Factual error: During the Marshall-Xavier game the announcer refers to Xavier as the "Pirates", but Xavier's nickname is and was "Musketeers".
Factual error: John Candy is at the top of the Calgary Tower having lunch. In the background you see a building called Bankers Hall which is slightly higher than the Calgary tower, that's fine except this was the 1988 Olympics, that building wasn't completed until late 1990.
Factual error: Early in the movie we see the newspaper dated "Sunday, March 14, 1987". March 14, 1987 was a Saturday, not a Sunday.
Factual error: One of the first races that Cole runs is Phoenix. Phoenix International Raceway is a very flat track. There are several shots in that segment showing a high-banked oval.
Factual error: During the movie, Doug watches video from the previous Olympic competition. The skaters are shown performing in a darkened arena lit by spotlights. Special lighting effects like this are not allowed in competition. All competitions take place in a brightly lit arena.
Factual error: At the beginning of the movie when all the guys are in the barber shop, a man is wearing a John Deere hat with the modern logo, not the one from 1976.
Factual error: The third member of the Yankees with a prominent role in the film is Bob Cerv (roommate of Mickey & Roger). In the film, he is with the team from Opening Day. However, Cerv was actually acquired by the Yankees in May of that year.
Factual error: In a flashback to his youth, one of the bullies is wearing a Bartles and James T-shirt, which is a product that didn't exist in the early 70's.
Factual error: When Bruno is on his way to Union Station, he's heading on a bridge away from the Lincoln Memorial, which means he's leaving Washington D.C. for Arlington, Virginia, or in other words, he's going the wrong way.
Factual error: In the final inning of the district championship game, the Owls are ahead by one run and there are two outs when the opposing team's top hitter steps up to the plate. This is impossible because this batter was the final out in the previous inning when his team came to bat. That he bats at all in the final inning with two outs means his team would have batted around the order and scored at least 3 runs in that inning already and had the lead.
Factual error: During the final game against the Knights, whenever the score is shown on "TV", the Knights' score (home team) is shown on top and the Sharks' score (visiting team) is shown on the bottom. In sports, the visiting team's score is always on top and the home team's score is always on the bottom.
Suggested correction: In American sports yes, but not in other sports. In fact during the 1970's, NBA scores showed the home team score first.
Factual error: Peter and Lizzie play their semi-finals on the same day, but the men's semis are the day after the women's at Wimbledon (unless there has been significant rain, which there wasn't).
Factual error: When Dodge and Lexie are in the building running from the police, you see an exit sign. This movie is set in the 1920's, before exit signs were invented.
Factual error: During Gavin Grey's first NFL game in 1957, the helmets depicted for both the Washington Redskins and Pittsburgh Steelers are historically inaccurate. The Redskins did not employ the burgundy helmets with the feather-stripe running along the center until 1958, and the Steelers didn't use black helmets with the Steelmark logo until 1963. In 1957, the Redskins used solid gold helmets while the Steelers used yellow helmets with a black stripe along the center and black numerals on either side.
Factual error: Rosie is repeatedly shown buzzing in before Alex Trebek can even finish asking the question. In Jeopardy!, this isn't possible, you may only buzz in once the question is finished.
Factual error: In the Japanese prison camp, the Japanese flag shown is the post war flag consisting only of a red circle. (01:08:05)
Factual error: In the final surfing scene, Cody and Z are surfing, presumably, off into the sunset. However, being on the north shore (given Z's remark a few moments before), that would mean the wave is rolling to the south which would put the sun toward the east not the west. (01:20:00)
Factual error: As Wendell and Jackie are driving in the car, Jackie turns the radio on to put a hiatus on their discussion. As soon as he turns it on, sound issues forth, but in the 40's radios used vacuum tubes, which required a warm-up period.
Suggested correction: Once the tubes are warmed up, they will tend to stay warm for a period of time even if the radio is turned off. It's possible the radio had been turned on and warmed up before this scene.
Factual error: During the movie, which is based in '79, Roy has a Rhino bowling ball. Rhinos weren't made until '85.
Factual error: The restaurant Joe opens and his apartment at 1 Charles are actually less than a city block apart, so there is no need to drive across Boston to get there.