Must-See Sports Movies You've Never Heard of

Sports movies never get old. We know all about the classics: The Sandlot, Hoosiers and The Mighty Ducks come to mind. Those movies are quoted, talked about and remembered for they way they entertained us.

The big suits in Hollywood have always embraced sports over the years, turning a profit just about any way they can. In the realm of sports-theme comedies, we've had some colossal box office gems.

Caddyshack set the standard and amazing films have followed suit. But like any good medium, there are movies that fly under the radar. The purpose of this slideshow is to take the mask off those hidden gems and let the public catch a glimpse of their greatness.

Some of these movies are classics while others are so awful, they actually are worth watching. Here now are 10 of the must-see sports movies you've never heard of.

Beer League

DAVE ALLOCCA/Associated Press

Longtime Howard Stern sidekick Artie Lange is a crude, brash dude who talks with no filter and no remorse.

Lange's 2006 flick Beer League is an example of that type of humor rolled into a movie. The film was written and produced by Lange, and despite not being critically acclaimed, Beer League has managed to become a cult classic.

The plot centers on a men's softball league and their ridiculous trials and tribulations. Lange, a few other character actors and Ralph "The Karate Kid" Macchio make up this team of blue-collar misfits. 

Beer League is insensitive, outrageous and diabolically funny. Even with its flaws, what more could you ask for from an Artie Lange movie? Watching it with a bucket of greasy wings drenched in blue cheese and a gallon of your favorite beverage is Wednesday night nirvana.

Matilda

Before you look at this trailer and think it's a joke, believe me, this movie is real. Matilda—not to be confused with the 1996 children's movie directed by Danny DeVito—is about a kangaroo that boxes grown men.

Filmed in the late '70s, Matilda features a guy wearing a nasty kangaroo suit strutting around knocking out other fighters. Forget the fact that sanctioning an animal to get in the ring with human beings isn't a real thing, this movie is one of the most ridiculous ideas ever put on film.

But that substantial amount of ridiculousness is what makes Maltilda amazing. It's extremely rare to find, so for all of you who want see it, Amazon has a copy floating around its warehouse.

The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh

Any basketball movie that was filmed in the late '70s is going have more than enough nostalgia packed in it to be considered a classic. When you throw Julius Irving in the mix, that movie becomes essential. 

The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh is Dr. J's Space Jam. He realized that a soundtrack overflowing with ambitious disco records and a whole trough full of '70s outfits is all you needed back then to make a great piece of cinema.

The voice pilfering through the trailer summed it up best: "It's dazzling, it's futuristic, it's fun!" Don't bother going to the movies this weekend. Stay in and check out The Fish That Stole Pittsburgh instead.

Ladybugs

Rodney Dangerfield created some of the funniest movies of all time during his heyday. Ladybugs continues the Dangerfield tradition.

His crude jokes, a cornball plot and a radiant cast of nobodies is just what the doctor ordered. You don't need a big budget or a ton of famous actors to make a great comedy. The majority of the titles of this list prove that. Dangerfield's presence on screen is enough to carry Ladybugs into the stratosphere of greatness.

Forget that the critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 14 percent, Ladybugs is packed with enough cheap thrills and laughs to make it a worthwhile experience.

The Great White Hype

Samuel L. Jackson does his best Don King impression in The Great White Hype. The film thrives because of its cast. Jamie Foxx, Jackson and Damon Wayans are all wonderful in their respective roles.

The Great White Hype may be a comedy, but it really covers what a lot of casual sports fans feel about boxing: The sport is rigged, filled with mismatches and every one involved is grossly overpaid.

Had the movie been released now, it wouldn't be nearly as good. That '90s pizzazz and flavor it's marinated in gives it just the right amount of kick.

At a time when heavyweights like Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield were cash kings, The Great White Hype was able to poke fun at the sport, making it a worthwhile viewing experience for fans.

The Caddy

Dean Martin was a star. His days crooning and swooning with The Rat Pack will always be a significant part of pop culture. Outside of Dean's escapades with Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford and Sammy Davis Jr., he also starred in a bevy of films.

Martin teamed up with comedy legend Jerry Lewis for The Caddy in 1953. Lewis plays Harvey Miller, a golfer who is afraid to play in tournaments. Luckily, he's friends with another talented golfer named Joe Anthony—portrayed by Martin.

The two guys kill it on camera, with beaming chemistry and a great screenplay accompanying them along the way. The Caddy is classic '50s theater. It's not going to make you burst out laughing like some contemporary movies, but its story and cast are robust enough to stand the test of time.

The Best of Times

The Best of Times is a movie for all of those people who wish they could throw themselves into a time machine and relive their high school days.

The movie features the late Robin Williams as a nerdy banker who dropped the game-winning touchdown pass in high school, which resulted in his alma matter tying their rival. As is the case in most small towns, people can't let his failures go, no matter how insignificant they might be.

Determined to right that wrong, Williams tries to recreate that game with the help of his former quarterback—played by Kurt Russell—while simultaneously attempting to fix his marriage. It's hokey at times, but the chemistry between Russell and Williams gives this movie staying power.

Necessary Roughness

Pitching the concept for Necessary Roughness to producers must have been a joy.

Tucked away in a smoke-filled restaurant on the outskirts of Beverly Hills, a writer and producer sit back and drop a verbal bomb to the studio: Scott Bakula is going to be a 40-year-old quarterback who comes back to college to save the school's football program.

Scrambling for a blank check to buy the rights to this script, the studio tells the writer to pencil in any amount of money he wants.

All right, maybe it didn't go quite like that, but that's how most movies in the economic champagne bottle of the '90s were made, right?

The premise of the movie is fitting considering the NCAA has been filled with sanctions over the years. Mirroring certain elements of real life, the fictitious Texas State University Fightin' Armadillos are forced to pluck players out of their student body to create a team.

Bakula's old gunslinger mentality breaks through the cluster of mediocrity and helps this program get back on its feet. Football and college humor are a winning combination. Necessary Roughness is just another example of that.

Plus, Sinbad is in it and he has orange hair. Honestly, what else do you people need to entertain you?

The 6th Man

There were so many great sports-themed comedies to come out of the Bill Clinton years in the White House that it's hard to name them all.

The 6th Man with Marlon Wayans was another gem that most people forgot about. Wayans plays Kenny Tyler, who attends the University of Washington with his all-star brother Antoine Tyler. Like the Harrison twins at the University of Kentucky in real life, these two guys formed a dynamic brotherly duo.

All was going well until Antoine plummeted to his death after coming down court and dunking the basketball. No worries though, in The 6th Man he comes back as a ghost and torments his baby brother.

This is a '90s movie about college hoops with one of the Wayans brothers in it. If you've seen any of Marlon's work during that time period, you know it's great.

Ed (1996)

Joey Tribbiani from Friends starring in a movie with a chimpanzee is the only way to end this list of hilarious sports movies you've never heard of.

People who live for weird, retro movies can attest to how great this movie really is. It's like Air Bud on steroids. Having a chimpanzee that can field like Omar Vizquel, hit home runs like Barry Bonds and throw the ball with more velocity than Clayton Kershaw is a dream come true for any manager.

Ed is the type of movie you turn on when you're bored on a rainy Saturday and end up watching the whole thing. Who cares if they only show it on WGN America, Ed is about chimp that plays baseball with Matt LeBlanc.