Episode 103: 42 and The Jackie Robinson Story

Let’s play two! Today on Play Ball: Baseball at the Movies, it’s a Jackie Robinson double header. We discuss 42, starring Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson, and 1950’s The Jackie Robinson Story starring Jackie Robinson as himself. After walking through the plots of both movies (06:04) we’re joined by special guest Dr. Raymond Doswell, Vice President of Curatorial Services at the Negro Leagues Museum (14:28) for a wide-ranging interview on the legacy of Jackie Robinson and the Negro Leagues. We discuss the state of the Negro Leagues in the years leading up to integration, why Jackie was the perfect candidate to break the color barrier, Jackie’s activism off the field, and past attempts to bring Jackie’s story to the big screen. After Ray rates both movies (01:08:00), we share some final reflections on the big screen legacy of Jackie Robinson and rate the films ourselves (01:25:23). 

 

Visit the Negro Leagues Museum at 1616 East 18th Street, Kansas City, MO 64108. Phone: 816-221-1920. Email: info@nlbm.com.  Admission only $10.00 for adults, $9.00 for seniors (65+ years) and $6.00 for kids (5-12 years). Call 816-221-1920 for group discounts and Jazz Museum “combo ticket” discounts. The NLBM is a self-guided tour experience. The exhibition features text panels, hundreds of photographs, artifacts and several film exhibits that is integrated with a timeline of baseball and African American history. For more, visit https://nlbm.com. 

 

 

Play Ball: Baseball at the Movies is produced by Paul LeSchofs and Andrew Knopp. Our theme music, Slow Burn, was created by Kevin MacLeod. Our mascot was designed by Yehudi Mercado. Our intro uses clips from the following films from which we do not claim any ownership: Field of Dreams (Universal Pictures), The Natural (TriStar Pictures), Moneyball (Columbia Pictures), The Sandlot (20th Century Fox), Bull Durham (Orion Pictures), and A League of Their Own (Columbia Pictures). Follow us on Twitter @BaseballPodShow and Instragram @playballpodcast.