Hoosiers
Movie, 1986, The '80s, Set in Indiana high-school basketball
Hoosiers is #4 of 35 in release order and #4 of 35 in chronological order in the Sports Movies.
The story
Failed college coach Norman Dale gets a chance at redemption when he is hired to coach a high school basketball team in a tiny Indiana town. After a teacher persuades star player Jimmy Chitwood to quit and focus on his long-neglected studies, Dale struggles to develop a winning team in the face of community criticism for his temper and his unconventional choice of assistant coach: Shooter, a notorious alcoholic.
Hoosiers recap
Hoosiers (1986) follows Norman Dale, a coach with a hidden past, who takes over the basketball team at a tiny Indiana high school in 1951. David Anspaugh directs this basketball drama, loosely based on Milan High School's 1954 state title. Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) arrives in Hickory, hired by his old friend Principal Cletus Summers, and finds a town that lives for the sport but has lost its best player, Jimmy Chitwood, who quit after the old coach died. Teacher Myra Fleener (Barbara Hershey) wants Jimmy left alone to study. With only a handful of players, Norman drills fundamentals and insists on four passes before any shot, and his temper gets him ejected from games. He hires the town drunk, Wilbur "Shooter" Flatch (Dennis Hopper), as his assistant on condition he stays sober. The town votes to fire Norman, until Jimmy walks in and says he will play only if the coach stays. Hoosiers follows Chariots of Fire in release order and precedes Bull Durham.
Hoosiers ending explained
Hoosiers ends with Hickory winning the state championship in Indianapolis on Jimmy's last-second shot against the much bigger South Bend Central. Before that, Norman gets himself ejected on purpose so Shooter can call a winning play, earning the respect of his son Everett, though Shooter later relapses. In the final timeout Norman draws up a decoy play, and Jimmy tells him, "I'll make it." The closing scene shows a boy shooting baskets in the empty Hickory gym beneath the team's championship photo, with Norman's voice saying, "I love you guys."
Post-credits scenes
No. Hoosiers has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch Hoosiers
Hoosiers is streaming on Prime Video and YouTube (free) in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.4/10, Rotten Tomatoes 90%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Chariots of Fire, before Bull Durham.
- Chronological order: after Chariots of Fire, before Bull Durham.
Cast
- Gene Hackman as Norman Dale
- Barbara Hershey as Myra Fleener
- Dennis Hopper as Wilbur 'Shooter' Flatch
- Sheb Wooley as Cletus Summers
- Maris Valainis as Jimmy Chitwood
- David Neidorf as Everett Flatch (#21)
- Brad Long as Buddy Walker (#14)
- Steve Hollar as Rade Butcher (#25)
- Brad Boyle as Whit Butcher (#43)
- Kent Poole as Merle Webb (#12)
- Wade Schenck as Ollie McLellan (#13)
- Scott Summers as Strap Purl (#53)
Directed by David Anspaugh.