Watch 30 for 30 (2009) Online!
30 for 30 is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This currently includes four "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series under the ESPN Films Presents title in 2011–2012, and a series of 30 for 30 Shorts shown through the ESPN.com website. The series has also expanded to include Soccer Stories, which aired in advance of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and audio podcasts. This entry refers to the main Volumes of the series presented by ESPN
- Bill Simmons
- John Dahl
- Connor Schell
Stars:
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Episode 1 - Trojan War
Release Date: 2015-10-13A profile of the rise and fall of USC Trojans football during Pete Carroll's coaching tenure in the 2000s.
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Episode 2 - The Prince of Pennsylvania
Release Date: 2015-10-20An exploration of the turbulent relationship between Olympic wrestling brothers Mark and Dave Schultz and their eccentric benefactor, John du Pont, culminating in the murder of Dave by du Pont.
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Episode 3 - The Gospel According to Mac
Release Date: 2015-11-03A look at how Bill McCartney mixed two religions—college football and evangelical Christianity—while serving as head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes in the 1990s, a tenure that included a national cha... more
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Episode 4 - Chasing Tyson
Release Date: 2015-11-10A look at how Evander Holyfield spent years (1989–91 & 1995–96) trying to arrange his first fight with Mike Tyson in an effort to gain the respect he knew he could only gain by defeating Tyson in ... more
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Episode 5 - Four Falls Of Buffalo
Release Date: 2015-12-12A profile of the Buffalo Bills teams of the early 1990s, when the franchise became the first team to play in—and lose—four consecutive Super Bowls.
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Episode 6 - The '85 Bears
Release Date: 2016-02-04A 30-year retrospective on the 1985 Chicago Bears, from how they were assembled to their swaggering, dominant run to Super Bowl victory.
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Episode 7 - Fantastic Lies
Release Date: 2016-03-13A 10-year retrospective of the Duke lacrosse case, in which a party thrown by members of the school's men's lacrosse team led to an accusation of rape—a claim that, though later proven to be false, ig... more
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Episode 8 - This Magic Moment
Release Date: 2016-04-14A profile of the Orlando Magic teams of the mid-1990s, led by Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway, who gained prominence both on the NBA hardwoods and in popular culture, before Shaq's departure to th... more
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Episode 9 - Believeland
Release Date: 2016-05-14A look at the sports curse that befell Cleveland since the NFL's Browns last brought a major pro sports championship to the Ohio city in 1964. The film debuted one month before LeBron James and the Ca... more
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Episode 10 - Doc & Darryl
Release Date: 2016-07-14The connection between the lives and careers of former New York Mets Dwight "Doc" Gooden and Darryl Strawberry.
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Episode 11 - Phi Slama Jama
Release Date: 2016-10-18A profile of the iconic Houston Cougars men's basketball teams of the 1980s, fronted by Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, whose explosive play and highlight-making slam dunks earned the team the nick... more
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Episode 12 - Hit It Hard
Release Date: 2016-11-01A look at John Daly's rise from obscurity to two major golf championship wins and fall back to mediocrity.
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Episode 13 - Catholics Vs Convicts
Release Date: 2016-12-10A look at the notorious 1988 Notre Dame–Miami football game and its personal and cultural impact. Creadon was a senior at Notre Dame when the game took place; his roommate that year was one of the peo... more
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Episode 14 - This Was the XFL
Release Date: 2017-02-02Two longtime friends, pro wrestling impresario Vince McMahon and NBC Sports president Dick Ebersol (Charlie Ebersol's father), team to form the XFL; the film follows the league's rushed development, i... more
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Episode 15 - One and Not Done
Release Date: 2017-04-13The life and career of John Calipari, one of the most polarizing figures in modern college basketball, weaving his story around that of his 2015–16 Kentucky team.
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Episode 16 - Celtics/Lakers: Best of Enemies - Part 1
Release Date: 2017-06-11A three-part series, initially airing on consecutive nights, exploring the Celtics–Lakers rivalry, focusing mainly on the 1980s era of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson but also examining the entire histor... more
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Episode 17 - Celtics/Lakers: Best of Enemies - Part 2
Release Date: 2017-06-13The Celtics-Lakers rivalry ramps up in the 1984 Finals as a cast of characters–led by Larry Bird and Magic Johnson–who changed the NBA finally went head-to-head for a title. Directed by Jim Podhoretz ... more
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Episode 18 - Celtics/Lakers: Best of Enemies - Part 3
Release Date: 2017-06-14Conclusion of a look at the 1980s Celtics-Lakers rivalry, focusing on the three years after the 1984 NBA Finals, as the teams’ disdain for each other gradually turns to respect while meeting in two mo... more
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Episode 19 - Mike and the Mad Dog
Release Date: 2017-07-13The careers of Mike Francesa and Chris Russo, their stormy 19-year partnership on New York City radio; and the duo's influence on their Big Apple audience and sports talk radio in general.
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Episode 20 - George Best: All by Himself
Release Date: 2017-07-20George Best, Northern Ireland's legendary star, remains one of the most naturally gifted soccer players ever. Best's skill and exuberance lifted Manchester United, but his career was essentially over ... more
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Episode 21 - What Carter Lost
Release Date: 2017-08-26In any other year, the 1988 team from Dallas's Carter High School would have gone down as one of the greatest in Texas football history, featuring 28 players who received college scholarship offers, e... more
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Episode 22 - Year of the Scab
Release Date: 2017-09-12During the 1987 players' strike, the Washington Redskins field a roster of replacement players that goes 3–0 and helps pave the way for the Redskins' Super Bowl victory. Thirty years on, those players... more
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Episode 23 - Tommy
Release Date: 2017-09-13The unlikely rise and sudden fall of boxer Tommy Morrison.
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Episode 24 - Nature Boy
Release Date: 2017-11-07The life and times of professional wrestling legend Ric Flair.
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Episode 25 - The Two Bills
Release Date: 2018-02-01A look at the relationship between NFL coaches Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick. Co-produced with NFL Films.
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Episode 26 - The Last Days of Knight
Release Date: 2018-04-12The saga surrounding Indiana University firing coach Bob Knight in 2000.
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Episode 27 - Seau
Release Date: 2018-09-20The life of NFL legend Junior Seau, from his upbringing in a Samoan immigrant family, through his path to NFL superstardom and status as a league icon, ending in his seemingly inexplicable suicide in ... more
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Episode 28 - 42 to 1
Release Date: 2018-12-11A chronicle of Buster Douglas's shocking knockout of the then-undefeated Mike Tyson at the Tokyo Dome on February 11, 1990.
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Episode 29 - Deion's Double Play
Release Date: 2019-01-31A look at Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, focusing specifically on a 24-hour span in 1992 when he sandwiched an NFL game between a pair of Major League Baseball postseason games in cities se... more
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Episode 30 - The Dominican Dream
Release Date: 2019-04-30The highs and lows of Felipe López, born into a family of Dominican immigrants to become a star high school and (at St. John's) collegiate basketball player, and the contentment he finds after a less-... more
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Episode 31 - Qualified
Release Date: 2019-05-28How Janet Guthrie faced scorn, skepticism, and subpar equipment to shock the racing world by becoming the first female driver to qualify for the Indianapolis 500.
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Episode 32 - The Good, The Bad, The Hungry
Release Date: 2019-07-02A look at one of the biggest rivalries in sports, that of competitive eaters Takeru Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut.