# ESPN Scores Scraper (`neuro-scraper/espn-scores-scraper`) Actor

ESPN Scraper SD - ESPN Scraper is a sports data tool that extracts live scores, results and schedules by date, team lists and league standings for NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, soccer, college and 200+ more ESPN leagues from ESPN's public JSON APIs.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/neuro-scraper/espn-scores-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Neuro Scraper](https://apify.com/neuro-scraper) (community)
- **Categories:** News
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.49 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

### ESPN Scraper — scores, schedules, teams and standings

The ESPN Scraper reads ESPN's public JSON APIs for any ESPN league: game scores and schedules for a date range, every team of a league, and league standings. NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WNBA, college sports, 200+ soccer leagues and more. No login, no key.

#### Input

| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `mode` | `scoreboard` (default) = games for a date range; `teams`; `standings` |
| `leagues` | `sport/league` slugs like `football/nfl`, `basketball/nba`, `soccer/eng.1`, or a bare slug (`nhl`) or ESPN link; each is checked against ESPN's league list |
| `startDate`, `endDate` | Scoreboard days (YYYY-MM-DD); empty = ESPN's current slate. Past days = results, future days = schedule |
| `season` | Standings of an earlier season, e.g. `2024` |
| `groups` | ESPN group filter for college scoreboards, e.g. `80` (all FBS games) |
| `maxItems` | Rows per league (default 200) |

#### Output

| Mode | One row per | Main fields |
|---|---|---|
| scoreboard | game | date, leagueName, name, status (pre/in/post), statusDetail, homeTeam, homeScore, awayTeam, awayScore, records, venue, attendance, broadcasts, odds, headline, eventUrl |
| teams | team | teamId, displayName, abbreviation, location, colors, logoUrl, clubhouseUrl |
| standings | team in a group | group, rank, gamesPlayed, wins, losses, ties, winPercent, points, pointsFor, pointsAgainst, streak, note, stats (all stat columns) |

#### Measured (2026-10-03, local, see TEST_REPORT.md)

- Current NFL + EPL slate: 22 games in 4 s. EPL September 2025: 30 games in 32 s (one request per day).
- Standings for NBA, NHL and LaLiga: 82 rows in 14 s. College football teams: 762 in 5 s.

#### Limits

- ESPN's API takes one day per scoreboard request (ranges answer HTTP 400), so long ranges take about 1 second per day per league; ranges are capped at 400 days.
- ESPN's APIs are unofficial; stat names differ by sport, so the full set is in `stats`.

#### Example

```json
{"mode": "scoreboard", "leagues": ["basketball/nba", "soccer/esp.1"], "startDate": "2026-10-20", "endDate": "2026-10-26"}
```

# Actor input Schema

## `mode` (type: `string`):

scoreboard = games with scores, status and kick-off times for a date range (past dates = results, future dates = schedules, no dates = ESPN's current slate); teams = every team of the league; standings = the league table with wins, losses, points and more.

## `leagues` (type: `array`):

ESPN sport/league slugs, e.g. football/nfl, basketball/nba, baseball/mlb, hockey/nhl, soccer/eng.1 (Premier League), soccer/esp.1, football/college-football, basketball/wnba. A bare league slug (nfl) or an espn.com scoreboard link also works; each league is checked against ESPN's league list first.

## `startDate` (type: `string`):

YYYY-MM-DD. Empty = ESPN's current slate (this week in the NFL, today elsewhere). One request per day per league; at most 400 days.

## `endDate` (type: `string`):

YYYY-MM-DD. Empty = same as the from date.

## `season` (type: `integer`):

Standings of an earlier season, e.g. 2024. Empty = current season.

## `groups` (type: `string`):

Optional ESPN 'groups' value passed to the scoreboard, e.g. 80 for all FBS college-football games (without it ESPN lists only its featured games).

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum games, teams or standings rows per league.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

ESPN's JSON APIs answered without a proxy in our tests; residential proxy is the default.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "mode": "scoreboard",
  "leagues": [
    "football/nfl",
    "soccer/eng.1"
  ],
  "maxItems": 200,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}
```

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "leagues": [
        "football/nfl",
        "soccer/eng.1"
    ],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true,
        "apifyProxyGroups": [
            "RESIDENTIAL"
        ]
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("neuro-scraper/espn-scores-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "leagues": [
        "football/nfl",
        "soccer/eng.1",
    ],
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": True,
        "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"],
    },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("neuro-scraper/espn-scores-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "leagues": [
    "football/nfl",
    "soccer/eng.1"
  ],
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}' |
apify call neuro-scraper/espn-scores-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,neuro-scraper/espn-scores-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/QocweOlv5uWeSi4l0/builds/4KleBORbFDeVu6lgj/openapi.json