50 Best Sports Movies Ever

39. The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings

Year: 1976
Sport: Baseball
Starring: Billy Dee Williams, James Earl Jones, Richard Pryor, Rico Dawson, Sam Brison
Director: John Badham

In 1976, an all-black cast broke barriers in the world of sports cinema by addressing one of the many racist elephants in the room: the Negro League. Black athletes had spent more than a decade in Major League Baseball by 1976, but there were clear attempts to sweep the history of the Negro League under the proverbial rug.

Led by a stellar trio of Billy Dee Williams, James Earl Jones, and Richard Pryor, The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings used comedy to expose what was known, but understated.

Williams plays Bingo Long, a charismatic star pitcher who has endured his fair share of mistreatment by owner Sallison Potter during his time in the Negro League. He sets out to separate from the league, recruiting a number of top performers to join him as they make money for themselves instead of others.

In the process of making us laugh, director John Badham and company simultaneously expose the racist roots of Major League Baseball.

Williams is smooth, Jones is powerful in his presence, and Pryor provides his usual comedic gold in this diamond in the rough of a film.

The group recruits “Esquire” Joe Calloway, who eventually receives the opportunity to break the Major League’s color barrier. The story has many laughs, strong action on the diamond, and a number of dramatic undertones that mirror real life—for better and worse.

If you’ve yet to see The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings, you’ve missed out on one of the best baseball stories ever told.

Next: 38. Rocky IV