Cinema’s Sporting Hall Of Fame: The Movie Athletes Who Won Our Hearts

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Cinema’s Sporting Hall Of Fame: The Movie Athletes Who Won Our Hearts
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Fans around the world have seen the return of many beloved sports after a long time away from the leagues they love. We’ve missed the thrills, spills and uplifting moments that only sporting competitions can provide… or can it? Cinema is often a great means of recapturing that passion, and over the years, some characters have even been celebrated as real-life heroes. To many, these fictional athletes have the same power to capture the imagination, with the added bonus of guaranteeing that the ‘good guys’ always win. We’ve put together our own Cinematic Sporting Hall of Fame, encompassing various sports and embodying the characteristics it takes to truly make your mark. Both fictional characters and biopics are allowed, as long as they’ve left a lasting impression.

By Victoria Luxford

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Cinema’s Sporting Hall Of Fame: The Movie Athletes Who Won Our Hearts.
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Rocky Balboa (The Rocky/Creed Franchise, 1976-) – Our first inductee is a legend of both sport and screen, the only fictional character on this list to have a real-life statue dedicated to their exploits. Rocky won our hearts in 1976 when the former street-tough was plucked from obscurity and went the distance with world champion Apollo Creed, eventually winning the title from his rival three years later, then enjoying a storied career of 57 wins from 81 fights, and ending on a split decision loss in 2006’s Rocky Balboa. He was most recently seen training Adonis Creed, the son of his former opponent, in the hit Creed movies that continue his legacy. The epitome of hard work and perseverance, Balboa embodies our capacity to overcome enormous odds.

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Cinema’s Sporting Hall Of Fame: The Movie Athletes Who Won Our Hearts.
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Adonis Creed (The Creed/Rocky Franchise, 2016-) – He may only be two films in, but we have to include Rocky’s protégé, Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan), in our list. The scrappy illegitimate son of Apollo Creed, he comes to Rocky Balboa looking for training under his chosen name of Johnson, only for promoters to learn of his legacy and push him into becoming Creed. Over two movies, ‘Donnie’ would stare down his past and face his future, most recently fighting the son of Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), the man who killed his father in Rocky IV. Played with fire and tenderness by Jordan, Creed wasn’t just a carbon copy of his predecessor, he is a fascinating character whose journey audiences have flocked to see.

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Cinema’s Sporting Hall Of Fame: The Movie Athletes Who Won Our Hearts.
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Happy Gilmore (Happy Gilmore, 1996) – Adam Sandler made his name with the most unusual of sporting heroes, an ice hockey player whose ferocious slap shot makes him a promising golfer, even if he has an appalling lack of etiquette. His short fuse and quick wit makes him a crowd favourite, even if he does pick a fight with a US national treasure in game show host Bob Barker. Happy shows that success in sport is a matter of ability, not class, and shows up the establishment in the most hilarious way possible. Happy Gilmore created a comedy dynasty for its star, and remains a bona fide classic.

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Cinema’s Sporting Hall Of Fame: The Movie Athletes Who Won Our Hearts.
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Paul Ashworth (Fever Pitch, 1995) – We’ve all seen recently how sport is nothing without the fans, so it’s only right to celebrate one of cinema’s most devoted supporters. Colin Firth starred in this adaptation of Nick Hornby’s book, based on his own life as a follower of Arsenal Football Club. Set during the amazing 1989 season, where the team would chase the championship right down to the last minute of the last game, it charts the lengths some go to in order to follow their dreams, and what their loved ones occasionally have to put up with!

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Cinema’s Sporting Hall Of Fame: The Movie Athletes Who Won Our Hearts.
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William Gates and Arthur Agee (Hoop Dreams, 1994) – In American sports, the margin between fortune and obscurity is paper thin. That line is explored in perhaps one of the greatest American documentaries ever made, following two would-be NBA players as they ascend to the heights of the high school system with hopes of going pro. A study of race, class and family, it’s a captivating journey shot over five years that charts the highs and lows of the two young men. Their path is typified in one moment where Gates muses, “People always say to me, ‘When you get to the NBA, don’t forget about me.’ Well, I should’ve said back, ‘If I don’t make it to the NBA, don’t you forget about me’.”

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Cinema’s Sporting Hall Of Fame: The Movie Athletes Who Won Our Hearts.
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Maggie Fitzgerald (Million Dollar Baby, 2004) – Given its suitability for epic storylines, it’s no surprise that boxing is the most explored sport in cinema, but even among our prestigious inductees Million Dollar Baby stands out. Hilary Swank won a Best Actress Oscar for playing Maggie Fitzgerald, the determined amateur boxer who wins over grizzled veteran coach Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood). While less uplifting than a lot of sports movies, Maggie’s gritty resilience to rise above what life has given her makes for compelling viewing, and her bond with Eastwood’s old timer warms the heart. Swank’s Oscar, combined with the 2005 Best Picture award, put it one prize ahead of Rocky, which won Best Picture but gave nothing to Stallone.

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Cinema’s Sporting Hall Of Fame: The Movie Athletes Who Won Our Hearts.
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Santiago Muñez (Goal! Trilogy, 2005-2009) – Many of the best-loved sports movies are based in America, but occasionally a star rises on the European stage as well. The Goal! trilogy was an internationally funded attempt to bring to the silver screen the glamorous world of football, seen through the eyes of Santiago Muñez (Kuno Becker). Over three films, he goes from an impoverished Mexican immigrant living in Los Angeles, to a celebrated football star playing in England and Spain, before representing his country at the World Cup. While Goal! wasn’t quite the global hit its creators intended, Muñez lived the hopes and dreams of many a football fan, going from obscurity to world stardom in a series of thrilling moments that showcase the best of The Beautiful Game.

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Cinema’s Sporting Hall Of Fame: The Movie Athletes Who Won Our Hearts.
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Jamaica’s Bobsled Team (Cool Runnings, 1993) – Disney’s hit stands directly on the line between truth and fiction. It is indeed inspired by the Jamaican Bobsleigh Team’s debut at the 1988 Winter Olympics, but the characters are all fictional, as is much of the plot beyond the basic facts of their participation. Regardless of historical accuracy, the spirit and determination of the sprinters-turned-bobsleigh-team qualifies them for a place in our Hall of Fame, overcoming outside scorn and inner doubts to make an indelible mark on the world stage, and establish themselves as equals. The details may have been changed, but the passion remained the same.

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Cinema’s Sporting Hall Of Fame: The Movie Athletes Who Won Our Hearts.
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Daniel LaRusso (The Karate Kid, 1984) – An ‘80s underdog story for the ages, the 2010 remake with Jaden Smith was a hit, but there’s no eclipsing the martial-arts-themed original. Ralph Macchio plays Daniel, a meek young man taken in by the enigmatic Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) and taught the art of karate. The climactic tournament is everything a sports movie should be, beating our hero down into a pit of despair before fighting his way back to victory. Anyone over a certain age has definitely tried the infamous ‘crane kick’ in the school playground!

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Cinema’s Sporting Hall Of Fame: The Movie Athletes Who Won Our Hearts.
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The Mighty Ducks (The Mighty Ducks, 1992) – While they may be the youngest entrants, Pee-Wee Ice Hockey team The Mighty Ducks are perhaps the only fictional entrants to have a tangible effect on real-life sport. Emilio Estevez plays a lawyer ‘sentenced’ to coach a misfit team as part of his community service, only to whip them into shape as the ultimate underdogs-turned-champions on the ice. Hockey has inspired a number of great movies, but how many can say they inspired an actual team?? The NHL franchise The Anaheim Ducks were formed in 1993 by Disney, motivated by the success of the movie.

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Cinema’s Sporting Hall Of Fame: The Movie Athletes Who Won Our Hearts.
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Jake LaMotta (Raging Bull, 1980) – Many of the people on this list are success stories, but in many ways LaMotta is a great sporting tragedy. A gifted boxer beaten down by time and his own demons, Martin Scorsese paints a portrait of a hero’s fall in the gritty, blood-spattered antithesis of the hopeful Rocky. Even more incredible is that the real LaMotta advised on the movie, overseeing the film that would portray him in a less than favourable light. When he asked his ex-wife Vickie if he really is the way he’s portrayed, she replied, “You were worse”. Nevertheless, the dark fairy tale that resulted in that collaboration is a landmark in the sports movie genre.

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Cinema’s Sporting Hall Of Fame: The Movie Athletes Who Won Our Hearts.
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Rodney Tidwell (Jerry Maguire, 1996) – One of the greatest things about sports in general is its ability to bring about redemption. In Jerry Maguire, the personal redemption of a sports agent (Tom Cruise) helps the professional redemption of discontent NFL player Rodney Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.). A passionate player with a philosophical nature but an abrasive reputation in the media, Tidwell fights for his family and himself. This culminates in a vital catch that not only secures victory for his team, but security for the rest of his career. Oh, and he has one of the best catchphrases ever uttered during the glorious “show me the money!” scene.

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Cinema’s Sporting Hall Of Fame: The Movie Athletes Who Won Our Hearts.
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Rockford Peaches (A League of Their Own, 1992) – Another fictional team inspired by real life. Geena Davis’s Dottie Hinson, Tom Hanks’s Jimmy Dugan and their teammates were not real, but they scored a home run at the box office all the same, telling the story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which ran while the male league shut down for World War II. A funny, moving story of a team coming together to achieve greatness, the film is a cherished tribute to the players who inspired it, and whose factual exploits are told in a documentary of the same name.

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Cinema’s Sporting Hall Of Fame: The Movie Athletes Who Won Our Hearts.
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Ayrton Senna (Senna, 2010) – How do you capture genius? You let it speak for itself. Asif Kapadia (Amy) used archive footage to show the rise and untimely demise of Ayrton Senna, arguably the most naturally gifted driver to ever compete in Formula 1. While it is a documentary, the film has everything: a villain in Senna’s rival Alain Prost, Senna’s struggle with the governing bodies to make the sport safer, and the events that led to his tragic death on the track, aged just 34. Senna behind the wheel is a first pick in any Hall of Fame, and the same applies on the big screen.

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Cinema’s Sporting Hall Of Fame: The Movie Athletes Who Won Our Hearts.
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Tony D’Amato (Any Given Sunday, 1999) – We end with one of the great Hollywood coaches, played by one of the industry’s finest. Al Pacino’s career is filled with incredible performances, but one of the more notable was as Miami Sharks coach Tony D’Amato in Oliver Stone’s examination of the American football industry. Having to negotiate ruthless owners off the field and big egos on it, the character will be perhaps best known for the rousing speech he delivers toward the end of the movie, encouraging his players to “climb out of hell, one inch at a time.” The speech has stood as one of the most powerful in Pacino’s career, and in movie history.

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Cinema’s Sporting Hall Of Fame: The Movie Athletes Who Won Our Hearts

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