Will Smith wins Oscar for 'King Richard' role; what other sports movies have won Academy Awards?

Films about sports are not often rewarded at the Academy Awards. It is rare that they are nominated for the top honors, and even rarer still that they win.

But this year, one of the top sports films of the year was up for several Oscars. "King Richard," the biographical drama about Serena and Venus Williams and their father, Richard Williams, was nominated for six Academy Awards, including the coveted best picture.

"King Richard" also picked up nominations for Will Smith as Richard Williams (best actor), Aunjanue Ellis as Oracene Price, Serena and Venus' mother (best supporting actress), Zach Baylin (best original screenplay), "Be Alive" by Beyonce and DIXON (best original song) and Pamela Martin (best film editing). Smith won the award for his portrayal as the father of the two tennis stars.

Smith won for best actor. He accepted the award just minutes after slapping comedian Chris Rock for making a joke on stage about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. 

MORE: 'King Richard' trailer, cast & more

As movie fans discuss what happened with "King Richard" at the 2022 Academy Awards, The Sporting News looks at the history of sports movies at the Oscars based on category. A rundown of sports movies nominated for Academy Awards:

Years are based on release date. Asterisks indicate films that won the award.

Best Picture

• "The Pride of the Yankees" (1942)
• "The Hustler" (1961)
• "Rocky" (1976)*
• "Heaven Can Wait" (1978)
• "Breaking Away" (1979)
• "Raging Bull" (1980)
• "Chariots of Fire" (1981)*
• "Field of Dreams" (1989)
• "Jerry Maguire" (1996)
• "Seabiscuit" (2003)
• "Million Dollar Baby" (2004)*
• "The Blind Side" (2009)
• "The Fighter" (2010)
• "Moneyball" (2011)
• "Ford v Ferrari" (2019)
• "King Richard" (2021)

Should "King Richard" win the Academy Award for best picture, it would join exclusive company with iconic boxing film "Rocky," the 1984 film "Chariots of Fire" about British track athletes Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams, and "Million Dollar Baby," the 2004 film about an old boxing trainer who turns Maggie Fitzgerald into one of the nation's best boxers. "Chariots of Fire" and "Million Dollar Baby" each won four Oscars total, the most of any sports films in history.

Best Director

• Clarence Brown, "National Velvet" (1944)
• Robert Rossen, "The Hustler" (1961)
• John G. Avildsen, "Rocky" (1976)*
• Warren Beatty and Buck Henry, "Heaven Can Wait" (1978)
• Peter Yates, "Breaking Away" (1979)
• Martin Scorsese, "Raging Bull" (1980)
• Hugh Hudson, "Chariots of Fire" (1981)
• Clint Eastwood, "Million Dollar Baby" (2004)*
• David O' Russell, "The Fighter" (2010)
• Bennett Miller, "Foxcatcher" (2014)

The two boxing films to win best picture also saw their directors recognized with Academy Awards, with Avildsen winning for "Rocky" and Eastwood winning for "Million Dollar Baby."

Best Actor

• Gary Cooper, "The Pride of the Yankees" (1942)
• Paul Newman, "The Hustler" (1961)
• Sylvester Stallone, "Rocky" (1976)
• Warren Beatty, "Heaven Can Wait" (1978)
• Robert De Niro, "Raging Bull" (1980)
• Paul Newman, "The Color of Money" (1986)
• Tom Cruise, "Jerry Maguire" (1996)
• Denzel Washington, "The Hurricane" (1999)
• Will Smith, "Ali" (2001)
• Clint Eastwood, "Million Dollar Baby" (2004)
• Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler" (2008)
• Morgan Freeman, "Invictus" (2009)
• Brad Pitt, "Moneyball" (2011)
• Steve Carrell, "Foxcatcher" (2014)
• Will Smith, "King Richard" (2021)*

Smith won the award for best actor at the 2022 Oscars, marking the first time an actor in a leading role in a sports movie took home the Academy Award. It was his second time nominated for portraying a sports figure after he was nominated for the 2001 film, "Ali," for his role as Muhammad Ali.

Best Actress

• Teresa Wright, "The Pride of the Yankees" (1942)
• Piper Laurie, "The Hustler" (1961)
• Talia Shire, "Rocky" (1976)
• Hilary Swank, "Million Dollar Baby" (2004)*
• Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side" (2009)*
• Margot Robbie, "I, Tonya" (2017)

Swank became the first leading actress to win the Oscar for her role in a sports movie, but it wasn't long before Bullock joined her with a win in 2009.

Best Supporting Actor

• Jackie Gleason, "The Hustler" (1961)
• George C. Scott, "The Hustler" (1961)
• Vincent Gardenia, "Bang the Drum Slowly" (1973)
• Burgess Meredith, "Rocky" (1976)
• Burt Young, "Rocky" (1976)
• Jack Warden, "Heaven Can Wait" (1978)
• Joe Pesci, "Raging Bull" (1980)
• Ian Holm, "Chariots of Fire" (1981)
• Noriyuke Morita, "The Karate Kid" (1984)
• Dennis Hopper, "Hoosiers" (1986)
• Cuba Gooding Jr., "Jerry Maguire" (1996)*
• Jon Voight, "Ali" (2001)
• Morgan Freeman, "Million Dollar Baby" (2004)*
• Paul Giamatti, "Cinderella Man" (2005)
• Matt Damon, "Invictus" (2009)
• Christian Bale, "The Fighter" (2010)*
• Jonah Hill, "Moneyball" (2011)
• Nick Nolte, "Warrior" (2011)
• Mark Ruffalo, "Foxcatcher" (2014)
• Sylvester Stallone, "Creed" (2015)

Gooding was the first supporting actor in a sports movie to win an Oscar for his role as Rod Tidwell in "Jerry Maguire." Two supporting actors in boxing movies — Freeman in "Million Dollar Baby" and Bale in "The Fighter" — soon joined him.

Best Supporting Actress

• Anne Revere, "National Velvet" (1944)*
• Dyan Cannon, "Heaven Can Wait" (1978)
• Barbara Barrie, "Breaking Away" (1979)
• Cathy Moriarty, "Raging Bull" (1980)
• Glenn Close, "The Natural" (1984)
• Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, "The Color of Money" (1986)
• Marisa Tomei, "The Wrestler" (2008)
• Melissa Leo, "The Fighter" (2010)*
• Amy Adams, "The Fighter" (2010)
• Allison Janney, "I, Tonya" (2017)*
• Aunjanue Ellis, "King Richard" (2021)

Revere earned the second win for sports movies in film as Araminty Brown in the horse racing film "National Velvet." Between the two nominees from "The Fighter" in 2010, Melissa Leo earned the win over fellow cast member Amy Adams as the mother of the main fighters in the film. Then, Allison Janney won for portraying LaVona Golden, the mother of Tonya Harding.

Best Original Screenplay

• Sylvester Stallone, "Rocky" (1976)
• Steve Tesich, "Breaking Away" (1979)*
• Colin Welland, "Chariots of Fire" (1981)*
• Ron Shelton, "Bull Durham" (1988)
• Cameron Crowe, "Jerry Maguire" (1996)
• Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson and Keith Dorrington, "The Fighter" (2010)
• E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman, "Foxcatcher" (2014)
• Zach Baylin, "King Richard" (2021)

In rapid succession, Tesich for "Breaking Away" and Welland for "Chariots of Fire" won Academy Awards for original screenplay. There has not been a winner for sports films in the category since Welland's win.

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Herman J. Mankiewicz and Jo Swerling, "The Pride of the Yankees" (1942)
• Robert Rossen and Sidney Carroll, "The Hustler" (1961)
• Elaine May and Warren Beatty, "Heaven Can Wait" (1978)
• Richard Price, "The Color of Money" (1986)
• Phil Alden Robinson, "Field of Dreams" (1989)
• Gary Ross, "Seabiscuit" (2003)
• Paul Haggis, "Million Dollar Baby" (2004)
• Stan Chervin, Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian, "Moneyball" (2011)

A sports movie has never won for adapted screenplay. However, Herman J. Mankiewicz, the writer for "The Pride of the Yankees," was later the subject of a movie nominated for 10 Academy Awards in the 2020 film "Mank," which won two. Gary Oldman, who portrayed Mankiewicz, was nominated for best actor but did not win.

Best International Feature Film

• "Lagaan" (2001)

The 2001 Indian Hindi-language film about a group of villagers playing the British Indian Army in cricket is the only sports film to be nominated for international feature film.

Best Documentary Feature

• "When We Were Kings" (1996)*
• "Undefeated" (2012)*

Documentaries are undefeated at the Oscars. "When We Were Kings" is about the "Rumble in the Jungle" fight between Ali and George Foreman, while "Undefeated" covers a high school football team attempting to turn around a long history of struggles.

Best Documentary Short Subject

• "The Queen of Basketball" (2021)*
• "Audible" (2021)

Two sports documentary short subjects were nominated in the 2022 Academy Awards, and it was "The Queen of Basketball" that came out with the win. With the win, Shaquille O'Neal and Stephen Curry earned Oscars as executive producers of the documentary.

Best Animated Short Film

• "Dear Basketball" (2017)*

Kobe Bryant added Academy Award winner to his list of accolades when the animated short based on his 2015 Players' Tribune letter announcing his retirement won.

Best Original Score

• Leigh Harline, "The Pride of the Yankees" (1942)
• Dave Grusin, "Heaven Can Wait" (1978)
• Patrick Williams, "Breaking Away" (1979)
• Vangelis, "Chariots of Fire" (1981)*
• Randy Newman, "The Natural" (1984)
• Jerry Goldsmith, "Hoosiers" (1986)
• James Horner, "Field of Dreams" (1989)

Despite seven nominations, sports films only have one original score win: from the composition of Vangelis — Evángelos Papathanassíou — for "Chariots of Fire."

Best Original Song

• "Gonna Fly Now" by Bill Conti, Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins, "Rocky" (1976)
• "Be Alive" by DIXSON and Beyonce, "King Richard" (2021)

"Be Alive" has joined the iconic song "Gonna Fly Now" as nominees in this category. It could become the only winner on Sunday.

Best Sound

• Thomas T. Moulton, "The Pride of the Yankees" (1942)
• Harry Warren Tetrick, William McCaughey, Lyle J. Burbridge, Bud Alper, "Rocky" (1976)
• Donald O. Mitchell, Bill Nicholson, David J. Kimball and Les Lazarowitz, "Raging Bull" (1980)
• Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Tod A. Maitland, "Seabiscuit" (2003)
• Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, David Giammarco and Ed Novick, "Moneyball" (2011)
• Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Steven A. Morrow, "Ford v Ferrari" (2019)

No sports film has won for best sound. While Massey, Giammarco and Morrow did not win for best sound mixing, Donald Sylvester took the award for best sound editing for his work on "Ford v Ferrari." Best sound editing is no longer at the Academy Awards.

Best Production Design

• Perry Ferguson and Howard Bristol, "The Pride of the Yankees" (1942)
• Cedric Gibbons, Urie McCleary, Edwin B. Willis and Mildred Griffiths, "National Velvet" (1944)
• Harry Horner and Gene Callahan, "The Hustler" (1961)*
• Paul Sylbert, Edwin O'Donovan and George Gaines, "Heaven Can Wait" (1978)*
• Mel Bourne, Angelo P. Graham and Bruce Weintraub, "The Natural" (1984)
• Boris Leven and Karen O'Hara, "The Color of Money" (1986)
• Jeannine Oppewall and Leslie Pope, "Seabiscuit" (2003)

"The Hustler" won for black and white in both production design and cinematography back when the categories were distinct between color and black-and-white films. "Heaven Can Wait" was the first to win after the categories merged.

Best Cinematography

• Rudolph Maté, "The Pride of the Yankees" (1942)
• Leonard Smith, "National Velvet" (1944)
• Eugen Schüfftan, "The Hustler" (1961)*
• William A. Fraker, "Heaven Can Wait" (1978)
• Michael Chapman, "Raging Bull" (1980)
• Caleb Deschanel, "The Natural" (1984)
• John Schwartzman, "Seabiscuit" (2003)

Schüfftan's win in 1961 came when the categories were still separate between color and black-and-white . No sports film has won since then.

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

• David LeRoy Anderson and Lance Anderson, "Cinderella Man" (2005)
• Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard, "Foxcatcher" (2014)

Only two sports movies have been nominated for makeup and hairstyling at the Academy Awards.

Best Costume Design

• Milena Canonero, "Chariots of Fire" (1981)*
• Judianna Makovsky, "Seabiscuit" (2003)

Canonero's costume design for "Chariots of Fire" remains the only win in the category for sports movies.

Best Film Editing

• Daniel Mandell, "The Pride of the Yankees" (1942)*
• Robert J. Kern, "National Velvet" (1944)
• Michael Luciano, "The Longest Yard" (1974)
• Richard Halsey and Scott Conrad, "Rocky" (1976)
• Thelma Schoonmaker, "Raging Bull" (1980)*
• Terry Rawlings, "Chariots of Fire" (1981)
• Frederick Marx, Steve James and Bill Haugse, "Hoop Dreams" (1994)
• Joe Hutshing, "Jerry Maguire" (1996)
• William Goldenberg, "Seabiscuit" (2003)
• Joel Cox, "Million Dollar Baby" (2004)
• Daniel P. Hanley and Mike Hill, "Cinderella Man" (2005)
• Pamela Martin, "The Fighter" (2010)
• Christopher Tellefsen, "Moneyball" (2011)
• Tatiana S. Riegel, "I, Tonya" (2017)
• Michael McCusker and Andrew Buckland, "Ford v Ferrari" (2019)*
• Pamela Martin, "King Richard" (2021)

The Academy clearly is high on the film editing that takes place in sports films. Still, only "The Pride of the Yankees," "Raging Bull" and "Ford v Ferrari" have ever won the award. Despite 11 nominations, the most of any sports film in history, "The Pride of the Yankees" only won in this category.

Best Visual Effects

• Jack Cosgrove, Ray Binger and Thomas T. Moulton, "The Pride of the Yankees" (1942)

Back when the category was still called Best Special Effects, "The Pride of the Yankees" was nominated for the Oscar. With action and sci-fi films dominating the category in recent years, it is hard to see a sports film earning a nomination — let alone a win — in this category in the future.