Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Jem Finch Meets Baseball

Despite my complete lack of hand-eye coordination, I have a strong secret desire to be a sports writer. Perhaps this stems from my love of anything to do with the Olympics. Maybe it comes from the fact that the film Remember the Titans changed my life, and I saw it five times in the theater. Maybe I just love great stories, and sports happens to have a lot of them, and the best ones seem to find their way into the hands of great writers. My top three, in no particular order: Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand (just in time for the upcoming Kentucky Derby), The Greatest Game Ever Played by Mark Frost (the one and only time golf ever seemed understandable and enjoyable), and The Perfect Mile by Neal Bascomb (a book that confirms that running is a task for the diligent and crazy).

In the interest of pursuing this goal, I'm always looking for the crazy, untold sports stories. Today, MSN.com came through by providing me with this story. I was particularly struck by the story of #3 on the list. After all, Jimmy Piersall did once bat wearing a Beatles' wig. I also noticed that his life was good enough to inspire a movie, which led me to the ultimate source of knowledge: Wikipedia. The film, entitled Fear Strikes Out, features Anthony "Psycho" Perkins as Piersall and was directed by Robert Mulligan. This name struck the dejavu chords in my mind, perhaps because mulligan is a golf term meaning "do-over." But no. The name has actual significance for my pop culture experience. Robert Mulligan is also the director of the classic, must-see To Kill a Mockingbird. When I started reading about Jimmy Piersall, I never thought it would lead me to Anthony Perkins, let alone Jem Finch.

PS And for those of you playing at home, the last time I made a Kevin Bacon game post, I referenced a movie called Fear of Clowns. Today, that Fear Strikes Out. Any other "Fear" films I should know about? Considering the fact that neither these films sound watchable from their descriptions, maybe I'm better off not knowing.

1 comment:

  1. You asked for it...movies with 'Fear'' in them. I have picked 3. Movie #1: 'Fear is the Key'. I haven't seen this, but it stars Ben Kingsley, who I fear plays Ghandi. He's also in 'Sneakers' which is a semi-sports connection since people in sports wear sneakers. Usually cool ones. (Think 'The Sandlot') Movie #2: 'Fear No Evil' starring Mark Wahlberg, who also stars in 'Invincible' another sports movie in which I think he wears cool sneakers. Finally, for your viewing pleasure, Movie #3: 'Cape Fear'. I think I have seen parts of this on tv..starring Robert Di Niro (yes, he's talking to YOU!) Nick Nolte, who at some time or other has played a washed up athlete, and now, for the Kevin Bacon Game connection...Gregory Peck as a lawyer. This takes us right back to your Jem Finch and Fear connection. Boom. Roasted!

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