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The Best Episodes of 30 for 30 Season 1

Every episode of 30 for 30 Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of 30 for 30 Season 1!

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30 for 30 is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This currently includes four "volumes" of 30

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 1 - King's Ransom
    6.7/10(1685 votes)

    #1 - King's Ransom

    S1:E1

    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.

    Director:Peter Berg
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 2 - The Band That Wouldn't Die
    6.7/10(1071 votes)

    #2 - The Band That Wouldn't Die

    S1:E2

    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.

    Director:Barry Levinson
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 3 - Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL?
    7.3/10(1392 votes)

    #3 - Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL?

    S1:E3

    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.

    Director:Michael Tollin
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 4 - Muhammad and Larry
    7.0/10(970 votes)

    #4 - Muhammad and Larry

    S1:E4

    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.

    Directors:Bradley Kaplan, Albert Maysles
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 5 - Without Bias
    7.2/10(1424 votes)

    #5 - Without Bias

    S1:E5

    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.

    Director:Kirk Fraser
    Writers:Kirk Fraser, Sam Bardley

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  6. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 6 - The Legend of Jimmy the Greek
    6.5/10(989 votes)

    #6 - The Legend of Jimmy the Greek

    S1:E6

    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.

    Director:Fritz Mitchell
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 7 - The U
    7.8/10(1975 votes)

    #7 - The U

    S1:E7

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

    Director:Billy Corben
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 8 - Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. the New York Knicks
    8.0/10(2354 votes)

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

    S1:E8

    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.

    Director:Dan Klores
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 9 - Guru of Go
    7.3/10(1119 votes)

    #9 - Guru of Go

    S1:E9

    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.

    Director:Bill Couturié
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 10 - No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson
    6.9/10(1512 votes)

    #10 - No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson

    S1:E10

    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.

    Director:Steve James
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 11 - Silly Little Game
    6.4/10(889 votes)

    #11 - Silly Little Game

    S1:E11

    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.

    Directors:Adam Kurland, Lucas Jansen
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 12 - Run Ricky Run
    7.0/10(1294 votes)

    #12 - Run Ricky Run

    S1:E12

    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.

    Directors:Royce Toni, Sean Pamphilon
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 13 - The 16th Man
    7.6/10(796 votes)

    #13 - The 16th Man

    S1:E13

    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.

    Director:Cliff Bestall
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 14 - Straight Outta L.A.
    6.6/10(1163 votes)

    #14 - Straight Outta L.A.

    S1:E14

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

    Director:Ice Cube
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 15 - June 17, 1994
    7.7/10(1795 votes)

    #15 - June 17, 1994

    S1:E15

    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.

    Director:Brett Morgen
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 16 - The Two Escobars
    8.4/10(3520 votes)

    #16 - The Two Escobars

    S1:E16

    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)

    Directors:Jeff Zimbalist, Michael Zimbalist
    Writers:Jeff Zimbalist, Michael Zimbalist

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  17. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 17 - The Birth of Big Air
    7.0/10(885 votes)

    #17 - The Birth of Big Air

    S1:E17

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

    Director:Jeff Tremaine
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 18 - Jordan Rides the Bus
    6.8/10(1689 votes)

    #18 - Jordan Rides the Bus

    S1:E18

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

    Director:Ron Shelton
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 19 - Little Big Men
    6.4/10(657 votes)

    #19 - Little Big Men

    S1:E19

    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.

    Director:Al Szymanski
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 20 - One Night in Vegas
    6.2/10(657 votes)

    #20 - One Night in Vegas

    S1:E20

    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.

    Director:Reggie Rock Bythewood
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 21 - Unmatched
    6.4/10(650 votes)

    #21 - Unmatched

    S1:E21

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

    Directors:Lisa Lax, Nancy Stern Winters
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 22 - The House of Steinbrenner
    6.3/10(844 votes)

    #22 - The House of Steinbrenner

    S1:E22

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

    Director:Barbara Kopple
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 23 - Into the Wind
    7.7/10(750 votes)

    #23 - Into the Wind

    S1:E23

    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.

    Directors:Steve Nash, Ezra Holland
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 24 - Four Days In October
    7.4/10(1497 votes)

    #24 - Four Days In October

    S1:E24

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

    Director:Gary Waksman
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. 30 for 30 Season 1 Episode 25 - Once Brothers
    8.5/10(3563 votes)

    #25 - Once Brothers

    S1:E25

    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)

    Director:Michael Tolajian
    Writer:Unknown

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Season 1 Ratings Summary

"King's Ransom" is the best rated episode of "30 for 30" season 1. It scored 6.7/10 based on 1685 votes. Directed by Peter Berg and written by Unknown, it aired on 10/6/2009. This episode is rated 0.0 points higher than the second-best, "The Band That Wouldn't Die".