You know that you are an evil character when after you lose at the end of the film, even your own son says you deserved it. Though not a lot of people saw Diggstown, but those who did would have witnessed a man who made his money through some of the most nefarious sports related means possible. Gillon bet against his hometown hero, Charles Macum Diggs, and ensured that the boxer would not win by drugging him in between rounds; rendering Diggs a vegetable for his remaining days. Dern, was equally ruthless and creepy, and it was one of the more underrated villains in Sports cinema. Too bad, most people missed this hidden gem.



The Bullet Points:
Movie Appeared:
Diggstown (1992)

Actor:
Bruce Dern

Role Portrayed:
Town Kingpin

Why you should vote for him:
This is an underrated evil role in Sports cinema.

Why you should not vote for him:
This film had a limited audience.

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Gene Hackman looked like a Head Coach with his Tom Landry like hat, and his TV ready clichés, but he was not given that much to work with as Jimmy McGinty, the Head Coach of the Washington Sentinels. We will say this, he looked and sounded the part which is better than half of the coaches on the silver screen, but when this is not even his best performance as a coach (see Hoosiers) we have to wonder what his chances seriously are.



The Bullet Points:
Movie Appeared:
The Replacements (2000)

Actor:
Gene Hackman

Role Portrayed:
Head Coach of the Washington Sentinels

Why you should vote for him:
We would consider him just for that hat.

Why you should not vote for him:
This is not even Hackman’s best role as a sports coach.

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“There’s no crying in Baseball!”   That line alone could vault Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks) into our Contributors section of the Hall. Decades later, it is still quoted on Baseball broadcasts and diamonds across the world. Hanks was perfect comedic testosterone in the film, and was able to bring other dimensions to the movie, without taking away from the true stars of the film, the women.

You actually have to hand it to the movie Jerry Maguire, for being one of the very rare films to have the sports scenes to appeal to the men, and the romantic comedy elements to appeal to women. That in itself made it easy to see why this was a major hit, but what of the titular character?

Tom Cruise (who does not enough credit for being a very good actor) stars as Maguire; a Sports Agent who has become disillusioned with the profession and the lack of humanity within it. Really, that is the core of the film, watching Cruise finding the balance of being an agent who cares about his clients and the bigger picture of life in general. Ironically, as the salaries increase in professional sports and the tales of agents (and who are we are kidding, their clients too) become more unsavory, this movie actually takes on more meaning; especially the role of Jerry Maguire.



The Bullet Points:
Movie Appeared:
Jerry Maguire (1996)

Actor:
Tom Cruise

Role Portrayed:
Sports Agent

Why you should vote for him:
It was a great role, well played, and still resonates today.

Why you should not vote for him:
Does what some consider a “Chick Flick” deserve to have a leading man of the genre in our Hall of Fame?

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