
King's Ransom
Episode 1 • Oct 06, 2009
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.
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
135 episodes total
Status
Returning Series
First Aired
2009
Rating
7.4/10
42 votes • HD
People
Cast information is not available for this show.
Episodes
Episode 1 • Oct 06, 2009
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.
Episode 2 • Oct 13, 2009
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.
Episode 3 • Oct 20, 2009
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.
Episode 4 • Oct 27, 2009
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.
Episode 5 • Nov 03, 2009
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.
Episode 6 • Nov 10, 2009
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.
Episode 1 • Oct 02, 2012
An exploration of the road to fortune in sports and the eventual detours (for various reasons) to financial difficulties and bankruptcy, as experienced by top athletes including Leon Searcy, Andre Rison, Keith McCants, Bernie Kosar, and Cliff Floyd.
Episode 2 • Oct 09, 2012
A profile of the Men's 100-meter final at the 1988 Summer Olympics and the lives of the eight men who participated, including Ben Johnson (whose world record of 9.79 seconds was annulled after he tested positive for anabolic steroids) and Carl Lewis (who was awarded the gold medal after Johnson's disqualification).
Episode 3 • Oct 16, 2012
The story of one fan's obsessive quest to purchase, at a 2010 auction, James Naismith's original rules of basketball, perhaps the most important historical document in American sports history, and to bring it "home" to Lawrence, Kansas, where Naismith taught and coached at the University of Kansas for 39 years. (70 mins in length)
Episode 4 • Oct 23, 2012
The life of Ben Wilson, a well-regarded Chicago high school basketball star, and how his November 1984 murder (one day before the start of his senior season) had a wide-ranging impact.
Episode 5 • Oct 30, 2012
Mississippi native Wright Thompson explores tumultuous events of 1962, when the University of Mississippi campus both erupted in violence over integration and swelled with pride over its unbeaten football team, and how those incidents continue to shape the state 50 years later. (60 mins in length)
Episode 6 • Dec 08, 2012
A profile of Bo Jackson and how his college and professional feats in two sports (baseball and football) captured the public's imagination and made Jackson a cultural (and marketing) icon.
Episode 1 • Oct 13, 2015
A profile of the rise and fall of USC Trojans football during Pete Carroll's coaching tenure in the 2000s.
Episode 2 • Oct 20, 2015
An exploration of the turbulent relationship between Olympic wrestling brothers Mark and Dave Schultz and their eccentric benefactor, John du Pont, culminating in the murder of Dave by du Pont.
Episode 3 • Nov 03, 2015
A look at how Bill McCartney mixed two religions—college football and evangelical Christianity—while serving as head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes in the 1990s, a tenure that included a national championship.
Episode 4 • Nov 10, 2015
A look at how Evander Holyfield spent years (1989–91 & 1995–96) trying to arrange his first fight with Mike Tyson in an effort to gain the respect he knew he could only gain by defeating Tyson in the ring.
Episode 5 • Dec 12, 2015
A profile of the Buffalo Bills teams of the early 1990s, when the franchise became the first team to play in—and lose—four consecutive Super Bowls.
Episode 6 • Feb 04, 2016
A 30-year retrospective on the 1985 Chicago Bears, from how they were assembled to their swaggering, dominant run to Super Bowl victory.
Episode 1 • Sep 10, 2019
The unfettered and definitive look at the life and career of Dennis Rodman.
Episode 2 • Oct 15, 2019
The hot-and-cold relationship between MMA fighters Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz, from the start of UFC through its rise in popularity and to the present day.
Episode 3 • Jan 30, 2020
Part 1 of 2. Chronicling the career of quarterback Michael Vick: his incredible rise, shocking fall and polarizing return. After high school in Newport News, Va., Vick led Virginia Tech to a BCS title game and was drafted No. 1 by the Atlanta Falcons. He was also a star who refused to turn his back on the friends who'd been with him since the beginning. Ultimately, that refusal would portend his downfall. Directed by Stanley Nelson.
Episode 4 • Feb 06, 2020
Part 2 of 2. Chronicling the career of quarterback Michael Vick: his incredible rise, shocking fall and polarizing return. Vick served nearly two years for crimes related to involvement in a dog fighting ring, going from star athlete to national pariah; from one of the most popular players in the NFL and all of sports to a man as ostracized as virtually any public figure in America. Directed by Stanley Nelson.
Episode 5 • May 24, 2020
Part 1. An in-depth look at the rise and fall of cyclist Lance Armstrong, who won seven straight Tour de France titles before being implicated in one of sport's largest doping scandals. Extensive interviews with Armstrong are featured by director Marina Zenovich.
Episode 6 • May 31, 2020
Part 2. An in-depth look at the rise and fall of cyclist Lance Armstrong, who won seven straight Tour de France titles before being implicated in one of sport's largest doping scandals. Extensive interviews with Armstrong are featured by director Marina Zenovich.
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