50 Best Sports Movies Ever

36. 61*

Year: 2001
Sport: Baseball
Starring: Barry Pepper, Thomas Jane, Anthony Michael Hall, Richard Masur, Bruce McGill
Director: Billy Crystal

In 1961, New York Yankees teammates Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris rivaled each other in the pursuit of Babe Ruth’s longstanding record for the most home runs hit in a single season. Both men were on pace to surpass 60, which made for one of the most compelling storylines in sports history.

Starring Barry Pepper as Maris and Thomas Jane as Mantle, the film 61* does an excellent job of telling this incredible story.

Maris ended up hitting 61 home runs, which served as the gold standard for nearly 40 years. Mark McGwire broke it in 1998 when he hit 70, and Barry Bonds passed McGwire with 73 in 2001—years during which steroids have been factored in.

As 61* displays, this road to immortality was not as nice as it may have seemed for Maris and Mantle.

The M&M Boys are icons of the sport, but they clashed during their simultaneous pursuit of one of baseball’s most prestigious records.

With the media finally warming up to Mantle, whom they’d long criticized for not being, “New York enough,” it was Maris who took the brunt of their attack. His 61 home runs were celebrated by some, but downplayed by others who would do anything to protect Ruth’s legacy.

Words fail to do this film justice, as Billy Crystal puts together one of his finest pieces of cinematic art with one of the Yankees’ greatest seasons and stories.

Next: 35. Ali