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The 25 best ‘30 for 30’ documentaries streaming on ESPN Plus
‘O.J.: Made in America’
Ezra Edelman’s epic 2016 Oscar-winning miniseries ostensibly is about the rise and fall of O.J. Simpson. But rather than simply retrace a familiar narrative, Edelman delivers a forceful meditation on race, class and celebrity in America that’s both entertaining and eye-opening.
‘Hillsborough’
More than 90 fans were trampled to death and nearly 800 injured during a Liverpool-Nottingham Forest FA Cup semifinal match on April 15, 1989, at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England. Daniel Gordon’s 2014 film pushes past the party line blaming the tragedy on hooliganism to expose how negligence, mismanaged crowd control and poor stadium design made the human toll virtually inevitable. People place their hands on the Hillsborough memorial outside Liverpool's Saint George's Hall as people pay their respects on the 30th anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy on April 15, 2019 in Liverpool, England.
‘June 17, 1994’
Using nothing but archival materials, Brett Morgen offers a verite look back at this seminal Friday almost 26 years ago. The day is remembered for the slow-speed police pursuit and eventual arrest of O.J. Simpson. But the surreal chase of the onetime athlete, actor and TV analyst was just one of many sports threads that day. Morgen’s 2010 documentary toggles between the World Cup’s opening ceremony in Chicago, the end of Arnold Palmer’s U.S. Open career, a Stanley Cup parade in New York, the NBA Finals and more. Motorists wave as police cars pursue the Ford Bronco (white, right) driven by Al Cowlings, carrying fugitive murder suspect O.J. Simpson, on a 90-minute slow-speed car chase June 17, 1994 on the 405 freeway in Los Angeles, Calif.
‘Elway to Marino’
Six quarterbacks were selected in the first round of the 1983 NFL draft. Hall of Famer John Elway was first overall. The sixth, Hall of Famer Dan Marino, was selected with the 27th and penultimate pick. But it’s all the drama in between Ken Rodgers seizes upon in his 2013 retelling. Dan Marino, Tom Brady, Joe Montana, Peyton Manning, Roger Staubach, Brett Favre and John Elway of the NLF 100 All-Time Team are honored on the field prior to Super Bowl LIV between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs at Hard Rock Stadium on Feb. 2, 2020 in Miami, Fla.
‘Once Brothers’
Vlade Divac and Drazen Petrovic — a Serb and Croat, respectively — were rival NBA players. They once had been great friends, teammates on the Yugoslavian national team. But war in their homeland drove a wedge between them. Petrovic’s 1993 death in a car accident left Divac with grief and regret. Michael Tolajian’s 2010 documentary captures all of it. Former Sacramento Kings center Divac, left, stands with Kings majority owner Vivek Ranadive after being introduced to the crowd at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, Calif., on March 21, 2014.
‘No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson’
Steve James, best known for “Hoop Dreams,” lends a personal perspective to this 2010 story of how Allen Iverson’s basketball future nearly was derailed by an assault charge while he was a high school student in Hampton, Va., where both Iverson and James grew up. It’s an examination of racial perspectives, how difficult it is to shake a reputation once someone has been tagged and so much more. Iverson meets with the media on Friday, April 8, 2016, in Philadelphia. Iverson was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on April 4.
‘Venus Vs.’
Ava DuVernay delivered this 2013 piece on tennis star Venus Williams that was part of ESPN’s “Nine for IX” series celebrating the 1972 enactment of Title IX equal opportunity in education legislation. Like “No Crossover,” it pairs a filmmaker and athlete who grew up in the same community (Compton, Calif., in this case). “Venus Vs.” isn’t just about Williams’ play but the rise of female athletes and her role in the fight for pay equity. Williams returns a shot to Simona Halep, of Romania, during their match at the Miami Open tennis tournament on March 25, 2019, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
‘The U’
Billy Corben, who’s from Miami, recalls the 1980s and ‘90s “Miami Vice”-era rogue heyday of the University of Miami football program in this 2009 film. Rules and laws are afterthoughts. You also might enjoy Corben’s 2014 “The U Part 2” and Patrick Creadon’s 2016 “Catholics vs. Convicts,” which recalls Miami’s 1988 game against Notre Dame. Donna Shalala, president of the University of Miami, talks about the Hurricanes move from the Orange Bowl to Dolphin Stadium beginning with the 2008 football season in Miami, Florida, Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2007.
‘Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. the New York Knicks’
It’s the Pacers’ Reggie Miller versus the mid-1990s Knicks, but it’s also Miller versus Knicks superfan Spike Lee in this 2010 documentary from Dan Klores about how a player can get under the skin of a franchise and everyone close to it. Indiana Pacers' Reggie Miller gets a pass past New York Knicks' Frank Williams during their game at Conseco Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis, Ind., on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2003.
‘Catching Hell’
A lot of people were upset upon hearing Alex Gibney was dredging up the story of the 2003 Cubs collapse and fan Steve Bartman. What they didn’t know was Gibney’s finished product, largely a discussion of societal scapegoating, would be both sympathetic and exonerating when it came to the guy who no doubt once thought himself lucky to have first-row seats for a playoff game at Wrigley Field. Cubs fan Steve Bartman, who interfered with a Moises Alou catch in the eighth inning of game six of the NLCS, sits in the stands on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2003.
‘Let Them Wear Towels’
Neanderthals such as Hall of Fame MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn and former Cubs slugger Dave Kingman are rightly hung out to dry for their opposition to allowing credentialed reporters to do their job, regardless of gender. Documentary makers Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg leave no uncertainty about who’s truly heroic. It’s Claire Smith, Lesley Visser, Christine Brennan, Jane Gross, Melissa Ludtke, Michele Himmelberg, Robin Herman, Lisa Olson and other female sports writers who pushed doors open and stood their ground. Visser speaks onstage during the Women's Sports Foundation's "Billie Awards," held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on April 15, 2008 in Beverly Hills, Calif.
‘The Best That Never Was’
Marcus Dupree’s trajectory from hotly pursued high school star to someone whose name might be vaguely familiar at best is a 2010 cautionary tale that Jonathan Hock tells with great empathy. Running back Marcus Dupree of the Oklahoma Sooners carries the football during the Sooners' 32-21 loss to the Arizona State Sun Devils in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, 1983 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.
‘Pony Excess’
Thaddeus D. Matula looks back at the Southern Methodist University football scandal that introduced the term “death penalty” to NCAA rule enforcement vernacular. Former Southern Methodist running back Eric Dickerson, a member of the SMU Pony Express backfield, runs off the field after the coin toss before the first half as SMU plays host to Tulsa at Ford Stadium in Dallas on Friday, Oct. 27, 2017.
‘The Two Escobars’
Jeff and Michael Zimbalist tie a pair of ill-fated Colombians named Escobar — soccer player Andres Escobar and drug lord Pablo Escobar — in a commentary on cultures going off the rails. Andres Escobar, center, of Colombia reacts after scoring an own goal during the World Cup group A match between USA and Colombia on June 22, 1994 in Los Angeles, Calif.
‘You Don’t Know Bo’
If you have forgotten just how great former two-sport (and onetime White Sox) star Bo Jackson was and is, Michael Bonfiglio reminds you quite vividly. Jackson is announced as the 1993 American League West Division Championship White Sox team is honored before a game against the Kansas City Royals at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago on Saturday, July 14, 2018. The Royals won, 5-0.
‘Without Bias’
The shocking, sudden death of University of Maryland standout Len Bias from a cocaine-induced heart attack days after he was the second pick in the 1986 NBA draft is recalled along the shock waves it set off. (If you like this, check out “Benji” about the 1984 murder of Chicago high school star Ben Wilson.) Dick Dull, Universtiy of Maryland athletic director, at the Len Bias press conference on June 19, 1986.
‘Jordan Rides the Bus’
Ron Shelton, who’s responsible for beloved sports films such as “Bull Durham” and “Tin Cup,” digs into Michael Jordan’s minor-league quest to become a baseball player. He comes away suggesting Jordan eventually might have made it work under different circumstances. Jordan warms up on Feb. 15, 1994 in Saratosa, Fla., before his first spring training workout with the Chicago White Sox.
‘Unmatched’
The rivalry and friendship of tennis greats Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert is the focus of this work from Lisa Lax and Nancy Stern Winters with Hannah Storm. Navratilova of the United States returns a shot during doubles quarterfinals action in the 2004 Olympic Games on Thursday, Aug. 19, 2004.
‘Of Miracles and Men’
There have been plenty of retellings of Team USA’s improbable hockey gold medal at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. Jonathan Hock’s version is from the perspective of the Soviets they upset. Team USA celebrates their 4-3 victory over the Soviet Union in the semi-final Men's Ice Hockey event at the Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, New York on February 22, 1980. The game was dubbed "the Miracle on Ice." The USA went on to win the gold medal by defeating Finland 4-2 in the gold medal game.
‘Survive and Advance’
This Jonathan Hock effort recalls another improbable title run, the late Jimmy Valvano’s North Carolina State Wolfpack winning the 1983 NCAA men’s basketball championship. Valvano celebrates with his team after the Wolfpack defeated Houston, 54-52, to win the NCAA Tournament championship at University Arena in Albuquerque, N.M., on April 4, 1983.
‘Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL?’
Mike Tollin’s 2009 search for why the USFL failed as an alternative to the NFL eventually zeroes in on an ill-considered attempt to move its season from spring to fall, as advocated by a team owner named Donald Trump. A fair criticism? Watch and decide. Doug Williams as a member of the USFL Oklahoma Outlaws on May 15, 1984.
‘The ’99ers’
A high point in “Let Them Wear Towels” comes when female sports writers converge on the packed Rose Bowl to cover the 1999 Women’s World Cup soccer championship. Erin Leyden looks back at the U.S. team that took the gold and what it represented in the ongoing fight to advance women’s sports. U.S. National Team goalie Briana Scurry blocks a shot by China's Liu Ying in a shoot out that decided the final of the Women's World Cup.
‘Celtics/Lakers: Best of Enemies’
The decades-long Boston-Los Angeles rivalry is an oft-told story, but Jim Podhoretz doesn’t just make clear it’s a major piece of NBA history. He ensures it’s entertaining. NBA greats Magic Johnson, right, and Larry Bird take part in pre-game ceremonies before the 2009 NCAA men's basketball championship between Michigan State and North Carolina at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich., Monday, April 6, 2009.
‘The Price of Gold’
Nanette Burstein recalls the 1994 Olympic figure skating shenanigans involving Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding, an irresistible tale both then and now and probably forever. Harding at the Los Angeles Premiere of Neon and 30 West's "I, Tonya" at the Egyptian Theater on December 5, 2017 in Los Angeles, California
‘Bad Boys’
The sharp-elbowed Pistons of the late 1980s and early ‘90s get their due from Zak Levitt. Former Detroit Pistons guard Isiah Thomas speaks during a halftime tribute in his honor as the Pistons play host to the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017, at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Mich.
