Dan Marino – Ace Ventura
YouTube: moviescenes4u
TODAY MARKS DAN MARINO’s 52nd birthday and while the former Miami Dolphin may be recognised as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, his appearance in Ace Ventura, Pet Detective tops anything he did on the football field.
Marino plays a fictional version of himself and, along with Snowflake the dolphin, is kidnapped by Ray Finkle who blames the quarterback for costing his side a Super Bowl.
Pele – Escape to Victory
YouTube: Azman Usmani
Despite playing with a broken rib – not to mention some off-the-ball shenanigans that Vinny Jones would wince at – Pele’s character Luis Fernandez still manages to score the greatest goal in movie history when he finishes off a Terry Brady (Bobby Moore) cross with a spectacular bicycle kick.
After Robert Hatch (Sly Stallone) saves a last minute German penalty the game finishes 4-4 and Pele and his team-mates are escorted from the stadium on the shoulders of supporters meaning it was more an escape to draw than victory.
Derek Jeter – The Other Guys
YouTube: Maxwellfulification
Fair enough, Jeter doesn’t have to do much other than get shot and say ‘I’m Derek Jeter’ but it’s still one of the better scenes in The Other Guys and given his recent transgressions, the ‘you should have shot A-Rod’ line seems particularly appropriate.
Jeter appears later in the film, homeless and bedraggled as a result of his shooting.
Michael Jordan - Space Jam
YouTube: theoneosegood
Jordan may have multiple NBA titles to his name and be acknowledged as the finest player to ever pick up a basketball but his role in Space Jam proved he was also an equally good comedic actor. This scene, which shows Jordan complicit in his team’s doping ring, was probably the best in the movie.
Jordan went on to also pretend to be a baseball player and golfer.
Reggie Jackson – BASEketball
YouTube: movieclips
Reggie Jackson plays a key role in BASEketball, providing inspiration for Joe ‘Coop’ Cooper who catches his third home run at game 6 of the 1977 World Series and tells his friend Doug that ‘one day, I’m going to be a big sports star’. Later, Coop invents his own sport, BASEketball, and his team becomes world champions.
Jackson is no stranger to the silver screen having also appeared in The Naked Gun, Richie Rich and an episode of MacGyver.
Graham Geraghty – Fatal Deviation
YouTube: jimmymagee77
History hasn’t been kind to Fatal Deviation and it’s aged really badly but there’s still no question that it’s the greatest Irish martial arts movie starring a GAA player ever made.
Skip to just after eight minutes to see Meath’s finest at work.
What are your favourite movie appearance by a sports star? Let us know in the comments below.
