| Title
|
Year
|
Genre
|
Notes
|
| Two Minutes to Go
|
1921
|
Comedy
|
A star of the college football team (Charles Ray) was forced to work as a milkman when his father’s business begins to fail.
|
| The Freshman
|
1925
|
Comedy
|
Silent film with Harold Lloyd as a water boy who gets to play in team’s big game.
|
| The Plastic Age
|
1925
|
Drama
|
Silent film with Clara Bow as a flapper who lures a star football player into a party lifestyle.
|
| Brown of Harvard
|
1926
|
Drama
|
Silent film about Harvard football player, based on a Broadway play.
|
| The Kick-Off
|
1926
|
Drama
|
“A photoplay of college life, replete with the romance of the campus, and an especially thrilling football game.”
|
| The Quarterback
|
1926
|
Comedy
|
A college athlete spends 27 years trying to defeat the school’s arch-rival.
|
| The Drop Kick
|
1927
|
Drama
|
A man’s suicide damages a football player’s reputation.
|
| The College Widow
|
1927
|
Comedy
|
A coach’s daughter helps Atwater College land a star player.
|
| West Point
|
1927
|
Drama
|
Cadet fights coach, insults the academy, risks losing girl (Joan Crawford).
|
| The College Hero
|
1927
|
Drama
|
A jealous teammate trips Carver College’s football star and injures him.
|
| Salute
|
1929
|
Drama
|
Brothers become opponents for Army-Navy game.
|
| So This Is College
|
1929
|
Comedy
|
College teammates Biff and Eddie compete for the love of lovely Babs Baxter
|
| The Forward Pass
|
1929
|
Comedy
|
A co-ed (Loretta Young) persuades a reluctant star to return to the gridiron.
|
| College Hounds
|
1930
|
Comedy
|
Short film of “All Barkie Dogville Comedies” series in which trained dogs play football players.
|
| Maybe It’s Love
|
1930
|
Musical
|
College president’s daughter (Joan Bennett) brings in-ringers to win the big game.
|
| Maker of Men
|
1931
|
Drama
|
A football player finds it hard to please his coach, who’s his father.
|
| The Galloping Ghost
|
1931
|
Serial
|
A 12-chapter serial with Red Grange confronting a scandal at “Clay College.”
|
| Touchdown
|
1931
|
Drama
|
Coach (Richard Arlen) weighs an injured player’s health against his need to win.
|
| Freddy the Freshman
|
1932
|
short
|
Freddy the Freshman, “the freshest kid in town” and a canine “big man on campus”, crashes a college pep rally and becomes star of the campus football game.
|
| Horse Feathers
|
1932
|
Comedy
|
Marx Brothers farce about college football.
|
| That’s My Boy
|
1932
|
Drama
|
A college hero demands $50,000 to keep playing, which his stockbroker loses
|
| The All American
|
1932
|
Drama
|
After a football player ruins his life, he keeps his brother from making the same mistake.
|
| 70,000 Witnesses
|
1932
|
Mystery
|
His teammate murdered during a game, Buck Buchanan suspects his own brother.
|
| The Sport Parade
|
1932
|
Drama
|
Dartmouth football teammates get involved in pro wrestling.
|
| Huddle
|
1932
|
Romance
|
A poor, young Yale player falls in love with an heiress.
|
| Rackety Rax
|
1932
|
Comedy
|
Ex-cons become players and nightclub dancers cheerleaders to make college team popular.
|
| College Coach
|
1933
|
Drama
|
Stars get money, academic favoritism under new coach (Pat O’Brien).
|
| Saturday’s Millions
|
1933
|
Drama
|
Western U’s top player (Robert Young) sees football strictly as a business.
|
| College Humor
|
1933
|
Musical
|
A professor (Bing Crosby) and a football star fall for the same co-ed.
|
| College Rhythm
|
1934
|
Musical
|
Big man on campus Finnegan (Jack Oakie) gets a store to sponsor a winner-take-all game.
|
| Gridiron Flash
|
1934
|
Drama
|
Belford College is so desperate, it recruits a new player who’s been in prison.
|
| Hold ‘Em Yale
|
1935
|
Comedy
|
Colorful crooks and a love-crazy girl distract Yale football player (Buster Crabbe).
|
| Pigskin Parade
|
1936
|
Comedy
|
A “hillbilly” (Stuart Erwin) becomes a Texas college football hero.
|
| The Big Game
|
1936
|
Comedy
|
A gambler kidnaps Atlantic’s quarterback before the big game vs. Erie.
|
| Fighting Youth
|
1936
|
Drama
|
Campus radicals try to persuade students to protest the football team.
|
| Rose Bowl
|
1936
|
Romance
|
“Cheers” Reynolds must decide which Rose Bowl team’s star she likes best.
|
| Over the Goal
|
1937
|
Drama
|
Football star (William Hopper) risks permanent injury if he keeps playing.
|
| Saturday’s Heroes
|
1937
|
Drama
|
Val Webster (Van Heflin) opposes colleges getting rich while athletes like him stay poor.
|
| That Navy Spirit
|
1937
|
Romance
|
A new quarterback (Lew Ayres) and his rival play football for the academy.
|
| Navy Blue and Gold
|
1937
|
Drama
|
Midshipman (James Stewart) clears father’s name in time to play in Army-Navy game.
|
| Touchdown, Army
|
1938
|
Drama
|
A cocky cadet (Robert Cummings) shapes up in time to play in Army-Navy game.
|
| Up the River
|
1938
|
Comedy
|
A couple of con men end up involved in a prison football game.
|
| Hold That Co-ed
|
1938
|
Comedy
|
Football fortunes change for State thanks to a politician (John Barrymore) and a female kicker.
|
| The Gladiator
|
1938
|
Comedy
|
Joe E. Brown joins college team after experimental serum gives him super strength.
|
| Mr. Doodle Kicks Off
|
1938
|
Comedy
|
Ellory Bugs offers a large donation to his alma mater, which is to be paid only if his son, Jimmie “Doodle” Bugs, becomes a football hero. But “Doodle” is more interested in the band than the football team.
|
| $1,000 a Touchdown
|
1939
|
Comedy
|
Joe E. Brown inherits a college, offers money to any player who can score a touchdown.
|
| The Cowboy Quarterback
|
1939
|
Comedy
|
A pro scout from the “Chicago Packers” discovers a new star in rural Montana.
|
| Too Many Girls
|
1940
|
Comedy
|
Bodyguards hired to watch rich girl (Lucille Ball) in college end up on the football team.
|
| The Quarterback
|
1941
|
Comedy
|
A brother pretends to be his twin and becomes the school’s football star.
|
| Harmon of MIchigan
|
1941
|
Drama
|
Tom Harmon as himself, a college hero who weds sweetheart, becomes a coach.
|
| The Spirit of Stanford
|
1942
|
Drama
|
Frankie Albert as himself, a high school quarterback who then attends Stanford.
|
| Never Been Licked
|
1943
|
Drama
|
World War II propaganda about Corps of Cadets and football at Texas A&M.
|
| Good News
|
1947
|
Musical
|
Tait College can win the big game, but only if its star (Peter Lawford) passes an exam.
|
| Triple Threat
|
1948
|
Drama
|
After a Rose Bowl game, two rivals end up playing for the Los Angeles Rams.
|
| Father Was a Fullback
|
1949
|
Comedy
|
Daughter of coach (Fred MacMurray) has boyfriend who chooses her over Notre Dame.
|
| Easy Living
|
1949
|
Drama
|
Pro quarterback Pete Wilson (Victor Mature) discovers he has a heart condition.
|
| Saturday’s Hero
|
1951
|
Drama
|
A Virginia university’s halfback (John Derek) deals with injuries, money issues.
|
| The Guy Who Came Back
|
1951
|
Drama
|
Injured, aging athlete (Paul Douglas) refuses to accept that his playing days are over.
|
| The Rose Bowl Story
|
1952
|
Romance
|
A college gridiron star and a Rose Bowl princess fall in love.
|
| Hold That Line
|
1952
|
Comedy
|
The Bowery Boys discover a miracle “vitamin” and join the school’s team.
|
| Bonzo Goes to College
|
1952
|
Comedy
|
A coach (Edmund Gwenn) is so desperate, he lets a chimpanzee be his new quarterback.
|
| Trouble Along the Way
|
1953
|
Comedy
|
A Catholic college in New York hires a new football coach (John Wayne).
|
| Crazylegs
|
1953
|
Biographical
|
Based on college career of Elroy Hirsch, playing himself.
|
| All American
|
1953
|
Drama
|
A quarterback (Tony Curtis) deals with hazing and hardship at a Chicago college.
|
| John Goldfarb, Please Come Home
|
1965
|
Comedy
|
The CIA tries to get Notre Dame’s team to lose a game on purpose.
|
| Number One
|
1969
|
Drama
|
An aging New Orleans Saints pro quarterback (Charlton Heston) falls into drinking and adultery.
|
| The Longest Yard
|
1974
|
Comedy
|
Burt Reynolds as a convict who plays on his prison football team.
|
| Two-Minute Warning
|
1976
|
Thriller
|
Fictional story of stadium sniper, starring Charlton Heston.
|
| Gus
|
1976
|
Comedy
|
Disney tale of a mule that is able to take a slumping pro football team to the Super Bowl by winning with the ability to kick field-length field goals.
|
| Black Sunday
|
1977
|
Thriller
|
Fictional story of a terrorist attack on the Super Bowl by use of the Goodyear Blimp.
|
| Something for Joey
|
1977
|
Biographical
|
TV film on John Cappelletti, who won the Heisman Trophy, lost a brother to leukemia.
|
| Semi-Tough
|
1977
|
Comedy
|
Based on Dan Jenkins pro football novel, starring Burt Reynolds.
|
| Superdome
|
1978
|
Drama
|
Super Bowl quarterbacks (Tom Selleck, Ken Howard) are distracted by off-the-field worries. Made for TV
|
| Coach of the Year
|
1980
|
Drama
|
A former pro player, paralyzed in Vietnam, agrees to coach at a correctional facility.
|
| All the Right Moves
|
1983
|
Drama
|
A high school football player (Tom Cruise)’s contentious relationship with his coach (Craig T. Nelson) may derail his plans to get a college football scholarship.
|
| Quarterback Princess
|
1983
|
Biographical
|
Oregon schoolgirl seeks a chance to quarterback the boys’ team.
|
| The Bear
|
1984
|
Biographical
|
Made for TV biopic on life and coaching career of Alabama’s Bear Bryant (played by Gary Busey).
|
| Against All Odds
|
1984
|
Drama
|
Pro receiver (Jeff Bridges) develops fatal attraction to daughter of team’s corrupt owner
|
| Lucas
|
1986
|
Comedy
|
Not primarily about the sport; has football-related subplot.
|
| Wildcats
|
1986
|
Comedy
|
Goldie Hawn as a high school football coach.
|
| Johnny Be Good
|
1988
|
Comedy
|
A star high school quarterback (Anthony Michael Hall) must choose among a number of colleges vying to recruit him.
|
| Necessary Roughness
|
1991
|
Comedy
|
Story of a Texas college team filled with misfits.
|
| The Last Boy Scout
|
1991
|
Action
|
Crime action film; football marginal to plot.
|
| The Program
|
1993
|
Drama
|
James Caan as a college team’s coach.
|
| Rudy
|
1993
|
Biographical
|
True story of quest by Rudy Ruettiger to enroll and play at Notre Dame.
|
| Little Giants
|
1994
|
Comedy
|
Fiction about men who coach children’s teams.
|
| Rise and Walk: The Dennis Byrd Story
|
1994
|
Biographical
|
Television film on life and career-ending injury of New York Jets’ Dennis Byrd.
|
| Jerry Maguire
|
1996
|
Romantic comedy
|
Tom Cruise plays a sports agent who gets fired from his agency and is left with a single client, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Rod Tidwell, played by Cuba Gooding Jr. who won an Oscar for the performance.
|
| Angels in the Endzone
|
1997
|
Comedy
|
Direct-to-video sequel to 1994 version of Angels in the Outfield.
|
| The Waterboy
|
1998
|
Comedy
|
Adam Sandler as a backward boy who helps Louisiana school’s team
|
| Air Bud: Golden Receiver
|
1998
|
Comedy
|
In this sequel to Air Bud, the title dog learns to play football.
|
| Varsity Blues
|
1999
|
Drama
|
A Texas high school star quarterback (James Van Der Beek) struggles with pressure from his coach and father.
|
| Any Given Sunday
|
1999
|
Drama
|
A Miami coach (Al Pacino) tries to rein in a quarterback (Jamie Foxx) who is rising in both talent and popularity.
|
| The Fanatics
|
1999
|
Comedy
|
A television film with Ed Asner.
|
| Marshall University: Ashes to Glory
|
2000
|
Documentary
|
Made for TV. A history of Marshall University football in the late 20th century, starting with the 1970 plane crash and ending with the school’s successes in the 1990s.
|
| The Replacements
|
2000
|
Comedy
|
Keanu Reeves in a fictional story about replacement players on a pro team during a league strike, loosely based on the 1982 National Football League strike which resulted in team’s using replacement players.
|
| Brian’s Song
|
2001
|
Drama
|
A remake of 1971 story of Gale Sayers and Brian Piccolo.
|
| Full Ride
|
2002
|
Comedy
|
Bad-attitude teen is picked to play in a state all-star game.
|
| Junction Boys
|
2002
|
Biographical
|
Made for TV; based on a true story about a grueling football training camp at Texas A&M under coach Bear Bryant.
|
| Hometown Legend
|
2002
|
Drama
|
A drifting teenager meets a demanding high school coach.
|
| Second String
|
2002
|
Comedy
|
television film on a guy who gets to quarterback Buffalo Bills.
|
| Playmakers
|
2003
|
Drama
|
This ESPN-aired drama depicts the lives of the Cougars, a fictional professional football team in an unidentified city.
|
| Radio
|
2003
|
Drama
|
True story, with Cuba Gooding Jr. as James “Radio” Kennedy, a mentally challenged young man who aids a football coach.
|
| Code Breakers
|
2005
|
Drama
|
ESPN film on 1951 West Point cheating scandal, starring Scott Glenn.
|
| Invincible
|
2006
|
Biographical
|
True story of bartender Vince Papale (played by Mark Wahlberg), who gets offered contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.
|
| Facing the Giants
|
2006
|
Drama
|
Christian-themed story of a high school coach.
|
| Gridiron Gang
|
2006
|
Drama/Biographical
|
True story starring Dwayne Johnson as a man who creates a football team at Camp Kilpatrick juvenile detention center to compete against local high schools.
|
| The Comebacks
|
2007
|
Comedy
|
Spoof of sports movies, featuring football coach “Lambeau Fields.”
|
| The Game Plan
|
2007
|
Comedy
|
Pro quarterback (Dwayne Johnson) discovers that he has a daughter.
|
| Leatherheads
|
2007
|
Comedy
|
George Clooney in fictional story of 1920s pro football.
|
| The Longshots
|
2008
|
Comedy
|
Based on a true story of the first girl to play in Pop Warner league.
|
| The Legend of Jimmy the Greek
|
2009
|
Documentary
|
Made for TV as a part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. A look at Jimmy “the Greek” Snyder, from start as bookie through firing from The NFL Today.
|
| Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL?
|
2009
|
Documentary
|
Made for TV as a part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. Follows rise and demise of 1980s United States Football League, including team owner Donald Trump.
|
| The U
|
2009
|
Documentary
|
Made for TV as a part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. Chronicles dominance of University of Miami program in the 1980s and 1990s.
|
| The Best That Never Was
|
2010
|
Documentary
|
Made for TV as a part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. Examines 1981 Mississippi high school star Marcus Dupree, his injury-prone career, and how he affected recruiting process.
|
| Run Ricky Run
|
2010
|
Documentary
|
Made for TV as a part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. On life of Ricky Williams, focusing on his 2004 departure from NFL.
|
| Straight Outta L.A.
|
2010
|
Documentary
|
Made for TV as a part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. Relationship between Raiders and minority fan base during 1982–1994 stint in L.A.
|
| 4th & Goal
|
2010
|
Documentary
|
Six players followed over six years as they try to make it to NFL. Unique look at journey from high school to professional football.
|
| Herschel
|
2011
|
Documentary
|
Made for TV as a part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series about Herschel Walker
|
| The Marinovich Project
|
2011
|
Documentary
|
Made for TV as a follow-up to ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. Rise and fall of USC and NFL quarterback Todd Marinovich, focusing on complex relationship with his father.
|
| Undefeated
|
2011
|
Documentary
|
Chronicles 2009 season of Manassas High School, a doormat of Memphis football seeking first playoff win. Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.
|
| Touchback
|
2012
|
Drama
|
Ohio farmer relives a high school football game that changed his life.
|
| Season of a Lifetime
|
2012
|
Documentary
|
Story of football coach, Jeremy Williams, who, terminally ill with ALS, refuses to retire, deciding instead to coach for one last season.
|
| You Don’t Know Bo
|
2012
|
Documentary
|
Made for TV as a part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series about baseball and football star Bo Jackson.
|
| 23 Blast
|
2013
|
Drama
|
True story about Travis Freeman, a Kentucky teen who loses his sight.
|
| Against the Tide
|
2013
|
Documentary
|
Made for TV. A look back at 1970 USC–Alabama game, in which an integrated USC team easily defeats all-white Alabama and help to hasten integration of sport in the South.
|
| The Book of Manning
|
2013
|
Documentary
|
Made for TV as a part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series examining football’s famous Manning family, father Archie and his sons Peyton and Eli
|
| Youngstown Boys
|
2013
|
Documentary
|
Made for TV as a part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. Examines relationship at Ohio State between coach Jim Tressel and player Maurice Clarett.
|
| League of Denial
|
2013
|
Documentary
|
An investigation of concussions and the health crisis threatening NFL players and the long-term fortunes of football.
|
| Brian and The Boz
|
2014
|
Documentary
|
Made for TV as a part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. Explores the rise, fall, and post-football life of Brian Bosworth.
|
| Draft Day
|
2014
|
Drama
|
A sports/drama film using real NFL teams but fictional people, starring Kevin Costner as the General Manager of the Cleveland Browns working with his coaching staff to determine who they should draft.
|
| Rand University
|
2014
|
Documentary
|
Made for TV as a part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. Examines former NFL star Randy Moss and his origins in Rand, West Virginia.
|
| The U Part 2
|
2014
|
Documentary
|
Made for TV as a part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. Sequel to The U, following Miami football’s rise from scandal to renewed dominance, only to face new controversy with the Nevin Shapiro scandal.
|
| We Could Be King
|
2014
|
Documentary
|
A high school team faced with a merger with its rival.
|
| When the Game Stands Tall
|
2014
|
Drama
|
True story of a California school’s record-setting winning streak.
|
| Balls Out
|
2014
|
Comedy
|
A sports-movie spoof about students who form an intramural team.
|
| ’51 Dons
|
2014
|
Documentary
|
In 1951, the undefeated San Francisco Dons decline invitation to play in Orange Bowl after being told they must play without two African-American stars.
|
| Carter High
|
2015
|
Drama
|
Robberies and a grades scandal cost a Dallas school its 1988 state championship.
|
| Four Falls of Buffalo
|
2015
|
Documentary
|
Made for TV as a part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. The story of the Buffalo Bills of the early 1990s, the only team ever to reach four consecutive Super Bowls—but loser of all four.
|
| The Gospel According to Mac
|
2015
|
Documentary
|
Made for TV as a part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. Explores the tenure of Bill McCartney as Colorado Buffaloes coach, which combined great success (including a national title) and controversy in some quarters over his overt evangelicalism.
|
| Trojan War
|
2015
|
Documentary
|
Made for TV as a part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. Examines the return to prominence of the USC Trojans under Pete Carroll and the pay-for-play scandal that tarnished Carroll’s success.
|
| Woodlawn
|
2015
|
Drama
|
Racial tensions and Christian revival affect Alabama athletes and coach (Jon Voight) in 1973.
|
| The ’85 Bears
|
2016
|
Documentary
|
Made for TV as a part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. A 30-year retrospective on the 1985 Chicago Bears, one of the most dominant and colorful teams in NFL history.
|
| Greater
|
2016
|
Biographical
|
The story of Brandon Burlsworth, possibly the greatest walk-on in the history of college football.
|
| Gleason
|
2016
|
Documentary
|
NFL defensive back Steve Gleason bravely copes with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease).
|
| This Was the XFL
|
2017
|
Documentary
|
Made for TV as a part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. The story of the short-lived XFL and the friendship between its co-founders Vince McMahon and Dick Ebersol.
|
| What Carter Lost
|
2017
|
Documentary
|
Made for TV as a part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. Looks at the team that ended the 1988 Permian High playoff run immortalized in Friday Night Lights, Carter High from Dallas—with more than 20 players receiving major-college scholarship offers, but soon afterward seeing six players involved in an armed robbery.
|
| Year of the Scab
|
2017
|
Documentary
|
Made for TV as a part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. A 30-year retrospective on the replacement players who led the 1987 Washington Redskins to a 3–0 start during that year’s players’ strike, paving the way for the team’s Super Bowl victory that season—but at the time still stigmatized as “scabs” by fans and especially by the Redskins’ front office.
|
| The Two Bills
|
2018
|
Documentary
|
Made for TV as a part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. Explores the relationship between NFL coaching legends Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick.
|
| Seau
|
2018
|
Documentary
|
Made as part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series and initially released on the company’s ESPN+ streaming service. Examines the life of NFL legend Junior Seau, from his Samoan immigrant origins to NFL superstardom, mental decline, and eventual suicide linked to CTE.
|
| Vick
|
2020
|
Documentary
|
Made as part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. Two-part look at the rise, fall, and controversial NFL return of Michael Vick.
|
| Al Davis vs. the NFL
|
2021
|
Documentary
|
Made as part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series. The story of the rivalry between Al Davis, owner of the team now known as the Las Vegas Raiders, and NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, as told partially by deepfake versions of the long-deceased pair.
|
