Sports films began their popularity in the 1920s and ever since there has never been a shortage of novels or biographies to draw from.   Film portrayals drove home that sports axiom related to practice producing perfection and that sports heroes had human imperfections, as do we all.

In reviewing for the writing of this narrative, it was surprising how many films centered on boxing and the film editions that appeared as a result.  Some prime examples include The Leather Pushers (1922 & 1931 talkie), Fighting Blood (1923), Fighting Back (1924), The Ring (1927), Iron Man (1931), Kid Galahad (1937), The Great John L (1945 story of John L. Sullivan), Body and Soul (1947), The Joe Louis Story (1953 autobiography), Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956 autobiography of Rocky Graziano), and Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962) written by Rod Serling.  One boxing film The Champ (1931) gave Wallace Beery a tie for the Best Actor Academy Award with Fredric March in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  The Champ also won an Oscar for Best Screenplay and author Frances Marion also wrote the novelization for the A. L. Burt photoplay edition.  Many of these films are crossovers into crime or gangster films, which seems to plague this sport but makes for exciting reading and viewing.

Football and baseball films also have their share of the sports arena.  Some football plots are seen in The Quarterback (1926), One Minute to Play (1926) with Notre Dame hero Red Grange, 70,000 Witnesses (1932) which crosses over into the mystery realm, The Big Game (1936), Knute Rockne, All American (1940), and Number One (1969).  Baseball themes are seen in such films as The New Klondike (1926), The Pride of the Yankees (1942 The Lou Gehrig Story) with Gary Cooper, The Babe Ruth Story (1948 from his recollections), It Happens Every Spring (1949), The Jackie Robinson Story (1950), Fear Strikes Out (1956 autobiography of Jimmy Piersall), and Damn Yankees (1958 The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant).

Horseracing and auto racing have also added some speed to the sports book world.  The Pace That Thrills is a novelization that explored auto & motorcycle racing, along with Burn Em Up Barnes (1935).  Broadway Bill (1935) directed by Frank Capra brought horse betting and competition to the nation’s attention.  Another novelization The Calgary Stampede (1925) presented aspects of the rodeo to the film going public.

Other more esoteric sports tie-ins include Gidget (1959) who introduced us to surfing.  The Silver Horde (1930) and Man’s Favorite Sport (1963) gave us insight into the salmon industry and the sport of fishing.  The Arsenal Stadium Mystery examined soccer (football) with a crossover into the mystery genre.  This first edition title is actively collected in the United Kingdom.

There’s not much to report regards swimming other than the 1968 film The Swimmer, where Burt Lancaster swims his way around the neighborhood. 

Martial arts films did not get proper recognition from book publishers until Bruce Lee emerged on the scene in the 1970s.  His introduction to American films in Marlowe (1969) allowed him to use kung fu to intimidate James Garner.

A final appreciation is owed to the novel by Walter Tevis turned into a stark 1961 film, The Hustler. An all-star cast containing Paul Newman as Fast Eddie Felsen, Jackie Gleason as Minnesota Fats, George C. Scott, and Piper Lauri created considerable drama.  For anyone with an appreciation for the sport of pool (pocket billiards), this film and novel are tops.  Putting aside the merits of this game as a sport, how can one overlook the trick shots performed by Willie Mosconi (the ‘King’ of the pool table at this time).

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Last Revision:  May 6, 2021 11:42 AM