JCBA v19 COSMIC BASEBALL ASSOCIATION

Baseball Movies
by Decade

Baseball Movies
by Type

Title	Year	Comments
The Ball Game	1898	First official baseball movie. Produced by Thomas Alva Edison. Shows an amateur Newark, NJ team playing against an unnamed rival.
Casey at the Bat	1899	Based on the Thayer poem.
How the Office Boy Saw the Ball Game	1906
How Jones Saw the Baseball Game	1907
His Last Game	1909	Drama about gamblers attempting to bribe a baseball player.
Hal Chase’s Home Fun	1911	Early film in which real baseball players appear.
The Baseball Bug	1911	Real-life baseball players Chief Bender, Jack Coombs and Rube Oldring appear in this comedy.
Baseball’s Peerless Leader	1913	Frank Chance (of Tinkers to Evers to Chance fame) appears in this comedy.
Home Run Baker’s Double	1914	Another example of a baseball film with real-life players appearing.
The Giants-White Sox World Tour	1914	Early example of a baseball documentary about the NY Giants and Chicago White Sox on a world tour during the winter of 1913-1914.
Right Off the Bat	1915	Considered the first feature-length baseball movie. Starring former baseball player Mike Donlin it is also an early example of the baseball biography genre.
Somewhere in Georgia	1916	Another fictionalized biopic starring Ty Cobb.
One Touch of Nature	1917	A college student becomes the NY Giants rookie secondbaseman.
The Pinch Hitter	1917	Farm boy goes to college, becomes a baseball hero.
The Busher	1919	Small-town pitcher makes it to the big leagues.
Babe Ruth, How He Makes His Home Runs	1920	Early example of an instructional film with Babe Ruth demonstrating his ability with the bat.
Headin’ Home	1920	A contrived biopic starring Babe Ruth. Presuimably autobiographical.
Babe Comes Home	1927	Another Babe Ruth hagiograph.
Casey at the Bat	1927	Second example of a cinematic rendition of the Ernest Thayer poem.
College	1927
Speedy	1928	Babe Ruth has a cameo appearance.
Fast Company	1929	Real-life ballplayers appear.
Hot Curves	1930	A baseball themed romantic comedy.
They Learned About Women	1930	An early baseball musical.
Slide, Speedy, Slide	1931	About a girls baseball team starring Daphne Pollard (1894-1978)
Babe Ruth Baseball Series	1932	quasi-instructional film series with Babe Ruth
Fireman, Save My Child	1932	Joe E. Brown stars as Smokey Joe Grant in this baseball comedy which includes major league players Ernie Orsatti and Jim Crandall.
Stealin' Home	1932	Comedy starring James Gleason with a script by sports humorist Bugs Baer.
The Loud Mouth	1932
Too Many Women	1932	Teenagers in love with baseball as a backdrop.
Elmer the Great	1933	Another comedy starring Joe E. Brown. Based on a Ring Lardner story.
Death on the Diamond	1934	A murder mystery with a baseball theme. St. Louis Cardinal Ernie Oratti gets shot as he crosses home plate.
Alibi Ike	1935	Joe E. Brown in this filmic version of the Ring Lardner classic.
Dizzy & Daffy	1935	Dizzy and Daffy Dean star alongside of Shemp Howard of 3 Stooges fame.
One Run Elmer	1935	Buster Keaton stars in this baseball comedy.
Swell Head	1935	Mike Donlin's last film appearance. About a baseball beaning.
Girls Can Play	1937	Stars Jacqueline Wells, Charles Quigley, Rita Hayworth who play characters on a Women's League baseball team.
Gracie at the Bat	1937	About a women's softball team.
The Heckler	1940	Comedy about an obnoxious fan starring Charley Chase.
It Happened In Flatbush	1942	Drama Inspired by the 1941 Los Angeles Dodgers starring Lloyd Nolan, Carole Landis, and William Frawley.
Pride Of the Yankees	1942	Well-regarded biopic about Lou Gehrig starring Gary Cooper. This film was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. Includes a cameo appearance by Babe Ruth.
Two Mugs From Brooklyn	1942	Comedy starring William ("Life of Riley") Bendix.
Ladies Day	1943	Romantic comedy starring Lupe Velez, Eddie Albert, Patsy Kelly, Max Baer, Sr.
Whistling In Brooklyn	1943	Comedy starring Red Skelton as radio sleuth "The Fox."
Mr. Noisy	1946	A remake of The Heckler starring Shemp Howard.
Play Ball, Son!	1946	An instructional film designed to show viewers how to play the game position by position.
The Babe Ruth Story	1948	William Bendix plays the lead role in this sentimental and not exactly accurate portrait of one of baseball's greatest players.
It Happens Every Spring	1949	Comedy starring Ray Milland as a college scientist who invents a substance that makes a baseball impossible to hit.
Take Me out To the Ballgame	1949	Musical about turn-of-the-century baseball starring Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Esther Williams and Edward Arnold.
The Kid from Cleveland	1949	Baseball and juvenile deliquency, stars George Brent, Lynn Bari, Ann Doran and Rusty Tamblyn.
The Stratton Story	1949	Biography of Monty Stratton, a White Sox pitcher whose leg was amputated at age 26. Won an Oscar for Best Story. Stars Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson.
Kill the Umpire	1950	Comedy about the men in blue starring William Bendix and William Frawley (who was part owner of the Hollywood Stars, a team in the Pacific Coast League.)
The Jackie Robinson Story	1950	Biopic depicting Jackie Robinson (who plays himself) and the racial problems he endured. Ruby Dee stars as Robinson's wife.
Angels in the Outfield	1951	Angels from above come to the aid of the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates. Paul Douglas stars with Janet Leigh and Keenan Wynn. Ty Cobb and Joe DiMaggio appear in cameo roles.
Rhubarb	1951	A cat inherits a baseball team; with Ray Milland, William Frawley and Jan Sterling.
Pride of St. Louis	1952	Biopic about Dizzy Dean as played by Dan Dailey.
The Winning Team	1952	Biopic about Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander. Ronald Reagan plays Alexander and Doris Day is cast as the wife.
The Big Leaguer	1953	Story of a major league scout played by Edward G. robinson. Includes an appearance by Hall of Fame pitcher Cark Hubbell.
The Kid from Left Field	1953	Dan Dailey stars as an ex-ballplayer turned ballpark vendor whose temper has kept him from a managing job.
Roogie's Bump	1954	The spirit of a dead ballplayer helps little Roogie Rigsby become a star. Cast includes Robert Marriot, Ruth Warrick and William Harrigan
Bang the Drum Slowly	1956	Paul Newman and Albert Salmi star in this study of a friendship between two big league baseball players.
The Great American Pastime	1956	Considered the first feature length film about Little League baseball starring Tom Ewell, Anne Francis, Ann Miller and Dean Jones.
Fear Strikes Out	1957	Biopic about Boston Red Sox Jimmy Piersall who suffered a nervous breakdown during his early years playing baseball.
Damn Yankees	1958	Musical about a man who sells his soul to beat the New York Yankees, starring Gwen Verdon, Tab Hunter, Ray Walston.
Safe At Home!	1962	This is the only baseball movie made during the 1960s it tells the tale about a boy caught in a lie about being friends with Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris who star as themselves. Cast also includes William Frawley; cameos by Whitey Ford and Ralph Houk.
Bang the Drum Slowly	1973	Remake of the 1956 film starring Michael Moriarty and Robert De Niro.
It’s Good to Be Alive	1974
The Bad News Bears	1976	Comedy starring Walter Matthau who coaches a Little League team to success behind the pitching of a girl (Tatum O'Neal.)
The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings	1976	An idealistic depiction of life in the Negro Leagues starring Billy Dee Williams and James Earl Jones.
Glory of Their Times	1977	Documentary based on Lawrence Ritter's book about baseball during the 1898-1916 era.
A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story	1978	Biopic about the lives of Eleanor and Lou Gehrig.
Bad News Bears, Go To Japan	1978	Sequel to the 1976 comedy, Bad News Bears.
One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story	1978	Biopic about Ron LeFlore who became a star for the Detroit Tigers after serving time in prison. Stars LeVar Burton.
Aunt Mary	1979	Jean Stapleton plays Mary Dobkin who coached a sandlot team in the skid rows of Baltimore during the 1950s.
Don’t Look Back: The Story of Leroy “Satchel” Paige	1981	Biopic of the Negro League pitcher starring Louis Gossett, Jr.
The Boys of Summer	1983	Story of the stars of the Brooklyn Dodgers of the 1950s based on the Roger Kahn book.
Tiger Town	1983	Story of a child who helps restore faith in a cynical baseballplayer. Stars Roy Scheider and Justin Henry.
The Natural	1984	Based on Bernard Malamud's classic novel about Roy Hobbs who might have been a great slugger had not circumstances intervened. Robert Redford stars.
Brewster’s Millions	1985	Comedy starring Richard Pryor and John Candy about a minor league baseball player who has to spend a lot of money to inherit more money.
The Slugger’s Wife	1985	Romantic comedy about a baseball player who falls in love with a singer. Michael O'Keefe and Rebecca DeMornay are the stars.
A Winner Never Quits	1986	Biopic about Pete Gray, a one-armed outfielder for the St. Louis Browns during world War II. Stars Keith Carradine.
Long Gone	1987	A made-for-TV movie about a baseball player-manager who won't sell his soul to greedy owners. William L. Petersen plays the lead.
Trading Hearts	1987	Romance about a lounge-singer and a middle-aged ballplayer starring Raul Julia and Beverly D'Angelo.
Bull Durham	1988	A story of failure, potential, and love, all wrapped inside the great game of baseball. Kevin Costner, Tim Robbins and the beautiful Susan Sarandon as the wonderful Annie Savoy are the stars.
Eight Men Out	1988	Tale of the 1919 Black Sox scandal.
Stealing Home	1988	Mark Harmon and Jodie Foster star in the tale of a baseball player who goes home to find himself.
Field of Dreams	1989	Based on W.P. Kinsella's novel SHOELESS JOE, this is a tale about baseball, dreams and the poetry of man. Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones star with an able assist by Burt Lancaster.
Major League	1989	Baseball comedy about how pride and love of a game overcomes greed and avarice. Charlie Sheen as the "Wild Thing" stars with Tom Berenger.
Night Game	1989	Baseball and serial killing. The killer only kills during Houston Astro night games. Roy Scheider and Karen Young are the stars.
Mr. Destiny	1990	Tale of a middle-aged man finding glory on the baseball field. James Belushi and Linda Hamilton are the stars.
The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson	1990	Story of Jackie Robinson's refusal to sit in the back of a bus during his World War II military service in Texas.
Babe Ruth	1991
Pastime	1991
Taking Care of Business	1991	James Belushi and Charles Grodin star in this tale of two men who find each other at Wrigley Field.
Talent for the Game	1991	Small town pitcher meets big city greed. Edward James Olmos and Lorraine Bracco are the stars.
When It Was a Game I, II, III	1991	HBO-produced documentary series includes interviews with players and fans of the game through the ages.
A League of Their Own	1992	The story of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League which came into existence during World War II and folded in 1954. Stars inlcude Madonna, Geena Davis, Rosie O'Donnel and Tom Hanks.
Mr. Baseball	1992	Tom Selleck stars as a former major league baseball player who goes to Japan to play ball.
The Babe	1992	A less sentimental biopic of Babe Ruth as portrayed by John Goodman. Also stars Kelly McGillis.
Rookie of the Year	1993	Comedy about a young boy who becomes a star for the Chicago Cubs.
The Sandlot	1993	Tale of a neighborhood baseball team in the 1960s.
Baseball	1994	Ken Burns' mammoth PBS-produced documentary about the history of the great game of the quadrature.
Cobb	1994	Tommy Lee Jones plays Ty Cobb in this not very sentimental biopic of the so-called Georgia Peach. Cobb was perhaps one of the most disliked baseball players of all time. Also starring Robert Wuhl.
Little Big League	1994	Comedy about a 12-year-old boy who becomes the owner of the Minnesota Twins and decides to be the team's manager.
Major League II	1994	Sequel to the 1989 comedy. Stars Charlie Sheen and Tom Berenger.
The Scout	1994	Albert Brooks and Brendan Fraser in a tale about the relationship between a scout and a talented teenaged baseball player.
Ed	1996	Comedy about a chimpanzee playing baseball.
Soul of the Game	1996	Biopic about three Nego League stars: Satchel Paige (played by Delroy Lindo), Josh Gibson (Mykelti Williamson), and Jackie Robinson (Blair Underwood).
The Fan	1996	Tale of a baseball player and a wacko fan. Wesley Snipes and Robert De Niro are the stars.
BASEketball	1998	Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Jenny McCarthy and Jasmine Bleeth in, what else? A comedy.
Major League III-Back to the Minors	1998	Another sequel with stars Scott Bakula as a minor league manager. Also starring Corbin Bernsen.
For Love of the Game	1999	Kevin Costner and Kelly Preston in a baseball romance tale.
Perfect Game	2000	Patrick Duffy, Tracy Nelson and Edward Asner star in a tale of underachieving Little Leaguers.

References:

Reel Baseball @ TotalBaseball.com by Bob Carroll and Rob Edelman
The Internet Movie Database
Baseball Fun Stuff
"Baseball Movies" by Eddie Gold. Baseball Research Journal. Society for American Baseball Research. Cooperstown, NY.:1983

ANITA MAKAVEJEVA is a film editor living in Baltimore, Maryland. She has edited a number of sports documentaries for HBO, Fox Sports TV and other independent production companies. Aside from sports she enjoys making love to poets.