Offside: The Harold Ballard Story

2023

Biography / Documentary / Sport

1
IMDb Rating 7.0/10 10 120 120

sports documentary nhl hockey toronto maple leafs

Plot summary

Toronto Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard -- Canada's greatest showman - He didn't invent greed. He perfected it.

Director

Jason Priestley Photo
Jason Priestley

Top cast

Gerry Mcnamara Photo
Gerry Mcnamara as Interviewee
Mary Ormsby Photo
Mary Ormsby as Interviewee
Ralph Mellanby Photo
Ralph Mellanby as Interviewee
Wayne Parrish Photo
Wayne Parrish as Interviewee
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB 1080p.WEB
819.49 MB
1280*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 28 min
Seeds 1
1.64 GB
1920*1080
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 28 min
Seeds ...
1.49 GB
1920*1080
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 28 min
Seeds 1

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by sddavis63 7 / 10

The Worst Owner In The History Of Professional Sports

I've been a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs since I was a little boy - which means that I remember the up and down but sometimes hopeful Ballard years of the 1970's and the absolutely disastrous 1980's when the team was little more than a bad joke presided over by a man who, in my opinion, has to be considered to be literally the worst owner in the history of professional sports: Harold E. Ballard. With those memories I watched this documentary about the Ballard years in Maple Leaf history. It begins by noting the Leaf dynasty of the 1960's (4 Stanley Cups), runs through how Ballard ended up in control and then traces the decline and fa!! Of the team and deals a lot with the clown show the team became. It's full of historic footage of Ballard, and features lots of interviews with players and executives and reporters who dealt with him. All that is very interesting and certainly brings back memories (many of them bad ones!)Having said that, there's nothing ground-breaking here. There's no big revelation that anyone interested in Ballard or the history of the Leafs wouldn't already know. It just goes over well known ground. It's a very polished production, and its biggest contribution is bringing together the entire Ballard era in a single documentary. Fans of the Leafs will enjoy it. Others might if they're interested in the story of a cranky old man who loved being in the spotlight. (7/10)
Reviewed by chuckat-38589 10 / 10

An excellent documentary on a less than excellent human

I was anticipating an excellent doc from a great Canadian, Jason Priestley. Jason and Michael Geddes used archives and interviews in my opinion to almost perfection. And the controversial inclusion of Alan Eagleson gave impartiality that a person like Ballard needed.I like how they went to the Leaf greats from the past and didn't use middling players. I think it was very wise not to mention the abuse from the 70's and 80's that happened but wasn't mentioned.I came away from this with the same opinion I went in with. A very flawed, morally bankrupt, yet charitable and very polarizing figure. You won't be disappointed. CG.
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