hoosiers

     

Hoosiers is an iconic 1986 Acaemy Award nominated sports film about a small-town Indiana high school basketball team that wins the state championship. The film is set during 1951, when all high schools in Indiana, regardless of school size, competed in one state championship tournament. It stars Gene Hackman as a new coach with a spotty past, Barbara Hershey, Sheb Wooley, and Dennis Hopper as the basketball-loving town drunkard, a performance that brought Hopper an Oscar nomination. The movie was written by Angelo Pizzo, who would go on to co-produce the underdog sports movie Rudy, and directed by David Anspaugh, who directed Rudy. The score was composed by Jerry Goldsmith, who was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Score.

Trivia about hoosiers

  • This Gene Hackman hoop movie was called "Best Shot" in Europe due to fears that no one would understand the U.S. Title
  • Hickory, Indiana's basketball team goes all the way to the state championships in this 1986 film
  • "I play, Coach stays. He goes, I go", says Jimmy Chitwood in this 1986 Hackman pic
  • Gene Hackman coached a small-town Indiana high school team right to the state championship in this 1986 film