As part of Sportsnet magazine’s upcoming sports movie package we’re seeking to determine the greatest fictional athlete in film history. And we need your help to do it.
“Greatness” is open to interpretation. Some of the names appearing in the bracket overcame extreme adversity, others single-handedly took their team from laughing-stock to champion, while a select few were flat-out dominant in their respective sports.
Each day this week on Sportsnet.ca we’ll be asking you to cast your vote, with the final results appearing in the next issue of Sportsnet. But with a seemingly endless list of worthy candidates and a rule that only one athlete from a movie can be represented in the 16-athlete bracket, first we’ll need your help to whittle the list down.
Vote on the following matchups: Rocky vs. Creed; Joe Cooper vs. Doug Remer; Willie Mays Hayes vs. “Wild Thing” Rick Vaughn
Which brings us to one of our four play-in games, pitting a pair of original Bad News Bears against one another:
Amanda Whurlitzer, P, Bad News Bears:
Whurlitzer boasted a dangerous arm that carried coach Morris Buttermaker’s outcasts to a championship worthy of a team sponsored by Chico’s Bail Bonds. She also bridged the gender gap in Little League and pitched a championship game on no rest. Whurlitzer’s value to the team was made all the more obvious with her absence in Bad News Bears Breaking Training and Bad News Bears Go to Japan.
Kelly Leak, LF/CF, Bad News Bears:
In the first Bad News Bers film, Leak is called “the best athlete in the area,” which completely undermines the abilities of the greatest Little League baseball player of all-time. As a pre-teen, Leak was a five-tool player and part-time loanshark who smoked, rode a Harley, and helped lead the Bears to the title game vs. the Yankees.