SportsCentury
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First Air DateJan 21, 1999
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Production
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Rotten tomato0%
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Original titleSportsCentury
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ReleaseJan 21, 1999
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Overview
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.
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Casts
Season 1 ( 1999-01-21)
Casey Stengel
1900-49
No. 50 -- Chris Evert
No. 49 -- O.J. Simpson
No. 48 -- Pete Sampras
No. 47 -- Edwin Moses
No. 46 -- Eric Heiden
No. 45 -- Bill Tilden
SportsCenter of the Decade: 1950s
No. 44 -- Bobby Jones
No. 43 -- Julius Erving
No. 42 -- Sandy Koufax
No. 41 -- Wilma Rudolph
No. 40 -- Lawrence Taylor
No. 39 -- Walter Payton
No. 38 -- Ben Hogan
No. 37 -- Mickey Mantle
SportsCenter of the Decade: 1960s
No. 36 -- Oscar Robertson
The Greatest Coaches of the Century
No. 35 -- Secretariat
Most Influential People in Sports
Greatest Dynasties
No. 34 -- Lou Gehrig
No. 33 -- Mark Spitz
Greatest Games
No. 32 -- Johnny Unitas
No. 31 -- Bobby Orr
No. 30 -- Larry Bird
SportsCenter of the Decade: 1970s
No. 29 -- Arnold Palmer
No. 28 -- Red Grange
No. 27 -- Jerry Rice
No. 26 -- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
No. 25 -- Joe Montana
No. 24 -- Sugar Ray Robinson
No. 23 -- Jackie Joyner-Kersee
No. 22 -- Joe DiMaggio
SportsCenter of the Decade: 1980s
No. 21 -- Gordie Howe
No. 20 -- Ty Cobb
No. 19 -- Martina Navratilova
No. 18 -- Bill Russell
No. 17 -- Magic Johnson
No. 16 -- Ted Williams
No. 15 -- Jackie Robinson
No. 14 -- Hank Aaron
No. 13 -- Wilt Chamberlain
No. 12 -- Carl Lewis
No. 11 -- Joe Louis
No. 10 -- Babe Didrikson
No. 9 -- Jack Nicklaus
No. 8 -- Willie Mays
No. 7 -- Jim Thorpe
No. 6 -- Jesse Owens
No. 5 -- Wayne Gretzky
No. 4 -- Jim Brown
No. 3 -- Muhammad Ali
No. 2 -- Babe Ruth
No. 1 -- Michael Jordan
SportsCenter of the Decade: 1990s
Yogi Berra
Derek Jeter
Brian Piccolo
Brian Piccolo
No. 50 - Chris Evert
Joe DiMaggio
Willie Mays
Billy Martin
Don Larsen
Season 2 ( 2002-01-28)
Roger Maris
Brett Favre
Nancy Lopez
Chris Webber
New York Yankees, Part One
Anna Kournikova
Yogi Berra
Season 3 ( 2003-04-04)
Chris Evert
Chris Evert
New York Yankees: Part 2
Season 4 ( 2003-09-26)
Lyle Alzado
Ball Four
John Wooden
New York Yankees, Part Two
Roberto Clemente
Dennis Rodman
Pelé
Jerry's Cowboys
Mark Gastineau
Barry Sanders
Latrell Sprewell
Al Davis
Terry Bradshaw
Seabiscuit
1981 AFC Playoff: Dolphins vs. Chargers
Bart Starr
Tom Landry
Bears' 46 Defense
Jeff Gordon
Mark McGwire
Disciples of Jackie Robinson
Steve Carlton
Villanova vs. Georgetown
Rick Pitino
Phil Jackson
Sammy Sosa
Don King
Steffi Graf
Kevin Garnett
Dennis Eckersley
Pedro MartÃnez
Mia Hamm
Andy Roddick
Sam Huff
Season 5 ( 2004-09-15)
1999 Ryder Cup
Peyton Manning
Shaquille O'Neal
Don Shula
Mike Krzyzewski
Phil Mickelson
Pat Tillman
Tony Stewart