By Doug Smith
Courtesy of The Niagara Gazette
More than 120 motion pictures, dating back nearly 100 years, have centered on baseball. Here’s a lineup of 10, listed alphabetically,which focused on “outsiders’” struggling to find acceptance:
“The Bad News Bears,” 1976, Walter Matthau rallying a band of ragamuffins nobody else wants. Later remade.
“Bang the Drum Slowly,” 1973, Robert DeNiro as the “plumb dumb” catcher whose fatal illness repairs a fractured team, written by Mark Harris from his novel.
“The Bingo Long Travelling All-Stars and Motor Kings,” 1976, from “Only the Ball Was White,” a bittersweet remembrance of the Negro Leagues, in its way, a prequel to “42.”
“Damn Yankees,” 1958, Gwen Verdon shows off the best legs in baseball in a musical confirming what many suspected, that the Yanks are in league with the actual underworld.
“Fear Strikes Out,” 1957, pre-“Psycho” Anthony Perkins as the mentally troubled Red Sox outfielder Jimmy Piersall.
“League of Their Own,” 1992, Geena Davis, Tom Hanks and others in story of how women took their at-bats during World War II. Put “There’s no crying in baseball” into the language.
“Life and Times of Hank Greenberg,” 1999, definitive biography of the premiere Jewish slugger. Greenberg himself would later campaign mightily for Jackie Robinson.
“Moneyball,” 2011, Brad Pitt as A’s General Manager Billy Beane, bring a new science of statistics to the game.
“The Rookie,” 2002. Dennis Quaid stars as a high school coach challenged by his team to try out for “The Show.”
“Sandlot,” 1993, a young man new to the neighborhood tries to impress skeptical team mates with a Babe Ruth-signed ball and they all get a lesson in pre-judging.
And a little-known pinch-hitter:
“Pastime,” 1991. Billy Beane himself would love the economy of this gentle yarn involving an over-the-hill pitcher and a young black pitcher terrified of his surroundings, set shortly after “42” broke through. It’s “Bull Durham” on a budget, cleaned up for family viewing.
This listing specifically excludes the made-in-Buffalo “The Natural,” which, for the sake of acceptance, completely reversed the ending of the novel on which it was based. –Doug Smith
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