Play Ball: The History, Culture & Politics of Baseball: Cultural Impact
The Hero Myth
The Natural (book) by Call #: PS3563.A4N38 1966aThis Pulitzer Prize-winning novel follows the career of baseball player Roy Hobbs, a natural with a bat whose dreams of playing in the big leagues are deferred by a youthful indiscretion, but who finally becomes a hero.
The Black Sox Scandal of 1919
Several fictional works, including THE NATURAL, have been inspired by the events of the Black Sox Scandal. EIGHT MEN OUT, based on the nonfiction book of the same name, offers a dramatized version of events which include the creation of the plan, and the aftermath that subsequently ruined the careers of the eight players involved.
Eight Men Out (movie)Based on the real-life scandal of 1919, the film tells the story of eight baseball players who plan to throw games for money, and the scorn and anger the scheme earned them.
Eight Men Out (book) by ISBN: 0805065377Recounts the fixing of the 1919 World Series, covering events from the first meetings between White Sox players and gamblers to the 1921 trial and its aftermath.
Field of Dreams
Field of Dreams (movie)Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) hears a voice, followed by a brief vision of a baseball field. He believes that if he builds a baseball diamond in his cornfield, Shoeless Joe Jackson from the infamous 1919 Chicago "Black" Sox will return to play baseball.
Shoeless Joe (book) by Publication Date: 1982Motivated by his fanatical love of baseball, Ray Kinsella is inspired to build a baseball stadium in his corn field, dedicated to his hero, the legendary Shoeless Joe Jackson.
Dreamfield: The Story of the Field of Dreams
Personal Experiences
Bull Durham (movie) by Ron Shelton used his personal experiences as a minor league baseball player to create BULL DURHAM. The story focuses on a young minor league pitcher and the battle between an older player and a baseball groupie to help prepare him for the major leagues.
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