20 Football Movies Based on True Stories

The story of legendary Notre Dame football player and coach Knute Rockne.

Based on the real-life relationship between teammates Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers and the bond established when Piccolo discovers that he is dying.

A satire of American professional football in which a veteran pass-catcher's individuality and refusal to become part of the team family is bitterly resented by his disciplinarian coaches.

Rudy has always been told that he was too small to play college football. But he is determined to overcome the odds and fulfill his dream of playing for Notre Dame.

When a sports agent has a moral epiphany and is fired for expressing it, he decides to put his new philosophy to the test as an independent agent with the only athlete who stays with him and his former colleague.

The true story of a newly appointed African-American coach and his high school team on their first season as a racially integrated unit.

The story of a high school coach and the developmentally challenged man who he took under his wing.

Prison inmates form a football team to challenge the prison guards.

When a plane crash claims the lives of members of the Marshall University football team and some of its fans, the team's new coach and his surviving players try to keep the football program alive.

Based on the story of Vince Papale, a 30-year-old bartender from South Philadelphia who overcame long odds to play for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles in 1976.

Teenagers at a juvenile detention center, under the leadership of their counselor, gain self-esteem by playing football together.

A drama based on the life of college football hero Ernie Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy.

The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All-American football player and first-round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family.

Chronicles three underprivileged students from inner-city Memphis and their volunteer coach who tries to help them beat the odds on and off the field.

The journey of legendary football coach Bob Ladouceur, who took the De La Salle High School Spartans from obscurity to a 151-game winning streak that shattered all records for any American sport.

In Pittsburgh, accomplished pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu uncovers the truth about brain damage in football players who suffer repeated concussions in the course of normal play.

Freddie Steinmark, an underdog on the gridiron, faces the toughest challenge of his life after leading his team to a championship season.

The story of Ray-Ray McElrathbey, a freshman football player for Clemson University, who secretly raised his younger brother on campus after his home life became too unsteady.

The story of NFL MVP and Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner, who went from stocking shelves at a supermarket to becoming an American Football star.

Haunted by his mysterious past, a devoted high-school football coach leads a scrawny team of orphans to the state championship during the Great Depression and inspires a broken nation along the way.