List of films based on sports books explained

On occasion, sports books have been used as source material for film adaptations. Popular sports in the United States such as baseball and American football have been adapted to film. Books about sports such as boxing, bullfighting, cockfighting, football, hockey, hunting have also been adapted.

Baseball

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
Death on the Diamond 1934 Edward SedgwickUSA 1934 Novel
The Babe Ruth Story 1948 Roy Del RuthUSA The Babe Ruth Story1948 Autobiography
Bang the Drum Slowly * 1956 ? USA Bang the Drum Slowly1956 Novel
Fear Strikes Out 1957 Robert MulliganUSA 1955 Autobiography
Bang the Drum Slowly 1973 John D. HancockUSA Bang the Drum Slowly1956 Novel
It's Good to Be Alive 1974 Michael LandonUSA It's Good to Be Alive1960 Autobiography
The Natural 1984 Barry LevinsonUSA The Natural1952 Novel
Long Gone 1987 USA Long Gone (novel) 1979 Novel
Eight Men Out 1988 John SaylesUSA 8 Men Out1963 Non-fiction
Field of Dreams 1989 Phil Alden RobinsonUSA Shoeless Joe1982 Novel
Cobb 1994 Ron SheltonUSA 1994 Non-fiction
The Fan 1996 Tony ScottUSA The Fan1995 Novel
For Love of the Game 1999 Sam RaimiUSA For Love of the Game1991 Novel
American Pastime 2007 Desmond NakanoUSA Through a Diamond: 100 Years of Japanese American Baseball (uncredited) Kerry Yo Nakagawa[1] (uncredited) 2002 Non-fiction
Moneyball 2011 Bennett MillerUSA 2003 Non-fiction

Comedies

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
Rhubarb 1951 Arthur LubinUSA Rhubarb1946 Novel
Fever Pitch 2005 Farrelly BrothersUSA Fever Pitch ♠[2] 1992 Memoir

Basketball

Boxing

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
City for Conquest 1940 Anatole Litvak & Jean Negulesco (uncredited)USA City for Conquest1936 Novel
Gentleman Jim 1942 Raoul WalshUSA The Roar of the Crowd1894 Autobiography
Fat City 1972 John HustonUSA Fat City 1969 Novel
Mandingo 1975 Richard FleischerUSA Mandingo 1957 Novel
Raging Bull[3] 1980 Martin ScorseseUSA Jake LaMotta & Joseph Carter 1970 Autobiography
The Hurricane 1999 Norman JewisonUSA The 16th Round199? Non-fiction

Bullfighting

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
Ferdinand the Bull 1938 USA The Story of Ferdinand 1936 Children's Book
Sangre y arena 1917 Ricardo de Baños & Vicente Blasco IbáñezSangre y arena 1909 Novel
Blood and Sand 1922 USA Sangre y arena 1909 Novel

Running of the Bulls

Buzkashi

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
The Devil's Pass La Passe du diable 1958 1956 ?
The Horsemen 1971 USA Les Cavaliers 1967 Novel
Caravans 1978 Caravans 1962 Novel

Car racing

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
The Last American Hero 1973 Lamont JohnsonUSA "The Last American Hero" from The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby 1965 Article
Bobby Deerfield 1977 Sydney PollackUSA Heaven Has No Favorites 1959 Novel
Blink of an Eye 2019 USA In the Blink of an Eye 2011 Autobiography

Comedies

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
The Love Bug 1968 Robert StevensonUSA Car, Boy, Girl 1961 Novel
Stroker Ace 1983 Hal NeedhamUSA Stand On It 1971 Novel

Cockfighting

(Popular and legal in Mexico)

Diving

Falconry

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
Kes 1969 Ken LoachUK A Kestrel for a Knave 1968 Novel
The Falcons Magasiskola 1970 István GaálMagasiskola 1967 Novel
The Hawk Is Dying 2006 Julian GoldbergerUSA The Hawk Is Dying 1973 Novel

Fencing

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
The Last Days of Patton ♠ * 1986 Delbert MannUSA The Last Days of Patton 1981 Non-fiction
The Fencing Master El maestro de esgrima 1992 Pedro OleaThe Fencing Master 1988 Novel

Fishing

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
A River Runs Through It 1992 Robert RedfordUSA A River Runs Through It and Other Stories[5] 1976 Novella
The Old Man and the Sea 1958 John SturgesUSA The Old Man and the Sea[6] Ernest Hemingway[7] 1952 Novella
The Old Man and the Sea * 1990 Jud TaylorUK The Old Man and the Sea 1952 Novella
The Old Man and the Sea Старик и море 1999 Aleksandr PetrovThe Old Man and the Sea 1952 Novella

Football/soccer

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
The Arsenal Stadium Mystery 1939 Thorold DickinsonUK The Arsenal Stadium Mystery 1939[8] Novel
Yesterday's Hero 1979 Neil LeiferUK ? 197? Novel
Fever Pitch 1997 David EvansUK Fever Pitch1992 Memoir
The Game of Their Lives 2005 David AnspaughUSA The Game of Their Lives1996[9] Non-fiction
The Damned United 2009 Tom HooperUK The Damned Utd2006 Novel
One Night in Turin 2010 James ErskineUK 2006 Non-fiction

Football, American

Professional, college, high school

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type TV Date Country
Navy Blue and Gold 1937 Sam WoodUSA Navy Blue and Gold1937? Novel ---
Jim Thorpe – All-American 1951 Michael CurtizUSA ?19?? Autobiography ---
Brian's Song 1971 Buzz KulikUSA I Am Third1970 Autobiography Brian's Song 2001 USA
North Dallas Forty 1979 Ted KotcheffUSA North Dallas Forty1973 Novel ---
1980 Robert LiebermanUSA 1975 Autobiography ---
Everybody's All-American 1988 Taylor HackfordUSA Everybody's All-American1981 Novel ---
Any Given Sunday 1999 Oliver StoneUSA On Any Given Sunday[10] (uncredited)Pat Toomay (uncredited) 1984 Novel ---
Monday Night Mayhem 2002 Ernest R. DickersonUSA 1988 Non-fiction ---
The Junction Boys * 2002 Mike RobeUSAThe Junction Boys 2001 Non-fiction ---
Friday Night Lights 2004 Peter BergUSA 1990 Non-fiction Friday Night Lights 2006 USA
Code Breakers * 2005 Rod HolcombUSAA Return to Glory: the Untold Story of Honor, Dishonor, and Triumph at the United States Military Academy, 1950-53 2000 Non-fiction ---
2008 Gary FlederUSA Ernie Davis, the Elmira Express: the Story of a Heisman Trophy Winner1983 Biography ---
The Blind Side 2009 John Lee HancockUSA 2006 Non-fiction ---
Radio 2003 Mike TollinUSA "Someone to Lean On" 1996 Article ---

Comedies

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
Horse Feathers 1932 Norman Z. McLeodUSA Fun in Hi Skule1920s Vaudeville
The Gladiator 1938 Edward SedgwickUSA Gladiator1930 Novel
Paper Lion 1968 Alex MarchUSA Paper Lion1966 Memoir
Semi-Tough 1977 Michael RitchieUSA Semi-Tough1972 Novel

Off the field

(Terrorism became a regular part of news reports in the early 1970s, and this theme was extended to popular fiction.)

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
Two-Minute Warning 1976 USA Two-Minute Warning 197? Novel
Black Sunday 1977 USA Black Sunday 1975 Novel

Football, Australian

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
The Great Macarthy 1975 David BakerAustralia A Salute to the Great Macarthy 1970 Novel
Australian Rules 2002 Paul GoldmanAustralia Deadly, Unna? 1998 Novel

Football, Canadian

Professional and university

Golf

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
Dead Solid Perfect * 1988 Bobby RothUSA Dead Solid Perfect1974 Novel
The Legend of Bagger Vance 2000 Robert RedfordUSA The Legend of Bagger Vance1995 Novel
A Gentleman's Game 2002 J. Mills GoodloeUSA A Gentleman's Game2001 Novel
The Greatest Game Ever Played 2005 Bill PaxtonUSA The Greatest Game Ever Played: Harry Vardon, Francis Ouimet, and the Birth of Modern Golf2002 Non-fiction
Tommy's Honour 2016 UK/USA Tommy's Honor: The Story of Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris, Golf's Founding Father and Son Kevin Cook 2007 Non-fiction

Ice hockey

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
Face-Off 1971 George McCowanCanada Face-Off1971[11] ¤ Novel
Net Worth * 1995 Jerry CiccorittiCanada Net Worth: Exploding the Myth of Pro Hockey 1991 Non-fiction
Breakfast with Scot 2007 Laurie LyndCanada Breakfast with Scot1999 Novel
Indian Horse 2017 Stephen CampanelliCanada Indian Horse2012 Novel

Horse racing

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
National Velvet[12] 1944 USA National Velvet1935 Novel
Dead Cert 1974 UK Dead Cert1962 Novel
International Velvet 1978 USA National Velvet1935 Novel
Champions 1983 UK Champion's Story 197? Autobiography
Let It Ride 1989 USA Good Vibes1979 Novel
Seabiscuit 2003 USA [13] 2001 Non-fiction
Secretariat 2010 USA Secretariat: The Making of a Champion (uncredited) 1975 Non-fiction

Overland

Hot air ballooning

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
Five Weeks in a Balloon 1962 USA Five Weeks in a Balloon, or, Journeys and Discoveries in Africa by Three Englishmen 1863 Novel
Flight of the Eagle Ingenjör Andrées luftfärd 1982 Ingenjör Andrées luftfärd 1967 Novel

Hunting

Fox hunting

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
The Voice of Bugle Ann 1936 USA The Voice of Bugle Ann 193? Novel
The Fox and the Hound 1981 USA The Fox and the Hound 1967 Novel

Game

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
The Last Hunt 1956 USA The Last Hunt 1954 Novel
Shalako 1968 USA Shalako 1962 Novel
White Hunter Black Heart 1990 USA White Hunter Black Heart ♠ 1953 Novel

Game birds

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
The Shooting Party 1985 UK The Shooting Party[14] 1980 Novel
My Father's Glory 1990 La Gloire de mon père & Le Temps des secrets 1957 & 1959 Novels/Memoirs
La Horse ♠ La Horse 1970 Pierre Granier-DeferreLa Horse 196? Novel

Lacrosse

(Lacrosse is the official national (summer) sport of Canada)

Marathon

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
The Marathon Runner Der Läufer von Marathon 1933 Ewald André DupontDer Läufer von Marathon : Ein Sportroman 1928[16] Novel
Stockholm Marathon 1994 Peter KeglevicThe Terrorists 1975 Novel

Mountaineering

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
Struggle for the Matterhorn 1928 Mario Bonnard & Nunzio MalasommaKampf ums Matterhorn 1928 Novel
The Mountain Calls 1938 Luis TrenkerKampf ums Matterhorn 1928 Novel
High Conquest 1947 Irving AllenUSA High Conquest 194? Novel
The White Tower 1950 Ted TetzlaffUSA The White Tower 1945 Novel
The Mountain 1956 Edward DmytrykUSA La Neige en deuil 1952 Novel
Third Man on the Mountain 1959 Ken AnnakinUSA Banner in the Sky[17] 1955 Novel
K2 1992 Franc RoddamUSA K21990 Novel/ Memoir
The Ascent 1994 Donald ShebibCanada & USA No Picnic on Mount Kenya: The Story of Three P.O.W.s' Escape to Adventure 1948 Memoir
* 1997 Robert MarkowitzInto Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster 1997 Memoir/ Non-fiction
Vertical Limit 2000 Martin CampbellUSA Vertical Limit 2000 Non-fiction
Everest '82 * aka Everest 2008 Graeme CampbellCanada Canadians on Everest: The Courageous Expedition of 1982 1990 Non-fiction

Polo

Rowing

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
True Blue 1996 Ferdinand FairfaxUK [18] 1989 Memoir/ Non-fiction
The Company ♠ * 2007 Mikael SalomonUSA The Company: A Novel of the CIA 2002 Novel
Three Men in a Boat 1956 Ken AnnakinUK Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) 1889 Novel
Three Men in a Boat * 1975 Stephen FrearsUK Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) 1889 Novel

Rugby union

Off the field

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
Supervivientes de los Andes 1976 René Cardona jr.Survive 1973 Non-fiction
Alive 1993 Frank MarshallUSA 1974 Non-fiction

Sailing

(Yachting)

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
The Deep (unfinished) 1970 Orson WellesUSA Dead Calm 1963 Novel
Dead Calm 1989 Phillip NoyceAustralia Dead Calm 1963 Novel
White Squall 1996 Ridley ScottUSA The Last Voyage of the Albatross 1962 Non-fiction
Two Came Back * 1997 Dick LowryUSA Albatross 199? Novel?/ Memoir
Mutiny ♠ 1925 F. Martin ThorntonUK ? 192? Novel

Skiing

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
Downhill Racer 1969 Michael RitchieUSA The Downhill Racers 1963 Novel
The Other Side of the Mountain 1975 Larry PeerceUSA A Long Way Up: the Story of Jill Kinmont 1966 Non-fiction
Crazy Canucks * 2004 Randy BradshawCanada White Circus[19] (uncredited) Ken Read & Matthew Fisher (uncredited) 1987 Novel

Stunt driving

Surfing

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
Gidget 1959 Paul WendkosUSA Gidget, The Little Girl With Big Ideas 1957 Novel
Blue Crush 2002 John Stockwell"Surf Girls of Maui" 200? Article
Soul Surfer 2010 Sean McNamaraUSA Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board 2004 Autobiography

Tennis

Historical sports

Chariot racing

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
Quo Vadis ♠ 1951 Mervyn LeRoyUSAQuo Vadis Henryk Sienkiewicz[21] 1895 Novel
Ben-Hur 1907 Sidney OlcottUSA 1880 Novel
Ben-Hur[22] 1925 Fred NibloUSA 1880 Novel
Ben-Hur[23] 1959 William WylerUSA 1880 Novel

Gladiatorial combat

Film Date Director Country Source work Author Date Type
Spartaco 1913 Giovanni Enrico VidaliItalySpartaco 1873
Spartacus 1960 Stanley KubrickUSASpartacus Howard Fast[24] 1951 Novel
The Sword in the Stone 1963 Wolfgang ReithermanUSA The Sword in the Stone 1938/1958 Novel
Spartacus (television miniseries) 2004 USA

See also

Pages with the same format

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Nakagawa is credited as associate producer and actor, rather than author.
  2. Recipient of the William Hill Award in 1992.
  3. Inducted into the US National Film Registry in 1990.
  4. In 1989, Willeford published Cockfighter Journal: The Story of a Shooting about the making of Cockfighter.
  5. Recommended for the Pulitzer Prize in 1977, but the award was overturned.
  6. Recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in 1953.
  7. Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.
  8. Publication details for this title have been confirmed by the catalogue of the British Library. Source: British Library Integrated Catalogue.
  9. Publication details for this title have been confirmed by the catalogue of the US Library of Congress. Source: Library of Congress Online Catalog.
  10. Source: Lavington (q.v.), p. 256.
  11. Publication details for this title have been confirmed by the catalogue of Library and Archives Canada. Source: Library Search.
  12. Inducted into the US National Film Registry in 2003.
  13. Recipient of the William Hill Award in 2001.
  14. Recipient of the WH Smith Literary Award in 1981.
  15. Source: plot description and still photos from VHS box.
  16. Publication details for this title have been confirmed by the catalogue of the German National Library. Source: Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek .
  17. Recipient of a Newbery Honor for 1955.
  18. Recipient of the William Hill Award in 1989.
  19. Source: Wikipedia article on Ken Read.
  20. Source: Wikipedia article on The Seven Percent Solution.
  21. Sienkiewicz was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1905.
  22. Inducted into the US National Film Registry in 1997.
  23. Inducted into the US National Film Registry in 2004.
  24. Fast was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize in 1953.

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