About this season
30 for 30 is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This currently includes four "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series under the ESPN Films Presents title in 2011–2012, and a series of 30 for 30 Shorts shown through the ESPN.com website. The series has also expanded to include Soccer Stories, which aired in advance of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and audio podcasts. This entry refers to the main Volumes of the series presented by ESPN
Episodes (30)
1. King's Ransom
7.0Aired 6 October 2009 • 51 min
The 1988 trade of Wayne Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings and the effect it had on Gretzky, the fans in Edmonton, and the popularity of hockey in Southern California.
2. The Band That Wouldn't Die
5.0Aired 13 October 2009 • 53 min
A profile of Baltimore's love affair with football and the Colts, focusing on the Colts Marching Band. After the Colts decamped for Indianapolis in 1984, the band stayed behind to help promote the eventual return of the NFL to the city.
3. Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL?
6.0Aired 20 October 2009 • 51 min
Fresh interviews and archival footage track the life and demise of the United States Football League in the mid-1980s. A highlight is Tollin's interview with Donald Trump, the former New Jersey Generals owner whose post-interview comments on the league give this documentary its title.
4. Muhammad and Larry
Aired 27 October 2009 • 52 min
A look at the October 1980 Muhammad Ali–Larry Holmes fight and its impact on both fighters, featuring fresh interviews with participants and previously unseen lead-up footage from both fighters' camps.
5. Without Bias
7.0Aired 3 November 2009 • 51 min
The death of Len Bias from a cocaine-induced heart attack, two days after Boston selected him as the second overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft, and its impact on casual drug use, especially by the sports community.
6. The Legend of Jimmy the Greek
Aired 10 November 2009 • 51 min
The life of Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder, from his career as a Las Vegas bookmaker to his tenure on The NFL Today, from which he was fired in 1988.
7. The U
7.0Aired 12 December 2009 • 102 min
The racial and cultural evolution of Miami during the 1980s as represented within the University of Miami football team.
8. Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. the New York Knicks
Aired 14 March 2010 • 69 min
The impact of Indiana Pacer Reggie Miller on the New York Knicks in the 1990s, specifically focusing on the Pacers/Knicks battles in the 1994 and 1995 NBA Playoffs and on Miller's interaction with Knicks fan Spike Lee.
9. Guru of Go
Aired 3 April 2010 • 52 min
A profile of Paul Westhead's coaching tenure at Loyola Marymount University (1985–1990), where his Lions' team was known for its high-scoring run-and-gun offense, use of talented players such as Bo Kimble and Hank Gathers, and a pall cast by Gathers's on-court death in 1990.
10. No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson
10.0Aired 13 April 2010 • 81 min
The 1993 trial of Hampton, Virginia, high school athlete Allen Iverson, convicted for his role in a racially tinged melee, and its impact on both the community and on Iverson's life.
11. Silly Little Game
Aired 20 April 2010 • 51 min
Meeting at New York City's La Rotisserie Francaise restaurant in 1980, a group of writers and academics develop Rotisserie Fantasy baseball, only to see it take off in popularity and leave them behind.
12. Run Ricky Run
7.0Aired 27 April 2010 • 52 min
A profile of Ricky Williams focuses on his brief 2004 departure from the NFL, when he sought self-redemption amidst media criticism and fresh rumors of marijuana use.
13. The 16th Man
Aired 4 May 2010 • 52 min
How hosting (and winning) the 1995 Rugby World Cup, combined with Nelson Mandela's support of the Springboks national team, affected post-apartheid South Africa.
14. Straight Outta L.A.
5.0Aired 11 May 2010 • 51 min
The relationship between the Raiders and the minority fan base in Los Angeles during the team's 13 seasons in L.A.
15. June 17, 1994
7.6Aired 16 June 2010 • 51 min
Quick-cut archival footage captures the various US sporting events on the day in question and the emotions they generated, including the opening of the World Cup soccer tournament, the Knicks/Rockets NBA Finals, Arnold Palmer's last round in the U.S. Open, and the New York Rangers' Stanley Cup victory celebration. One event, however, overshadows them all: O. J. Simpson's run from the police.
16. The Two Escobars
9.0Aired 22 June 2010 • 103 min
The lives of soccer player Andrés Escobar and drug lord Pablo Escobar; the intertwining of crime and soccer in their native Colombia; and the connections between the deaths of both men. (2 hours in length)
17. The Birth of Big Air
6.0Aired 29 July 2010 • 51 min
The life of Mat Hoffman and his 25-year career of advancing, in creative and promotional avenues, BMX riding.
18. Jordan Rides the Bus
7.3Aired 24 August 2010 • 51 min
Motivated by the dream his late father had for him, Michael Jordan retires from basketball and has a brief career in minor league baseball.
19. Little Big Men
Aired 31 August 2010 • 50 min
A look at the Kirkland National Little League team's success at the 1982 Little League World Series, examining why their title win is considered one of the biggest upsets in the event's history.
20. One Night in Vegas
10.0Aired 7 September 2010 • 53 min
The friendship of boxer Mike Tyson and rapper Tupac Shakur and the night of September 7, 1996, when Shakur was murdered after attending the Tyson-Bruce Seldon fight in Las Vegas.
21. Unmatched
Aired 14 September 2010 • 52 min
A look at the rivalry and friendship between tennis legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.
22. The House of Steinbrenner
Aired 21 September 2010 • 51 min
The legacy of George Steinbrenner's ownership of the New York Yankees.
23. Into the Wind
8.7Aired 28 September 2010 • 51 min
Terry Fox's attempt to run 5,373 kilometres (3,339 mi) across Canada in support of fundraising for cancer research captures the attention of his fellow Canadians and the world.
24. Four Days In October
Aired 5 October 2010 • 51 min
The remarkable comeback of the Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees in the 2004 ALCS.
25. Once Brothers
Aired 12 October 2010 • 80 min
The story of Croatian Dražen Petrović and Serbian Vlade Divac, NBA players and Yugoslavian national teammates, and how upheaval in their homeland adversely and irretrievably affected their friendship. (90 minutes in length)
26. Tim Richmond: To the Limit
7.3Aired 19 October 2010 • 51 min
The career of NASCAR driver Tim Richmond, his flamboyant lifestyle, and his 1989 death from AIDS.
27. Fernando Nation
Aired 26 October 2010 • 51 min
The euphoria created by Fernando Valenzuela's 1981 arrival with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
28. Marion Jones: Press Pause
Aired 2 November 2010 • 51 min
The successful track and field career of Marion Jones, her 2007 admission of performance-enhancing drug use, and subsequent prison sentence.
29. The Best that Never Was
Aired 9 November 2010 • 101 min
The 1981 recruiting of high school football player Marcus Dupree by multiple big-time college programs, his resulting injury-prone college and professional career, and how his pursuit by college and USFL teams changed the recruiting process. (2 hours in length)
30. Pony Excess
Aired 11 December 2010 • 102 min
The rise, fall, and rebirth of the SMU Mustangs football program, which received a 1-year "death penalty" for major infractions after former SMU player David Stanley blew the whistle on the long-suspected program. Patrick Duffy, known for starring in TV's Dallas at the time of the scandal, narrates. (2 hours in length)