30 for 30 - Season 1

First aired: 10/6/2009 30 episodes

Episodes

1. King's Ransom

Aired: 10/6/2009

The 1988 trade of Wayne Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings and the effect it had on Gretzky, the fans in Edmonton, and the popularity of hockey in Southern California.

2. The Band That Wouldn't Die

Aired: 10/13/2009

A profile of Baltimore's love affair with football and the Colts, focusing on the Colts Marching Band. After the Colts decamped for Indianapolis in 1984, the band stayed behind to help promote the eventual return of the NFL to the city.

3. Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL?

Aired: 10/20/2009

Fresh interviews and archival footage track the life and demise of the United States Football League in the mid-1980s. A highlight is Tollin's interview with Donald Trump, the former New Jersey Generals owner whose post-interview comments on the league give this documentary its title.

4. Muhammad and Larry

Aired: 10/27/2009

A look at the October 1980 Muhammad Ali–Larry Holmes fight and its impact on both fighters, featuring fresh interviews with participants and previously unseen lead-up footage from both fighters' camps.

5. Without Bias

Aired: 11/3/2009

The death of Len Bias from a cocaine-induced heart attack, two days after Boston selected him as the second overall pick in the 1986 NBA draft, and its impact on casual drug use, especially by the sports community.

6. The Legend of Jimmy the Greek

Aired: 11/10/2009

The life of Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder, from his career as a Las Vegas bookmaker to his tenure on The NFL Today, from which he was fired in 1988.

7. The U

Aired: 12/12/2009

The racial and cultural evolution of Miami during the 1980s as represented within the University of Miami football team.

8. Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. the New York Knicks

Aired: 3/14/2010

The impact of Indiana Pacer Reggie Miller on the New York Knicks in the 1990s, specifically focusing on the Pacers/Knicks battles in the 1994 and 1995 NBA Playoffs and on Miller's interaction with Knicks fan Spike Lee.

9. Guru of Go

Aired: 4/3/2010

A profile of Paul Westhead's coaching tenure at Loyola Marymount University (1985–1990), where his Lions' team was known for its high-scoring run-and-gun offense, use of talented players such as Bo Kimble and Hank Gathers, and a pall cast by Gathers's on-court death in 1990.

10. No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson

Aired: 4/13/2010

The 1993 trial of Hampton, Virginia, high school athlete Allen Iverson, convicted for his role in a racially tinged melee, and its impact on both the community and on Iverson's life.

11. Silly Little Game

Aired: 4/20/2010

Meeting at New York City's La Rotisserie Francaise restaurant in 1980, a group of writers and academics develop Rotisserie Fantasy baseball, only to see it take off in popularity and leave them behind.

12. Run Ricky Run

Aired: 4/27/2010

A profile of Ricky Williams focuses on his brief 2004 departure from the NFL, when he sought self-redemption amidst media criticism and fresh rumors of marijuana use.

13. The 16th Man

Aired: 5/4/2010

How hosting (and winning) the 1995 Rugby World Cup, combined with Nelson Mandela's support of the Springboks national team, affected post-apartheid South Africa.

14. Straight Outta L.A.

Aired: 5/11/2010

The relationship between the Raiders and the minority fan base in Los Angeles during the team's 13 seasons in L.A.

15. June 17, 1994

Aired: 6/16/2010

Quick-cut archival footage captures the various US sporting events on the day in question and the emotions they generated, including the opening of the World Cup soccer tournament, the Knicks/Rockets NBA Finals, Arnold Palmer's last round in the U.S. Open, and the New York Rangers' Stanley Cup victory celebration. One event, however, overshadows them all: O. J. Simpson's run from the police.

16. The Two Escobars

Aired: 6/22/2010

The lives of soccer player Andrés Escobar and drug lord Pablo Escobar; the intertwining of crime and soccer in their native Colombia; and the connections between the deaths of both men. (2 hours in length)

17. The Birth of Big Air

Aired: 7/29/2010

The life of Mat Hoffman and his 25-year career of advancing, in creative and promotional avenues, BMX riding.

18. Jordan Rides the Bus

Aired: 8/24/2010

Motivated by the dream his late father had for him, Michael Jordan retires from basketball and has a brief career in minor league baseball.

19. Little Big Men

Aired: 8/31/2010

A look at the Kirkland National Little League team's success at the 1982 Little League World Series, examining why their title win is considered one of the biggest upsets in the event's history.

20. One Night in Vegas

Aired: 9/7/2010

The friendship of boxer Mike Tyson and rapper Tupac Shakur and the night of September 7, 1996, when Shakur was murdered after attending the Tyson-Bruce Seldon fight in Las Vegas.

21. Unmatched

Aired: 9/14/2010

A look at the rivalry and friendship between tennis legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.

22. The House of Steinbrenner

Aired: 9/21/2010

The legacy of George Steinbrenner's ownership of the New York Yankees.

23. Into the Wind

Aired: 9/28/2010

Terry Fox's attempt to run 5,373 kilometres (3,339 mi) across Canada in support of fundraising for cancer research captures the attention of his fellow Canadians and the world.

24. Four Days In October

Aired: 10/5/2010

The remarkable comeback of the Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees in the 2004 ALCS.

25. Once Brothers

Aired: 10/12/2010

The story of Croatian Dražen Petrović and Serbian Vlade Divac, NBA players and Yugoslavian national teammates, and how upheaval in their homeland adversely and irretrievably affected their friendship. (90 minutes in length)

26. Tim Richmond: To the Limit

Aired: 10/19/2010

The career of NASCAR driver Tim Richmond, his flamboyant lifestyle, and his 1989 death from AIDS.

27. Fernando Nation

Aired: 10/26/2010

The euphoria created by Fernando Valenzuela's 1981 arrival with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

28. Marion Jones: Press Pause

Aired: 11/2/2010

The successful track and field career of Marion Jones, her 2007 admission of performance-enhancing drug use, and subsequent prison sentence.

29. The Best that Never Was

Aired: 11/9/2010

The 1981 recruiting of high school football player Marcus Dupree by multiple big-time college programs, his resulting injury-prone college and professional career, and how his pursuit by college and USFL teams changed the recruiting process. (2 hours in length)

30. Pony Excess

Aired: 12/11/2010

The rise, fall, and rebirth of the SMU Mustangs football program, which received a 1-year "death penalty" for major infractions after former SMU player David Stanley blew the whistle on the long-suspected program. Patrick Duffy, known for starring in TV's Dallas at the time of the scandal, narrates. (2 hours in length)