The explosion of streaming services has not only led to a boom in the number of sports documentaries being made, but it also means that viewers have instant access to some of the most critically acclaimed docs ever produced. These are the best of the bunch that are either freely available or included in streaming site subscriptions. (Among those available to rent are legendary surfing doc “Endless Summer,” the Arnold Schwarzenegger bodybuilding flick “Pumping Iron,” and memorable skateboarding film “Dogtown and Z-Boys.”)
Hoop Dreams (1994)
Documentarian Steve James spent five years following Arthur Agee and William Gates, two teenage basketball players from low-income Chicago neighborhoods, and in the process turned out one of the greatest films of any genre. The film examines the many hardships they and their families encountered as they chased their dream of making the NBA. Roger Ebert famously chose it as his best movie of the 1990s.
Watch: HBO
Similar titles: The Fab Five (ESPN+), Magic & Bird: A Courtship of Rivals (HBO)
Baseball (1994)
The Ken Burns-directed classic is a nine-part epic that runs more than 18 hours and recounts the entire history of baseball, from its origins through the early 1990s. Burns later released a 10th “inning” covering the subsequent 15 years. In March, PBS made the series freely available on its website.
Watch: PBS website
Similar titles: Catching Hell (ESPN+), Battered Bastards of Baseball (Netflix)
Do You Believe in Miracles? The Story of the 1980 U.S. Hockey Team (1997)
Team USA’s victory over the Soviet Union at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Games is one of sports’ all-time greatest upsets, and this hourlong HBO doc uses footage, interviews and nearly two decades of perspective to capture its historical importance.
Watch: HBO, Amazon Prime Video
Similar titles: Ice Guardians (Netflix), Of Miracles and Men (ESPN+)
Beyond the Mat (1999)
Comedy writer Barry W. Blaustein wrote, directed and produced this seminal wrestling doc, which showcased the physical trauma and personal fallout suffered by some of the WWF’s top stars.
Watch: Netflix
Similar titles: Andre The Giant (HBO, Amazon Prime Video), Nature Boy (ESPN+)
Murderball (2005)
This Oscar-nominated doc introduces members of the U.S. wheelchair rugby team as they prepare for the 2004 Paralympic Games and offers a deep look into the lives of the quadriplegic athletes.
Watch: Amazon Prime Video
Similar titles: Top Spin (Amazon Prime Video),
I Am Bolt (Netflix)
The U (2009)
Billy Corben’s deep dive on the Miami Hurricanes football program debuted to 2.3 million viewers, a then-record for an ESPN documentary. The film captures how Miami’s star-studded roster of the 1980s reflected a rapidly changing cultural landscape, and it was later followed by a 2014 sequel.
Watch: ESPN+
Similar titles: Pony Excess (ESPN+), Last Chance U (Netflix)
Senna (2010)
British filmmaker Asif Kapadia’s retrospective includes no on-camera interviews, instead only recounting Brazilian racing legend Ayrton Senna’s career, from his rapid ascendance until his demise in a 1994 crash, through footage from broadcasts, F1 archives and Senna family videotapes.
Watch: Netflix
Similar titles: The 24 Hour War (Netflix), On Any Sunday (Tubi)
The Dawn Wall (2017)
Tommy Caldwell is arguably the greatest big-wall climber in history, and this film presents the story of how he got there — overcoming both a kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan and the partial loss of a finger — and an inside look at him and partner Kevin Jorgesen free climbing El Capitan’s Dawn Wall, one of the sport’s greatest feats.
Watch: Netflix
Similar titles: Mountain (Netflix), Maiden (Hulu, Starz)
