From Spring Training to Screen Test

For well over a century, stars and supporting players on baseball diamonds have become stars and supporting players in the movies, on Broadway, in vaudeville and, eventually, on television and in concert halls. After all, ballplayers are celebrities. Whether on the field or the stage, they are in the business of entertaining the masses. Not surprisingly, many showbiz luminaries have become baseball enthusiasts. They have invested their time, money, and expertise to be part of the baseball world as team owners and fans.



From Spring Training to Screen Test: Baseball Players Turned Actors includes essays by 43 SABR members that connect baseball and show biz. Not every ballplayer who ever made an appearance on screen or stage is included; to do so would result in a mini-encyclopedia. The purpose here is to offer a representative selection of those who crossed the lines between professional sports and popular entertainment. Included are biographies of selected individuals from the famous (Gene Autry, Joe DiMaggio, Jim Thorpe, Bernie Williams...) to the forgotten (Al Gettel, Lou Stringer, Wally Hebert, Wally Hood...) There are other select topics, from baseball on television shows and in Coca-Cola commercials to Jim Bouton's casting as "Jim Barton" in his Ball Four TV series and Don Drysdale playing "Don Drysdale" on The Donna Reed Show, Leave It To Beaver, and The Brady Bunch. Those who will relish the privileged peeks at the off-the-field life and times of Mike Donlin and Edward G. Robinson playing Hans Lobert on the big screen in Big Leaguer will surely savor From Spring Training to Screen Test: Baseball Players Turned Actors.

MAJOR LEAGUERS


BO BELINSKY, Gregory H. Wolf


JOHNNY BERARDINO, Alan Cohen


BOBBY BONILLA, Mark Souder


CHUCK CONNORS, Charlie Bevis


RON DARLING, Audrey Apfel


JOE DIMAGGIO, Lawrence Baldassaro


MIKE DONLIN, Rob Edelman and Michael Betzold


DON DRYSDALE, Joseph Wancho


MARK FIDRYCH, Richard J. Puerzer


PAT FLAHERTY, Bill Hickman


LEW FONSECA, John Gabcik


STEVE GARVEY, Maxwell Kates


AL GETTEL, Clayton Trutor


GREG GOOSSEN, Rob Edelman


WALLY HEBERT, Gregory H. Wolf


WALLY HOOD, Jay Hurd


RON HOUCK, Phil Williams


REGGIE JACKSON, Ted Leavengood


DEREK JETER, Alan Cohen


WALLY JOYNER, Paul Hofmann


FRANK KELLEHER, Adam Klinker


JOHN KRUK, Seamus Kearney


LEE LACY, Gregory H. Wolf


BILLY LOES, Gregory H. Wolf


CHRISTY MATHEWSON, Eddie Frierson


JOHN MCGRAW, Don Jensen


GEORGE METKOVICH, Bill Nowlin


DON NEWCOMBE, Russell A. Bergtold


ERNIE ORSATTI, Lawrence Baldassaro


ART PASSARELLA, Rob Edelman


JERRY PRIDDY, Warren Corbett


BEANS REARDON, Bob LeMoine


BABE RUTH, Allan Wood


BRET SABERHAGEN, Alan Cohen


ZIGGY SEARS (UMPIRE), Bruce Bumbalough


SAMMY SOSA, Eric Hanauer


MONTY STRATTON, Gary Sarnoff


LOU STRINGER, Bill Nowlin


TONY TARASCO, Will Osgood


JIM THORPE, Don Jensen


BOB UECKER, Eric Aron


PETE VUCKOVICH, Rory Costello


RUBE WADDELL, Dan O'Brien


LEON WAGNER, Jay Berman


EDGAR "BLUE" WASHINGTON, Mark V. Perkins


BERNIE WILLIAMS, Rob Edelman


TODD ZEILE, Jon Springer


FILMS, FANS, AND TELEVISION


GENE AUTRY, Warren Corbett


RON SHELTON: ON COBB, BULL DURHAM, AND BASEBALL-ON-SCREEN, Rob Edelman


THOMAS TULL: ON DARK KNIGHTS, HANGOVERS, AND BASEBALL, Rob Edelman