About this season
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.
Episodes (7)
5. Roger Maris
Aired 4 December 2000 • 30 min
1. Brett Favre
Aired 28 January 2002 • 30 min
2. Nancy Lopez
Aired 5 August 2002 • 30 min
3. Chris Webber
Aired 26 April 2002 • 30 min
4. New York Yankees, Part One
Aired 6 October 2003 • 30 min
The most-recognized team in professional sports always gets the undeserved breaks. This episode, the first SportsCentury devoted to a team, is certainly no exception. Jeremy Schaap sends more excess glory on the team that won an all-sports record 26 world championships, all in the 20th Century.
20. Anna Kournikova
Aired 28 May 2002 • 30 min
21. Yogi Berra
Aired 14 October 2002 • 30 min