SportsCentury(1999)
Documentary
First Air Date: 1999-01-21
Average Runtime: 30m
Rating: 9.0
Votes: 1
Seasons: 5
Episodes: 123
SportsCentury is an ESPN biography program that reviews the people and athletic events that defined sports in North America throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. In 1999, ESPN counted down the Top 50 Athletes of the 20th Century, selected from North American athletes and voted on by a panel of sports journalists and observers, premiering a new biography highlighting each top athlete every week throughout the year. The episodes for the top two athletes, Michael Jordan and Babe Ruth, appeared on a special combined edition broadcast on Christmas Day on ABC. The top two names were announced in no particular order, and the final positioning was announced at the conclusion of the two episodes. An additional list of numbers 51-100 were announced on the ESPN SportsCentury website. Themed specials such as Greatest Games, Greatest Coaches, Greatest Dynasties, and Most Influential Individuals were premiered throughout the year, as well as six SportsCenter of the Decade programs. After the initial run was complete, the episodes were rerun at various times on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Classic. The original plan for the series was to expand to include #51-#100. Ultimately, the series featured nearly every athlete from #51-#100, and numerous other personalities, especially those who were recently deceased, or notable for more recent accomplishments.
Seasons & Episodes
Season 1
Episodes: 70E01
1900-49
Air Date: 1999-01-21
The SportsCentury begins with this two-hour reflection of the major sports events that endeared themselves to the Ame...
E02
No. 50 -- Chris Evert
Air Date: 1999-01-22
No episode overview available.
E03
No. 49 -- O.J. Simpson
Air Date: 1999-01-29
No episode overview available.
E04
No. 48 -- Pete Sampras
Air Date: 1999-02-05
No episode overview available.
E05
No. 47 -- Edwin Moses
Air Date: 1999-02-12
No episode overview available.
E06
No. 46 -- Eric Heiden
Air Date: 1999-02-19
No episode overview available.
E07
No. 45 -- Bill Tilden
Air Date: 1999-02-26
No episode overview available.
E08
SportsCenter of the Decade: 1950s
Air Date: 1999-03-09
No episode overview available.
E09
No. 44 -- Bobby Jones
Air Date: 1999-03-12
No episode overview available.
E10
No. 43 -- Julius Erving
Air Date: 1999-03-19
No episode overview available.
E11
No. 42 -- Sandy Koufax
Air Date: 1999-04-02
No episode overview available.
E12
No. 41 -- Wilma Rudolph
Air Date: 1999-04-09
No episode overview available.
E13
No. 40 -- Lawrence Taylor
Air Date: 1999-04-16
No episode overview available.
E14
No. 39 -- Walter Payton
Air Date: 1999-04-23
No episode overview available.
E15
No. 38 -- Ben Hogan
Air Date: 1999-04-30
No episode overview available.
E16
No. 37 -- Mickey Mantle
Air Date: 1999-05-07
No episode overview available.
E17
SportsCenter of the Decade: 1960s
Air Date: 1999-05-21
No episode overview available.
E18
No. 36 -- Oscar Robertson
Air Date: 1999-05-14
No episode overview available.
E19
The Greatest Coaches of the Century
Air Date: 1999-05-22
No episode overview available.
E20
No. 35 -- Secretariat
Air Date: 1999-05-21
No episode overview available.
E21
Most Influential People in Sports
Air Date: 1999-05-23
Counts down the ten non-athletes who left the greatest impact on the sports world in the 20th Century. Profiles incl...
E22
Greatest Dynasties
Air Date: 1999-05-30
The teams that dominated their sport–the New York Yankees, Boston Celtics, Montréal Canadiens, UCLA Bruins, Notre ...
E23
No. 34 -- Lou Gehrig
Air Date: 1999-05-28
No episode overview available.
E24
No. 33 -- Mark Spitz
Air Date: 1999-06-04
No episode overview available.
E25
Greatest Games
Air Date: 1999-06-05
No episode overview available.
E26
No. 32 -- Johnny Unitas
Air Date: 1999-06-11
No episode overview available.
E27
No. 31 -- Bobby Orr
Air Date: 1999-06-18
No episode overview available.
E28
No. 30 -- Larry Bird
Air Date: 1999-06-25
No episode overview available.
E29
SportsCenter of the Decade: 1970s
Air Date: 1999-07-09
No episode overview available.
E30
No. 29 -- Arnold Palmer
Air Date: 1999-07-02
No episode overview available.
E31
No. 28 -- Red Grange
Air Date: 1999-07-09
No episode overview available.
E32
No. 27 -- Jerry Rice
Air Date: 1999-07-16
No episode overview available.
E33
No. 26 -- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Air Date: 1999-07-23
No episode overview available.
E34
No. 25 -- Joe Montana
Air Date: 1999-07-30
No episode overview available.
E35
No. 24 -- Sugar Ray Robinson
Air Date: 1999-07-30
No episode overview available.
E36
No. 23 -- Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Air Date: 1999-08-06
No episode overview available.
E37
No. 22 -- Joe DiMaggio
Air Date: 1999-08-20
No episode overview available.
E38
SportsCenter of the Decade: 1980s
Air Date: 1999-09-17
No episode overview available.
E39
No. 21 -- Gordie Howe
Air Date: 1999-09-03
No episode overview available.
E40
No. 20 -- Ty Cobb
Air Date: 1999-09-17
No episode overview available.
E41
No. 19 -- Martina Navratilova
Air Date: 1999-09-24
No episode overview available.
E42
No. 18 -- Bill Russell
Air Date: 1999-10-01
No episode overview available.
E43
No. 17 -- Magic Johnson
Air Date: 1999-10-08
No episode overview available.
E44
No. 16 -- Ted Williams
Air Date: 1999-10-08
No episode overview available.
E45
No. 15 -- Jackie Robinson
Air Date: 1999-10-15
No episode overview available.
E46
No. 14 -- Hank Aaron
Air Date: 1999-10-29
No episode overview available.
E47
No. 13 -- Wilt Chamberlain
Air Date: 1999-10-29
No episode overview available.
E48
No. 12 -- Carl Lewis
Air Date: 1999-11-05
No episode overview available.
E49
No. 11 -- Joe Louis
Air Date: 1999-11-19
No episode overview available.
E50
No. 10 -- Babe Didrikson
Air Date: 1999-12-03
No episode overview available.
E51
No. 9 -- Jack Nicklaus
Air Date: 1999-12-03
No episode overview available.
E52
No. 8 -- Willie Mays
Air Date: 1999-12-10
No episode overview available.
E53
No. 7 -- Jim Thorpe
Air Date: 1999-12-10
No episode overview available.
E54
No. 6 -- Jesse Owens
Air Date: 1999-12-17
No episode overview available.
E55
No. 5 -- Wayne Gretzky
Air Date: 1999-12-17
No episode overview available.
E56
No. 4 -- Jim Brown
Air Date: 1999-12-24
No episode overview available.
E57
No. 3 -- Muhammad Ali
Air Date: 1999-12-24
No episode overview available.
E58
No. 2 -- Babe Ruth
Air Date: 1999-12-26
No episode overview available.
E59
No. 1 -- Michael Jordan
Air Date: 1999-12-26
No episode overview available.
E60
SportsCenter of the Decade: 1990s
Air Date: 2000-03-26
No episode overview available.
E61
Yogi Berra
Air Date: 2003-10-13
No episode overview available.
E62
Derek Jeter
Air Date: 2003-10-17
No episode overview available.
E63
Brian Piccolo
Air Date: 2001-11-02
A profile of the late Brian Piccolo, the 1964 ACC Player of the Year at Wake Forest and later a member of the Chicago...
E64
Brian Piccolo
Air Date: 2001-11-02
No episode overview available.
E65
Casey Stengel
Air Date: 2000-10-03
No episode overview available.
E102
No. 50 - Chris Evert
Air Date: 1999-01-22
No episode overview available.
E103
Joe DiMaggio
Air Date: 2000-07-10
No episode overview available.
E104
Willie Mays
Air Date: 2000-07-25
No episode overview available.
E105
Billy Martin
Air Date: 2000-08-07
No episode overview available.
E106
Don Larsen
Air Date: 2000-10-23
No episode overview available.
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