 29, 1999—
  47. S01E47No. 13 -- Wilt ChamberlainOctober 29, 1999—
  48. S01E48No. 12 -- Carl LewisNovember 5, 1999—
  49. S01E49No. 11 -- Joe LouisNovember 19, 1999—
  50. S01E50No. 10 -- Babe DidriksonDecember 3, 1999—
  51. S01E51No. 9 -- Jack NicklausDecember 3, 1999—
  52. S01E52No. 8 -- Willie MaysDecember 10, 1999—
  53. S01E53No. 7 -- Jim ThorpeDecember 10, 1999—
  54. S01E54No. 6 -- Jesse OwensDecember 17, 1999—
  55. S01E55No. 5 -- Wayne GretzkyDecember 17, 1999—
  56. S01E56No. 4 -- Jim BrownDecember 24, 1999—
  57. S01E57No. 3 -- Muhammad AliDecember 24, 1999—
  58. S01E58No. 2 -- Babe RuthDecember 26, 1999—
  59. S01E59No. 1 -- Michael JordanDecember 26, 1999—
  60. S01E60SportsCenter of the Decade: 1990sMarch 26, 2000—
  61. S01E61Yogi BerraOctober 13, 2003—
  62. S01E62Derek JeterOctober 17, 2003—
  63. S01E63Brian PiccoloNovember 2, 2001—A profile of the late Brian Piccolo, the 1964 ACC Player of the Year at Wake Forest and later a member of the Chicago Bears, where he formed
  64. S01E64Brian PiccoloNovember 2, 2001—
  65. S01E65Casey StengelOctober 3, 2000—
  66. S01E102No. 50 - Chris EvertJanuary 22, 1999—
  67. S01E103Joe DiMaggioJuly 10, 2000—
  68. S01E104Willie MaysJuly 25, 2000—
  69. S01E105Billy MartinAugust 7, 2000—
  70. S01E106Don LarsenOctober 23, 2000—

Season 1 ranked & reviewed

Season027Episodes2002Aired—Season avg
  1. S02E01Brett FavreJanuary 28, 2002—
  2. S02E02Nancy LopezAugust 5, 2002—
  3. S02E03Chris WebberApril 26, 2002—
  4. S02E04New York Yankees, Part OneOctober 6, 2003—The most-recognized team in professional sports always gets the undeserved breaks. This episode, the first SportsCentury devoted to a team,
  5. S02E05Roger MarisDecember 4, 2000—
  6. S02E20Anna KournikovaMay 28, 2002—
  7. S02E21Yogi BerraOctober 14, 2002—

Season 2 ranked & reviewed

Season033Episodes2003Aired—Season avg
  1. S03E01Chris EvertApril 4, 2003—
  2. S03E02Chris EvertAugust 25, 2003—
  3. S03E03New York Yankees: Part 2October 7, 2003—

Season 3 ranked & reviewed

Season0434Episodes2003–04Aired—Season avg
  1. S04E01Lyle AlzadoSeptember 26, 2003—
  2. S04E02Ball FourOctober 24, 2003—
  3. S04E03John WoodenSeptember 26, 2003—
  4. S04E04New York Yankees, Part TwoOctober 7, 2003—A nation of American baseball fans have grown to hate the Yankees. Their dreams were realized when the team went from dynasty to dumpster b
  5. S04E05Roberto ClementeOctober 20, 2003—
  6. S04E06Dennis RodmanOctober 27, 2003—
  7. S04E07PeléNovember 6, 2003—
  8. S04E08Jerry's CowboysNovember 10, 2003—Jerry Jones took over the Dallas Cowboys in 1989 to restore the glory of ""America's Team."" It worked, as the Cowboys went on to win three
  9. S04E09Mark GastineauNovember 17, 2003—
  10. S04E10Barry SandersNovember 24, 2003—For all the accolades he earned–the 1988 Heisman Trophy, a 2,000-yard rushing season in the NFL–Barry Sanders was a lone man who did not
  11. S04E11Latrell SprewellDecember 1, 2003—For one incident with the Golden State Warriors, Latrell Sprewell became the most hated and reviled player in the eyes of the NBA, or so the
  12. S04E12Al DavisDecember 8, 2003—
  13. S04E13Terry BradshawDecember 15, 2003—
  14. S04E14SeabiscuitDecember 29, 2003—
  15. S04E151981 AFC Playoff: Dolphins vs. ChargersJanuary 5, 2004—
  16. S04E16Bart StarrJanuary 12, 2004—From a lifetime of tragic turns, Bart Starr emerged with visions that will endure forever. Five NFL Championships in seven years and victor
  17. S04E17Tom LandryJanuary 19, 2004—As the coach of ""America's Team,"" Tom Landry stood for all the old American values. These were carried out with efficiency as the Dallas
  18. S04E18Bears' 46 DefenseJanuary 29, 2004—
  19. S04E19Jeff GordonFebruary 9, 2004—
  20. S04E20Mark McGwireFebruary 16, 2004—
  21. S04E21Disciples of Jackie RobinsonFebruary 23, 2004—
  22. S04E22Steve CarltonMarch 1, 2004—
  23. S04E23Villanova vs. GeorgetownMarch 22, 2004—
  24. S04E24Rick PitinoMarch 29, 2004—
  25. S04E25Phil JacksonApril 12, 2004—He has been despised by every fan of every NBA team that has never won the World Championship or died trying. To be sure, Phil Jackson does
  26. S04E26Sammy SosaApril 12, 2004—
  27. S04E27Don KingMay 14, 2004—
  28. S04E28Steffi GrafJune 21, 2004—
  29. S04E29Kevin GarnettApril 15, 2002—One of the young stars in the NBA was drafted at a young age. Kevin Garnett has become without question the biggest attraction on the Minne
  30. S04E30Dennis EckersleyJuly 19, 2004—
  31. S04E31Pedro MartínezJuly 26, 2004—
  32. S04E32Mia HammAugust 9, 2004—
  33. S04E33Andy RoddickAugust 26, 2004—
  34. S04E34Sam HuffSeptember 3, 2004—

Season 4 ranked & reviewed

Season059Episodes2004–05Aired—Season avg
  1. S05E011999 Ryder CupSeptember 15, 2004—
  2. S05E02Peyton ManningNovember 8, 2004—
  3. S05E03Shaquille O'NealDecember 24, 2004—
  4. S05E04Don ShulaJanuary 31, 2005—He is the winningest coach in NFL history, with 347 victories. But how will Don Shula be remembered?
  5. S05E05Mike KrzyzewskiMarch 23, 2005—Duke is the Yankees of men's college basketball, winning its way to high tournament space year after year. While its coach did not top ESPN
  6. S05E06Phil MickelsonApril 4, 2005—
  7. S05E07Pat TillmanApril 22, 2005—
  8. S05E08Tony StewartMay 23, 2005—
  9. S05E09Alonzo MourningMay 31, 2005—

Season 5 ranked & reviewed

Cast

Chris BermanChris BermanChris FowlerChris FowlerDan PatrickDan Patrick

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