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ESPN SportsCentury

★ 7.1 340 votes 1999–2007 1 season · 60 episodes Ended ESPN Classic
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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

▼
Season 11999
7.81686040h
EpTitleRatingYoursVotesRuntime
▶1Chris Evert—
—30 min
▶2SportsCenter of the Decade: 1900-1949—
—60 min
▶3O.J. Simpson2.5
1030 min
▶4Pete Sampras—
—30 min
▶5Edwin Moses—
—30 min
▶6Eric Heiden—
—30 min
▶7Bill Tilden—
—30 min
▶8SportsCenter of the Decade: The 1950s—
—120 min
▶9Bobby Jones—
—30 min
▶10Julius Erving—
—30 min
▶11Sandy Koufax—
—30 min
▶12Wilma Rudolph—
—30 min
▶13Lawrence Taylor—
—30 min
▶14Walter Payton—
—30 min
▶15Ben Hogan—
—30 min
▶16Mickey Mantle—
—30 min
▶17Oscar Robertson—
—30 min
▶18SportsCenter of the Decade: The 1960s—
—120 min
▶19Secretariat9.1
1830 min
▶20Greatest Coaches of the Century—
—120 min
▶2110 Most Influential Figures—
—120 min
▶22Lou Gehrig8.6
1030 min
▶23Great Sports Dynasties of the Century—
——
▶24Mark Spitz—
—30 min
▶25Greatest Games—
——
▶26Johnny Unitas—
—30 min
▶27Bobby Orr7.0
930 min
▶28Larry Bird9.3
1230 min
▶29Arnold Palmer—
—30 min
▶30SportsCenter of the Decade: The 1970s—
—120 min
▶31Red Grange—
—30 min
▶32Jerry Rice—
—30 min
▶33Kareem Abdul-Jabbar—
—30 min
▶34Joe Montana—
—30 min
▶35Sugar Ray Robinson—
—30 min
▶36Jackie Joyner-Kersee—
—30 min
▶37Joe DiMaggio—
—30 min
▶38Gordie Howe—
—30 min
▶39SportsCenter of the Decade: The 1980s—
—120 min
▶40Ty Cobb—
—30 min
▶41Martina Navratilova—
—30 min
▶42Bill Russell9.7
1130 min
▶43Earvin 'Magic' Johnson9.3
1630 min
▶44Ted Williams—
—30 min
▶45Jackie Robinson—
—30 min
▶46Hank Aaron7.2
1630 min
▶47Wilt Chamberlain—
—30 min
▶48Carl Lewis—
—30 min
▶49Joe Louis—
—30 min
▶50Babe Didrikson Zaharias—
—30 min
▶51Jack Nicklaus—
—30 min
▶52Willie Mays7.7
1430 min
▶53Jim Thorpe—
—30 min
▶54Jesse Owens—
—30 min
▶55Wayne Gretzky7.4
1430 min
▶56Jim Brown—
—30 min
▶57Muhammad Ali7.6
1330 min
▶58Babe Ruth—
—30 min
▶59Michael Jordan7.4
2530 min
▶60SportsCenter of the Decade: The 1990s—
—120 min

Full Cast & Crew

Cast

Chris Fowler Self - Host, Self, Self - Correspondent
Dick Schaap Self, Cornell Class of 1955, Host
Edwin Pope Self, Self - Miami Herald
Robert Lipsyte Self, Self - New York Times
William Nack Self, Self - Sports Illustrated
Bob Costas Self, Self - NBC Sports
Jerry Izenberg Self, Self - The Star-Ledger
Peter Gammons Self, Self - Correspondent, Self - ESPN
Leonard Koppett Self
Peter Golenbock Self

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