6.7/101,610 votes#1 - King's Ransom
Season 1 Episode 1 - 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.
Director: Peter Berg
Writer: N/A
6.7/101,018 votes#2 - The Band That Wouldn't Die
Season 1 Episode 2 - 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.
Director: Barry Levinson
Writer: N/A
7.3/101,315 votes#3 - Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL?
Season 1 Episode 3 - 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.
Director: Michael Tollin
Writer: N/A
7.0/10918 votes#4 - Muhammad and Larry
Season 1 Episode 4 - 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.
Director: Bradley Kaplan, Albert Maysles
Writer: N/A
7.2/101,365 votes#5 - Without Bias
Season 1 Episode 5 - 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.
Director: Kirk Fraser
Writer: Sam Bardley, Kirk Fraser
6.5/10944 votes#6 - The Legend of Jimmy the Greek
Season 1 Episode 6 - 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.
Director: Fritz Mitchell
Writer: N/A
7.8/101,892 votes#7 - The U
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 12/12/2009
The racial and cultural evolution of Miami during the 1980s as represented within the University of Miami football team.
Director: Billy Corben
Writer: N/A
8.0/102,238 votes#8 - Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. the New York Knicks
Season 1 Episode 8 - 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.
Director: Dan Klores
Writer: N/A
7.3/101,072 votes#9 - Guru of Go
Season 1 Episode 9 - 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.
Director: Bill Couturié
Writer: N/A
6.9/101,454 votes#10 - No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson
Season 1 Episode 10 - 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.
Director: Steve James
Writer: N/A
6.4/10835 votes#11 - Silly Little Game
Season 1 Episode 11 - 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.
Director: Adam Kurland, Lucas Jansen
Writer: N/A
7.0/101,231 votes#12 - Run Ricky Run
Season 1 Episode 12 - 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.
Director: Royce Toni, Sean Pamphilon
Writer: N/A
7.6/10767 votes#13 - The 16th Man
Season 1 Episode 13 - 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.
Director: Cliff Bestall
Writer: N/A
6.5/101,116 votes#14 - Straight Outta L.A.
Season 1 Episode 14 - 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.
Director: Ice Cube
Writer: N/A
7.7/101,693 votes#15 - June 17, 1994
Season 1 Episode 15 - 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.
Director: Brett Morgen
Writer: N/A
8.4/103,472 votes#16 - The Two Escobars
Season 1 Episode 16 - 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)
Director: Jeff Zimbalist, Michael Zimbalist
Writer: Jeff Zimbalist, Michael Zimbalist
7.0/10849 votes#17 - The Birth of Big Air
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 7/29/2010
The life of Mat Hoffman and his 25-year career of advancing, in creative and promotional avenues, BMX riding.
Director: Jeff Tremaine
Writer: N/A
6.8/101,617 votes#18 - Jordan Rides the Bus
Season 1 Episode 18 - 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.
Director: Ron Shelton
Writer: N/A
6.4/10630 votes#19 - Little Big Men
Season 1 Episode 19 - 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.
Director: Al Szymanski
Writer: N/A
6.1/10635 votes#20 - One Night in Vegas
Season 1 Episode 20 - 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.
Director: Reggie Rock Bythewood
Writer: N/A
6.4/10613 votes#21 - Unmatched
Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 9/14/2010
A look at the rivalry and friendship between tennis legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.
Director: Lisa Lax, Nancy Stern Winters
Writer: N/A
6.3/10801 votes#22 - The House of Steinbrenner
Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 9/21/2010
The legacy of George Steinbrenner's ownership of the New York Yankees.
Director: Barbara Kopple
Writer: N/A
7.8/10717 votes#23 - Into the Wind
Season 1 Episode 23 - 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.
Director: Steve Nash, Ezra Holland
Writer: N/A
7.4/101,429 votes#24 - Four Days In October
Season 1 Episode 24 - Aired 10/5/2010
The remarkable comeback of the Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees in the 2004 ALCS.
Director: Gary Waksman
Writer: N/A
8.5/103,489 votes#25 - Once Brothers
Season 1 Episode 25 - 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)
Director: Michael Tolajian
Writer: N/A
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!
30 for 30 is the umbrella title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN and its sister networks and online properties. The series,...
Genre:Documentary
Network:ESPN
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 1610 votes. Directed by Peter Berg and written by N/A, it aired on 10/6/2009. This episode is rated 0.0 points higher than the second-best, "The Band That Wouldn't Die".