30 for 30
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
Episodes
30 episodes. Playback and audio depend on the available source.
0151 minS1:E1 King's Ransom
The 1988 trade of Wayne Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings and the effect it had on Gretzky, the fans in Edmonton, and the popularity of hockey in Southern California.
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0253 minS1:E2 The Band That Wouldn't Die
A profile of Baltimore's love affair with football and the Colts, focusing on the Colts Marching Band. After the Colts decamped for Indianapolis in 1984, the band stayed behind to help promote the eventual return of the NFL to the city.
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0351 minS1:E3 Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL?
Fresh interviews and archival footage track the life and demise of the United States Football League in the mid-1980s. A highlight is Tollin's interview with Donald Trump, the former New Jersey Generals owner whose post-interview comments on the league give this documentary its title.
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0452 minS1:E4 Muhammad and Larry
A look at the October 1980 Muhammad Ali–Larry Holmes fight and its impact on both fighters, featuring fresh interviews with participants and previously unseen lead-up footage from both fighters' camps.
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0551 minS1:E5 Without Bias
The death of Len Bias from a cocaine-induced heart attack, two days after Boston selected him as the second overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft, and its impact on casual drug use, especially by the sports community.
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0651 minS1:E6 The Legend of Jimmy the Greek
The life of Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder, from his career as a Las Vegas bookmaker to his tenure on The NFL Today, from which he was fired in 1988.
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07102 minS1:E7 The U
The racial and cultural evolution of Miami during the 1980s as represented within the University of Miami football team.
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0869 minS1:E8 Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. the New York Knicks
The impact of Indiana Pacer Reggie Miller on the New York Knicks in the 1990s, specifically focusing on the Pacers/Knicks battles in the 1994 and 1995 NBA Playoffs and on Miller's interaction with Knicks fan Spike Lee.
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0952 minS1:E9 Guru of Go
A profile of Paul Westhead's coaching tenure at Loyola Marymount University (1985–1990), where his Lions' team was known for its high-scoring run-and-gun offense, use of talented players such as Bo Kimble and Hank Gathers, and a pall cast by Gathers's on-court death in 1990.
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1081 minS1:E10 No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson
The 1993 trial of Hampton, Virginia, high school athlete Allen Iverson, convicted for his role in a racially tinged melee, and its impact on both the community and on Iverson's life.
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1151 minS1:E11 Silly Little Game
Meeting at New York City's La Rotisserie Francaise restaurant in 1980, a group of writers and academics develop Rotisserie Fantasy baseball, only to see it take off in popularity and leave them behind.
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1252 minS1:E12 Run Ricky Run
A profile of Ricky Williams focuses on his brief 2004 departure from the NFL, when he sought self-redemption amidst media criticism and fresh rumors of marijuana use.
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1352 minS1:E13 The 16th Man
How hosting (and winning) the 1995 Rugby World Cup, combined with Nelson Mandela's support of the Springboks national team, affected post-apartheid South Africa.
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1451 minS1:E14 Straight Outta L.A.
The relationship between the Raiders and the minority fan base in Los Angeles during the team's 13 seasons in L.A.
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1551 minS1:E15 June 17, 1994
Quick-cut archival footage captures the various US sporting events on the day in question and the emotions they generated, including the opening of the World Cup soccer tournament, the Knicks/Rockets NBA Finals, Arnold Palmer's last round in the U.S. Open, and the New York Rangers' Stanley Cup victory celebration. One event, however, overshadows them all: O. J. Simpson's run from the police.
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16103 minS1:E16 The Two Escobars
The lives of soccer player Andrés Escobar and drug lord Pablo Escobar; the intertwining of crime and soccer in their native Colombia; and the connections between the deaths of both men. (2 hours in length)
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1751 minS1:E17 The Birth of Big Air
The life of Mat Hoffman and his 25-year career of advancing, in creative and promotional avenues, BMX riding.
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1851 minS1:E18 Jordan Rides the Bus
Motivated by the dream his late father had for him, Michael Jordan retires from basketball and has a brief career in minor league baseball.
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1950 minS1:E19 Little Big Men
A look at the Kirkland National Little League team's success at the 1982 Little League World Series, examining why their title win is considered one of the biggest upsets in the event's history.
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2053 minS1:E20 One Night in Vegas
The friendship of boxer Mike Tyson and rapper Tupac Shakur and the night of September 7, 1996, when Shakur was murdered after attending the Tyson-Bruce Seldon fight in Las Vegas.
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2152 minS1:E21 Unmatched
A look at the rivalry and friendship between tennis legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.
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2251 minS1:E22 The House of Steinbrenner
The legacy of George Steinbrenner's ownership of the New York Yankees.
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2351 minS1:E23 Into the Wind
Terry Fox's attempt to run 5,373 kilometres (3,339 mi) across Canada in support of fundraising for cancer research captures the attention of his fellow Canadians and the world.
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2451 minS1:E24 Four Days In October
The remarkable comeback of the Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees in the 2004 ALCS.
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2580 minS1:E25 Once Brothers
The story of Croatian Dražen Petrović and Serbian Vlade Divac, NBA players and Yugoslavian national teammates, and how upheaval in their homeland adversely and irretrievably affected their friendship. (90 minutes in length)
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2651 minS1:E26 Tim Richmond: To the Limit
The career of NASCAR driver Tim Richmond, his flamboyant lifestyle, and his 1989 death from AIDS.
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2751 minS1:E27 Fernando Nation
The euphoria created by Fernando Valenzuela's 1981 arrival with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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2851 minS1:E28 Marion Jones: Press Pause
The successful track and field career of Marion Jones, her 2007 admission of performance-enhancing drug use, and subsequent prison sentence.
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29101 minS1:E29 The Best that Never Was
The 1981 recruiting of high school football player Marcus Dupree by multiple big-time college programs, his resulting injury-prone college and professional career, and how his pursuit by college and USFL teams changed the recruiting process. (2 hours in length)
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30102 minS1:E30 Pony Excess
The rise, fall, and rebirth of the SMU Mustangs football program, which received a 1-year "death penalty" for major infractions after former SMU player David Stanley blew the whistle on the long-suspected program. Patrick Duffy, known for starring in TV's Dallas at the time of the scandal, narrates. (2 hours in length)
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