“When You Dedicate a Game to Someone, You Are Then Supposed to Go Out and Win It”: Best Football Movies from the 1960s and 1970s

This is the fifth and likely final entry in our series of the best football movies of each decade or era. As you can tell from the title, this entry focuses on the football movies released during the 1960s and 1970s decades, from 1960-1979 inclusive. As with all rank lists, this is largely based on the opinions and personal preferences of the author. The only films up for consideration are fictional films. Documentaries are excluded. Films that are biopics or otherwise based on real events are included.

There are two main reasons why this will likely (though I make no guarantees) be the final of our football movie decades lists. For one, the sports movie boom as we often think of it was largely a product of the latter half of the 20th century. Sure, there were certainly many films released in the first half of the century that involve sports, especially certain sports. However, there was a considerable decline in the number of sports films during the 1950s and 1960s. Just take the big three American sports of football, baseball, and basketball for example. There were only a handful of films featuring any of these three major sports released during the 1960s. The relative scarcity of entries meant that just to come up with a list of ten at least decent football adjacent films for the 1960s and 1970s meant having to combine the decades. The second reason is that older films, especially those that were not commercially or critically successful, are increasingly difficult to find in this age of streaming. If you want to do a decade genre list in any type of rigorous or systematic way, it gets increasingly difficult and potentially impossible the further back you go just to find these films. Yes, there are some famous and iconic football movies from the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. But there are also a lot of lesser-known ones that are difficult to locate. As I said, I might eventually take up the task of tracking all of these films down and doing a combined 1940s and 1950s football movie list, but that will not be for a while if it ever happens.

We encourage you to also check out the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s football movie lists, as well as all of our other sports related lists. As with all of our lists we hope you enjoy reading them as much as we enjoy making them.

1. Brian’s Song (1971)

MPAA Rating: G

Oh, the great Brian’s Song. This movie is without question one of the greatest sports movies of all time. And that is all the more amazing because it is a television movie, which automatically makes it easily one of the best television movies of all time. This is a beloved film that was nominated for and won multiple awards, though oddly enough it did not win the Golden Globe for Best Television Film. If you are a regular reader and think the name sounds a bit familiar that is because we talked about its inferior remake back on the 2000s football list. Given that the 2001 remake came in at number 14 on that list, and that the 1971 original tops this list, then you can imagine that while that the remake is decent, the original is vastly superior. The two films are the difference between an all-time classic film and an unnecessary remake.

The story centers on the relationship between Chicago Bears running backs Gale Sayers (played by Billy Dee Williams) and Brian Piccolo (played by James Caan). It traces their history from competitors to close friends. The film is based on the book “I Am Third” by Gale Sayers and Al Silverman. The tragedy of this story and this friendship is the cancer diagnosis of Piccolo and his eventual death in 1970 at the age of 26. This film was thus incredibly timely coming out one year after Piccolo’s death, and it delivered at every level with a strong and emotional script as well as two standout performances by Williams and Caan. You do not even need to be a football fan or a sports fan to appreciate this film. If you take away nothing else from this list, please go watch Brian’s Song, especially if you have not seen it.

2. The Longest Yard (1974)

MPAA Rating: R

I will not say exactly ditto for this one as I said above, but it is close. The Longest Yard is another of the iconic football movies from the 1970s that for some reason received an unnecessary remake 30 years later. The 2005 remake came in at number 15 on our 2000s football list just behind the Brian’s Song remake. Amusingly enough, you can see the original comes in the same order here just one spot behind the original Brian’s Song.

As for the plot, The Longest Yard stars Burt Reynolds as a veteran quarterback, named Paul Crewe, that in a domestic dispute walks out on his romantic partner and causes mayhem with his car leading to significant property destruction and a high-speed police chase. Crewe is incarcerated for his crimes and is sent to a prison where the warden wants him to coach his semi-pro football team consisting of the prison guards. Facing pressure from the guards and unwilling to assist the warden, Crewe is able to organize a scrimmage game between the guards and the convicts.

3. North Dallas Forty (1979)

MPAA Rating: R

North Dallas Forty is another of the solid football/sports comedies from the 1970s. While the film was not released until 1979 it was based on the novel of the same name from 1973 by Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Peter Gent. While I do not know if the book is supposed to be semi-autobiographical, Nick Nolte stars as a wide receiver for a Dallas-based professional football team, which you will remember is the same location and position as the author. And the eccentric and womanizing quarterback of that football team seems to be inspired by Don Meredith who was the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys back in the 1960s. While largely a comedy film, the drama of the story centers around the league’s poor and disposable treatment of players. Drug use and abuse is rampant, there is little to no discipline when it comes to off the field issues, and older players get sidelined and pushed out of the league. The story is seen from the perspective of Nolte’s character as an aging player and his struggles with the coaches and team management. So thus, while the film is a comedy, it was one of the first football films to tackle some of those more substantive issues on the underside of the game.

4. Heaven Can Wait (1978)

MPAA Rating: PG

Heaven Can Wait was based on the 1938 play of the same name by Harry Segall. The basic story has been adapted to film a few times into other contexts including 1941’s Here Comes Mr. Jordan and 2001’s Down to Earth. Warren Beatty (who also directed) stars as the backup quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams. When he is in a near collision with a truck while riding his bicycle, an angel mistakenly believes that he would have been killed and takes his soul up to heaven. Unfortunately, before the mistake can be corrected, his body is cremated, so his soul cannot be returned to his body. Instead, the angels are able to place him into the body of a rich industrialist who was recently murdered via poisoning by his wife. Drama ensues as the wife and her lover are baffled as to how he is not dead and they continue to devise ways to kill him. While inhabiting this other body, Warren Beatty’s character starts changing the business practices of this company and even falls in love with an activist that was protesting against his company. The angels are eventually able to place Beatty’s character into the body of the current Rams quarterback who suffers a violent hit during a game and actually dies. But with Warren Beatty’s character inhabiting the body he is able to lead the team to victory.

While I enjoy this film well enough, this film was actually a critical darling when it came out and was nominated for an amazing nine Academy Awards. These included Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Score. Sadly though, it only won for Best Art Direction.

5. Paper Lion (1968)

MPAA Rating: Approved

There were not many football movies released during the 1960s for whatever reason, but Paper Lion is definitely the best of the few there were. It is a comedy based on the 1966 book of the same name by George Plimpton. While the film is a fictionalized version, the book is actually about sportswriter George Plimpton’s real attempt in 1963 to try out for quarterback of the Detroit Lions. Plimpton’s goal was not actually to make the team, but to get an inside view on what it takes to be a professional football player and how difficult it would be for a regular person to make a team. In the film, Plimpton is played by Alan Alda in his typical comedic persona. Paper Lion is definitely a unique football story to tell, it is executed well enough, but it is all the more remarkable because it is actually somewhat based on a true story. Unlike Brian’s Song or The Longest Yard, Paper Lion is actually the type of movie that I would love to see get a modern remake or some type of spiritual sequel to see how this premise and these narrative themes would fit within the context of the modern National Football League.

6. Semi-Tough (1977)

MPAA Rating: R

Semi-Tough is based on the 1972 novel of the same name by sportswriter Dan Jenkins. The film is a bit of a raunchy comedy about a love triangle that develops between two football players and their female roommate who also happens to be the team owner’s daughter. Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristofferson star as our two football players, and Jill Clayburgh plays their mutual love interest. The film is also noteworthy for veering away from football a bit into a parody of the new age and self-help movements that were popular during the 1970s. Our three main characters and actors are all entertaining enough when on screen, but I do feel that the film would have benefitted from a stronger and more consistent focus on football.

7. Number One (1969)

MPAA Rating: M (PG13)

Number One is a film about an aging quarterback for the New Orleans Saints named Ron Catlan, who is played by Charlton Heston. Yes, you read that correctly. This is a Charlton Heston led football movie. I am sure you were not expecting to see that, but hey the sports movie world has a lot of surprises in there. We are told that Catlan was once the best quarterback in the league, and he still believes that he is. However, throughout the film we see all of the ways in which he is past his prime and how his life and career seems to be passing him by. A younger quarterback seeks to challenge him for the starting position. His marriage unravels as a result of years of neglect. He is unwilling to begin thinking about career options after football. He uses alcohol and an affair to try to cope and make himself feel that he is still on top of the world. Number One touches on some of the same themes as say For Love of the Game in the baseball world, but Number One is a much darker film on pretty much every level including the ending. The resulting film is not that great but its themes about an aging player staying on for too long are certainly important, and Charlton Heston does well enough in the role.

8. Something for Joey (1977)

Not Rated

Something for Joey is a television film about 1973 Heisman Trophy winner John Cappelletti and his relationship with his younger brother Joey who had leukemia and would eventually die from the illness. The story centers around the relationship between the brothers and how each inspired the other. John famously mentioned his brother Joey in his Heisman acceptance speech as his main motivator in life. Joey would die of leukemia in 1976, and this film was released a year later.

9. Two-Minute Warning (1976)

MPAA Rating: R

If you are even a casual film viewer, then you will likely have some awareness of the twin film phenomenon. This term describes a situation where two or more films are released and produced simultaneously (with a year or so) by different film studios that all have generally similar stories. Some well-known examples of that are No Strings Attached (2011) and Friends with Benefits (2011), Deep Impact (1998) and Armageddon (1998), White House Down (2013) and Olympus Has Fallen (2013), etc. The list truly goes on and on. Well, we are going to close out this 1960s and 1970s football list with our own football version of the twin film phenomenon. There were two movies released within six months of each other in 1976 and 1977 that feature premeditated violent attacks at the football stadium during a professional football championship game. These were 1976’s Two-Minute Warning and 1977’s Black Sunday. Neither of these films are properly football movies per se in that they are political/action thrillers that just happen to take place during football games, which is why they are here at the bottom of the list.

The first one up is obviously Two-Minute Warning. In this film, Charlton Heston and John Cassavetes star as police officers trying to stop a sniper from shooting and killing people during the football championship game. Yes, that makes it two Charlton Heston movies on this football list! Who would have ever seen that coming? Two-Minute Warning is the superior of these twin films in that it features a lot more football played throughout the film and the story is more of a mystery. Unfortunately, the professional football in this film is not explicitly the NFL, which was likely for licensing reasons.

10. Black Sunday (1977)

MPAA Rating: R

And yes, just to emphasize how annoying this twin film phenomenon can be, especially when you watch the films back-to-back as I did, I am going to start off this entry exactly the same way I started off the last entry.

If you are even a casual film viewer, then you will likely have some awareness of the twin film phenomenon. This term describes a situation where two or more films are released and produced simultaneously (with a year or so) by different film studios that all have generally similar stories. Some well-known examples of that are No Strings Attached (2011) and Friends with Benefits (2011), Deep Impact (1998) and Armageddon (1998), White House Down (2013) and Olympus Has Fallen (2013), etc. The list truly goes on and on. Well, we are going to close out this 1960s and 1970s football list with our own football version of the twin film phenomenon. There were two movies released within six months of each other in 1976 and 1977 that feature premeditated violent attacks at the football stadium during a professional football championship game. These were 1976’s Two-Minute Warning and 1977’s Black Sunday. Neither of these films are properly football movies per se in that they are political/action thrillers that just happen to take place during football games, which is why they are here at the bottom of the list.

Black Sunday is not really a football movie in the sense that it is actually a political thriller about a terrorist attack during a major American event that just happens to be the Super Bowl. Narratively it really could have been during anything. The film is itself loosely inspired by the Munich massacre during the 1972 Summer Olympics in which the Palestinian terrorist organization, Black September, abducted and killed eleven Israeli athletes and coaches. The film is a fictional story about this Palestinian terrorist organization wanting to pressure the United States government into withdrawing military aid to Israel by hijacking, crashing, and detonating a blimp into the football stadium during the Super Bowl. Here Robert Shaw is our lead actor trying to prevent the attack, and Bruce Dern is a disaffected American soldier who tries to carry out the attack. While Black Sunday features considerably less actual football than Two-Minute Warning, what it does have over it is that it features the actual National Football League. In the last hour of the film when the Super Bowl is happening, there are so many appearances and cameos by actual NFL personnel including players, coaches, management, and sportscasters. It is wonderful to see that many actual people from both the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys in that last hour.