ESPN SportsCentury Episode Ratings Heatmap
| Avg | E1 | E2 | E3 | E4 | E5 | E6 | E7 | E8 | E9 | E10 | E11 | E12 | E13 | E14 | E15 | E16 | E17 | E18 | E19 | E20 | E21 | E22 | E23 | E24 | E25 | E26 | E27 | E28 | E29 | E30 | E31 | E32 | E33 | E34 | E35 | E36 | E37 | E38 | E39 | E40 | E41 | E42 | E43 | E44 | E45 | E46 | E47 | E48 | E49 | E50 | E51 | E52 | E53 | E54 | E55 | E56 | E57 | E58 | E59 | E60 | ||
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| S1 | 7.9 | 2.8 | 9.1 | 8.6 | 7.0 | 9.3 | 9.7 | 9.3 | 7.2 | 7.7 | 7.4 | 7.6 | 7.4 |
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About
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.
All Seasons
| Ep | Title | Rating | Votes | Runtime | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ▶ | 1 | Chris Evert | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 2 | SportsCenter of the Decade: 1900-1949 | — | — | 60 min |
| ▶ | 3 | O.J. Simpson | 2.8 | 9 | 30 min |
| ▶ | 4 | Pete Sampras | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 5 | Edwin Moses | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 6 | Eric Heiden | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 7 | Bill Tilden | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 8 | SportsCenter of the Decade: The 1950s | — | — | 120 min |
| ▶ | 9 | Bobby Jones | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 10 | Julius Erving | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 11 | Sandy Koufax | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 12 | Wilma Rudolph | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 13 | Lawrence Taylor | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 14 | Walter Payton | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 15 | Ben Hogan | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 16 | Mickey Mantle | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 17 | Oscar Robertson | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 18 | SportsCenter of the Decade: The 1960s | — | — | 120 min |
| ▶ | 19 | Secretariat | 9.1 | 18 | 30 min |
| ▶ | 20 | Greatest Coaches of the Century | — | — | 120 min |
| ▶ | 21 | 10 Most Influential Figures | — | — | 120 min |
| ▶ | 22 | Lou Gehrig | 8.6 | 10 | 30 min |
| ▶ | 23 | Great Sports Dynasties of the Century | — | — | — |
| ▶ | 24 | Mark Spitz | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 25 | Greatest Games | — | — | — |
| ▶ | 26 | Johnny Unitas | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 27 | Bobby Orr | 7.0 | 9 | 30 min |
| ▶ | 28 | Larry Bird | 9.3 | 12 | 30 min |
| ▶ | 29 | Arnold Palmer | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 30 | SportsCenter of the Decade: The 1970s | — | — | 120 min |
| ▶ | 31 | Red Grange | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 32 | Jerry Rice | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 33 | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 34 | Joe Montana | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 35 | Sugar Ray Robinson | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 36 | Jackie Joyner-Kersee | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 37 | Joe DiMaggio | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 38 | Gordie Howe | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 39 | SportsCenter of the Decade: The 1980s | — | — | 120 min |
| ▶ | 40 | Ty Cobb | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 41 | Martina Navratilova | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 42 | Bill Russell | 9.7 | 11 | 30 min |
| ▶ | 43 | Earvin 'Magic' Johnson | 9.3 | 15 | 30 min |
| ▶ | 44 | Ted Williams | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 45 | Jackie Robinson | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 46 | Hank Aaron | 7.2 | 16 | 30 min |
| ▶ | 47 | Wilt Chamberlain | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 48 | Carl Lewis | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 49 | Joe Louis | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 50 | Babe Didrikson Zaharias | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 51 | Jack Nicklaus | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 52 | Willie Mays | 7.7 | 14 | 30 min |
| ▶ | 53 | Jim Thorpe | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 54 | Jesse Owens | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 55 | Wayne Gretzky | 7.4 | 14 | 30 min |
| ▶ | 56 | Jim Brown | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 57 | Muhammad Ali | 7.6 | 13 | 30 min |
| ▶ | 58 | Babe Ruth | — | — | 30 min |
| ▶ | 59 | Michael Jordan | 7.4 | 25 | 30 min |
| ▶ | 60 | SportsCenter of the Decade: The 1990s | — | — | 120 min |