Movies Like The Emmett Smith Story

If you liked The Emmett Smith Story (1979), a movie directed by Douglas G. Johnson, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
23 Blast (2014)
★ 6.8/10
When a high school football star is suddenly stricken with irreversible total blindness, he must decide whether to live a safe handicapped life or bravely return to the life he once knew and the sport he still loves.
2
Radio (2003)
★ 7.4/10
In the racially divided town of Anderson, South Carolina in 1976, football coach Harold Jones spots a mentally disabled African-American young man nicknamed Radio near his practice field and is inspired to befriend…
3
McFarland, USA (2015)
★ 7.5/10
A track coach in a small California town transforms a team of athletes into championship contenders.
4
Overcomer (2019)
★ 7.7/10
After reluctantly agreeing to coach cross-country, high school basketball Coach John Harrison helps the least likely runner attempt the impossible in the biggest race of the year.
5
Walk. Ride. Rodeo. (2019)
★ 7/10
Tells the incredible true story of Amberley Snyder, a nationally ranked rodeo barrel racer who defies the odds after barely surviving a car accident that leaves her paralyzed from the waist down.
6
Night School (2018)
★ 6.1/10
Teddy Walker is a successful salesman whose life takes an unexpected turn when he accidentally blows up his place of employment. Forced to attend night school to get his GED, Teddy soon finds himself dealing with a…
7
Champions (2023)
★ 6.7/10
A stubborn and hotheaded minor league basketball coach is forced to train a Special Olympics team when he is sentenced to community service.
8
Out of My Mind (2024)
★ 7.7/10
Melody Brooks, a sixth grader with cerebral palsy, has a quick wit and a sharp mind, but because she is non-verbal and uses a wheelchair, she is not given the same opportunities as her classmates. When a young educator…
9
Passion Fish (1992)
★ 7/10
After an accident leaves her a paraplegic, a former soap opera star struggles to recover both emotionally and mentally, until she meets her newest nurse, who has struggles of her own.
10
Stronger (2017)
★ 7/10
A victim of the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 helps the police track down the killers while struggling to recover from devastating trauma.
11
Any Given Sunday (1999)
★ 6.8/10
A star quarterback gets knocked out of the game and an unknown third stringer is called in to replace him. The unknown gives a stunning performance and forces the aging coach to reevaluate his game plans and life. A…
12
Marvellous (2014)
★ 7.1/10
Dramatisation of the true story of the life of Neil "Nello" Baldwin. Born with a mild learning disability but without the burden of social embarrassment & how his inexhaustible ability to see the good in any…
13
Wildcats (1986)
★ 6.2/10
High school track coach Molly McGrath knows just as much about football as anyone else on the planet. When a football coach's position becomes vacant, she applies for the job, despite snickers from fellow staff members…
14
We Are Marshall (2006)
★ 6.9/10
When a plane crash claims the lives of members of the Marshall University football team and some of its fans, the team's new coach and his surviving players try to keep the football program alive.
15
My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown (1989)
★ 7.5/10
No one expects much from Christy Brown, a boy with cerebral palsy born into a working-class Irish family. Though Christy is a spastic quadriplegic and essentially paralyzed, a miraculous event occurs when, at the age…
16
The Map That Leads to You (2025)
★ 6.7/10
Heather is a young woman traveling Europe with friends before starting her perfectly planned life. A chance meeting with Jack sparks an unexpected romance that leads to deep emotional discovery. As secrets and life…
17
Words on Bathroom Walls (2020)
★ 7.8/10
Diagnosed with a mental illness halfway through his senior year of high school, a witty, introspective teen struggles to keep it a secret while falling in love with a brilliant classmate who inspires him to open his…
18
Sidelined 2: Intercepted (2025)
★ 7.1/10
Freshman star quarterback Drayton struggles with the weight of expectations after a devastating setback, while dancer Dallas begins to question the future she thought she wanted. As their high school relationship…
19
Field of Dreams (1989)
★ 7.1/10
Ray Kinsella is an Iowa farmer who hears a mysterious voice telling him to turn his cornfield into a baseball diamond. He does, but the voice's directions don't stop -- even after the spirits of deceased ballplayers…
20
For Love of the Game (1999)
★ 6.4/10
A baseball legend almost finished with his distinguished career at the age of forty has one last chance to prove who he is, what he is capable of, and win the heart of the woman he has loved for the past four years.