Welcome to the “Box Office Jocks” Blog-A-Thon this fine Super Bowl weekend! A special thank you goes out to Dubsism for host his first blog-a-thon. If you aren’t familiar with Dubsism, it’s a combination of two things which usually don’t go together; rabid enthusiasm for all things sport, and an infatuation with classic cinema. I highly recommend checking out and subscribe to his blog.

This blog-a-thon is all about movies featuring actors who used to be athletes at the college, Olympic, or professional level, OR movies in which a famous athlete appears. It is NOT about movies which have a sports-related theme. This is about actors who once were jocks, or big-time jocks who make cameos.

This is fun topic. Thank you for everyone who participated. Please  check out all these awesome articles, and share the love.

Dubsism:

• Mister Roberts, 1955 – Features a cameo as an island tribal chief by Duke Kahanamoku.  If you’re not familiar, Kahanamoku won gold medals in swimming at the 1912 and 1920 Olympics, as well as a silver in 1924, losing to the gold to Johnny “Tarzan” Weismuller.
• They Were Expendable, 1945 – Before becoming arguably the biggest star in the history John Wayne played guard for the University of Southern California.

Return to the 80’s:

• Rocky III – Eye of the Tiger, baby…

Cracked Rear Viewer:

• A Lady Takes A Chance, 1943 – Bringing us our second contribution from “The Duke.”

SportsChump:

• Hooper, 1978 – SportsChump covers both categories with a Burt Reynolds flick featuring a cameo from four-time Super Bowl champ Terry Bradshaw.

Reelweegiemidget Reviews:

• Doubles down on Burt Reynolds with a retrospective spanning a selected body of his work.

Taking Up Room:

• Prefontaine, 1997 – Before he was “Al Bundy,” Ed O’Neill was a defensive lineman for the Youngstown State Penguins, and earned a tryout with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Wonderful World of Cinema:

• Dangerous When Wet, 1953 – Virginie Pronovost dives into this Esther Williams classic. Williams may very well have been an Olympic gold medalist in swimming had World War II not happened.

Sat In Your Lap:

• Take Me Out To The Ball Game, 1949 – Michael from Sat in Your Lap doubles down on Esther Williams.

In The Good Old Days Of Classic Hollywood:

• Million Dollar Mermaid, 1952 – Thus completes our Esther Williams trifecta.

Pale Writer:

• Return to Me, 2000 – Before the X-Files, David Duchovny was an “X and O” guy on the basketball floor for Princeton University.
• Raw Wind In Eden, 1958 –  She is also bringing the fourth Esther Williams contribution to this blog-a-thon.

It Came From The Man Cave:

• Into The Sun, 2005 – Here’s a guy looking to win the first Box Office Jocks Heisman Trophy by looking at former Ohio State/Tennessee Titans star Eddie George in this Steven Seagal vehicle.

Love Letters To Old Hollywood:

• Sun Valley Serenade, 1941 –  Our first tribute to figure skating legend Sonja Henie.

The Midnite Drive-In:

• Major League, 1989 & Major League II, 1994 – Quiggy from Midnite Drive-In goes juuuuusssst a bit outside going inside the work of former catcher and Hall-of-Fame broadcaster Bob Uecker’s portrayal of the movie voice of the Cleveland Indians, Harry Doyle.

Crítica Retrô:

• Black Orpheus, 1959 – Le Magalhaes takes us through a tale set in Rio’s Carnival with Brazil’s two-time gold medalist Ademar Da Silva

Mike’s Take On The Movies:

• Mike brings us an All-Star championship team.

Here’s to some solid reading about Box Office Jocks!