Series · 1999 – 2005 · 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.
5 seasons · 123 episodes
Episode 01
1900-49
The SportsCentury begins with this two-hour reflection of the major sports events that endeared themselves to the American conscience in the first half of the 20th Century. Dave Anderson, Dick Schaap, and Curt Gowdy sit around newspaper offices as the ""hosts"" in this newsreel-type retrospective.
Episode 02
No. 50 -- Chris Evert
No description available.
Episode 03
No. 49 -- O.J. Simpson
No description available.
Episode 04
No. 48 -- Pete Sampras
No description available.
Episode 05
No. 47 -- Edwin Moses
No description available.
Episode 06
No. 46 -- Eric Heiden
No description available.
Episode 07
No. 45 -- Bill Tilden
No description available.
Episode 08
SportsCenter of the Decade: 1950s
No description available.
Episode 09
No. 44 -- Bobby Jones
No description available.
Episode 10
No. 43 -- Julius Erving
No description available.
Episode 11
No. 42 -- Sandy Koufax
No description available.
Episode 12
No. 41 -- Wilma Rudolph
No description available.
Episode 13
No. 40 -- Lawrence Taylor
No description available.
Episode 14
No. 39 -- Walter Payton
No description available.
Episode 15
No. 38 -- Ben Hogan
No description available.
Episode 16
No. 37 -- Mickey Mantle
No description available.
Episode 17
SportsCenter of the Decade: 1960s
No description available.
Episode 18
No. 36 -- Oscar Robertson
No description available.
Episode 19
The Greatest Coaches of the Century
No description available.
Episode 20
No. 35 -- Secretariat
No description available.
Episode 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: Walter O'Malley, Branch Rickey, Pette Rozelle, David Stern, Roone Arledge, and Marvin Miller.
Episode 22
Greatest Dynasties
The teams that dominated their sport–the New York Yankees, Boston Celtics, Montréal Canadiens, UCLA Bruins, Notre Dame Fighting Irish–are profiled. So are the Dallas Cowboys, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Bulls, and San Francisco 49ers.
Episode 23
No. 34 -- Lou Gehrig
No description available.
Episode 24
No. 33 -- Mark Spitz
No description available.
Episode 25
Greatest Games
No description available.
Episode 26
No. 32 -- Johnny Unitas
No description available.
Episode 27
No. 31 -- Bobby Orr
No description available.
Episode 28
No. 30 -- Larry Bird
No description available.
Episode 29
SportsCenter of the Decade: 1970s
No description available.
Episode 30
No. 29 -- Arnold Palmer
No description available.
Episode 31
No. 28 -- Red Grange
No description available.
Episode 32
No. 27 -- Jerry Rice
No description available.
Episode 33
No. 26 -- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
No description available.
Episode 34
No. 25 -- Joe Montana
No description available.
Episode 35
No. 24 -- Sugar Ray Robinson
No description available.
Episode 36
No. 23 -- Jackie Joyner-Kersee
No description available.
Episode 37
No. 22 -- Joe DiMaggio
No description available.
Episode 38
SportsCenter of the Decade: 1980s
No description available.
Episode 39
No. 21 -- Gordie Howe
No description available.
Episode 40
No. 20 -- Ty Cobb
No description available.
Episode 41
No. 19 -- Martina Navratilova
No description available.
Episode 42
No. 18 -- Bill Russell
No description available.
Episode 43
No. 17 -- Magic Johnson
No description available.
Episode 44
No. 16 -- Ted Williams
No description available.
Episode 45
No. 15 -- Jackie Robinson
No description available.
Episode 46
No. 14 -- Hank Aaron
No description available.
Episode 47
No. 13 -- Wilt Chamberlain
No description available.
Episode 48
No. 12 -- Carl Lewis
No description available.
Episode 49
No. 11 -- Joe Louis
No description available.
Episode 50
No. 10 -- Babe Didrikson
No description available.
Episode 51
No. 9 -- Jack Nicklaus
No description available.
Episode 52
No. 8 -- Willie Mays
No description available.
Episode 53
No. 7 -- Jim Thorpe
No description available.
Episode 54
No. 6 -- Jesse Owens
No description available.
Episode 55
No. 5 -- Wayne Gretzky
No description available.
Episode 56
No. 4 -- Jim Brown
No description available.
Episode 57
No. 3 -- Muhammad Ali
No description available.
Episode 58
No. 2 -- Babe Ruth
No description available.
Episode 59
No. 1 -- Michael Jordan
No description available.
Episode 60
SportsCenter of the Decade: 1990s
No description available.
Episode 61
Yogi Berra
No description available.
Episode 62
Derek Jeter
No description available.
Episode 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 Bears, where he formed a friendship with Gale Sayers that was depicted in the 1971 film “Brian's Song.” Piccolo died of cancer in 1970.
Episode 64
Brian Piccolo
No description available.
Episode 65
Casey Stengel
No description available.
Episode 102
No. 50 - Chris Evert
No description available.
Episode 103
Joe DiMaggio
No description available.
Episode 104
Willie Mays
No description available.
Episode 105
Billy Martin
No description available.
Episode 106
Don Larsen
No description available.
based on 1 votes
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.
3 principal cast
SportsCentury is available to stream on Flicksy via 6 verified sources, aggregated from publicly available embed providers. The documentary has 5 seasons and 123 total episodes, rated 9.0/10 by 1 viewers.
SportsCentury has 5 seasons with 123 episodes in total.
SportsCentury has ended and is no longer in production.
SportsCentury airs on ESPN Classic.
SportsCentury first aired on January 21, 1999.
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