30 for 30 Season 1

Season 1

Air date: 2009-10-06

Episodes: 30

Episodes

E1: King's Ransom

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.

Air date: 2009-10-06 • ★ 8

E2: The Band That Wouldn't Die

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.

Air date: 2009-10-13 • ★ 5

E3: Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL?

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.

Air date: 2009-10-20 • ★ 6

E4: Muhammad and Larry

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.

Air date: 2009-10-27

E5: Without Bias

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.

Air date: 2009-11-03 • ★ 7

E6: The Legend of Jimmy the Greek

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.

Air date: 2009-11-10

E7: The U

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

Air date: 2009-12-12

E8: Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. the New York Knicks

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.

Air date: 2010-03-14

E9: Guru of Go

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.

Air date: 2010-04-03

E10: No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson

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.

Air date: 2010-04-13 • ★ 10

E11: Silly Little Game

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.

Air date: 2010-04-20

E12: Run Ricky Run

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.

Air date: 2010-04-27

E13: The 16th Man

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.

Air date: 2010-05-04

E14: Straight Outta L.A.

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

Air date: 2010-05-11 • ★ 5

E15: June 17, 1994

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.

Air date: 2010-06-16 • ★ 7.6

E16: The Two Escobars

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)

Air date: 2010-06-22 • ★ 9

E17: The Birth of Big Air

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

Air date: 2010-07-29 • ★ 6

E18: Jordan Rides the Bus

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

Air date: 2010-08-24 • ★ 7.3

E19: Little Big Men

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.

Air date: 2010-08-31

E20: One Night in Vegas

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.

Air date: 2010-09-07 • ★ 10

E21: Unmatched

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

Air date: 2010-09-14

E22: The House of Steinbrenner

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

Air date: 2010-09-21

E23: Into the Wind

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.

Air date: 2010-09-28 • ★ 8.7

E24: Four Days In October

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

Air date: 2010-10-05

E25: Once Brothers

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)

Air date: 2010-10-12

E26: Tim Richmond: To the Limit

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

Air date: 2010-10-19 • ★ 7.3

E27: Fernando Nation

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

Air date: 2010-10-26

E28: Marion Jones: Press Pause

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

Air date: 2010-11-02

E29: The Best that Never Was

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)

Air date: 2010-11-09

E30: Pony Excess

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)

Air date: 2010-12-11