The Winning Team (1952)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Lewis Seiler

Writers:

Ted Sherdeman (screenplay) and
Seeleg Lester (screenplay) ...

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Romance | Sport

Tagline:

The true story of Grover Cleveland Alexander!

Plot:

Poor health and alcoholism force Grover Cleveland Alexander out of baseball, but through his wife's faithful efforts, he gets a chance for a comeback and redemption.

Plot Keywords:

Baseball | Comeback | Telephone Lineman | Baseball Coach | Farming

Cast

Doris Day	...	Aimee Alexander
Ronald Reagan	...	Grover Cleveland Alexander
Frank Lovejoy	...	Rogers Hornsby
Eve Miller	...	Margaret Killefer
James Millican	...	Bill Killefer
Russ Tamblyn	...	Willie Alexander (as Rusty Tamblyn)
Gordon Jones	...	George Glasheen
Hugh Sanders	...	Joe McCarthy
Frank Ferguson	...	Sam Arrants
Walter Baldwin	...	Pa Alexander
Dorothy Adams	...	Ma Alexander
Bob Lemon	...	Jesse 'Pop' Haines
Jerry Priddy	...	Ballplayer
Peanuts Lowery	...	Ballplayer (as Peanuts Lowrey)
George Metkovich	...	Ballplayer

Also Known As:

The Big League (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Canada:G (video rating) | Finland:S | USA:Approved (certificate #15757) | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Wrigley Field - 42nd Place & Avalon Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Goofs:

Factual errors: The movie depicts Grover Cleveland Alexander striking out the final batter to end the 1926 World Series. However, the series ended when Babe Ruth was thrown out attempting to steal second base.

Quotes:

Grover Cleveland Alexander: You must be so tired, Dear!
Aimee Alexander: Why should I be tired?
Grover Cleveland Alexander: I've been stealing strength from you all season - every game, every pitch. Without you there, I couldn't have done any of it. God must think a lot of me. He's given me you.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Diamonds on the Silver Screen (1992) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Lucky Day

Great film for it's limitations

I rated it higher than I normally would because it is a film that deserves to be watched.

Anyone who had the benefit of seeing insider comments from the classic film network I taped it from would know that Grover Cleveland Alexander suffered from seizures do to epilepsy.

Ronald Reagan was quite disappointed at the film company not including that in the film and not naming the disease, though implying some physical problem was involved in Alexander's problems.

The drinking was due to fear (which the film touches on) from NOT UNDERSTANDING EPILEPSY and the seizures that he had.

I think Reagan gave the character life and those who point out his deficiencies as an athlete don't mention that he was an athlete himself, playing football and eventually got a job as a sports announcer. That job helped him land his first role in Hollywood as a sports announcer on screen.

No actor is going to play baseball as well as an actual baseball player. It is a skill that many have tried and few succeed at. 'Knowing' the sport is not the same as being able to play it to the level of a big leaguer.

So, forgiving an actor for not being able to pitch like a real big leaguer is not hard when the main story here is his life, his marriage and his service to his country and to baseball between his very real struggles of epilepsy and drinking.

The film is actually quite ground breaking, covering something from an era where these things were often covered up and if they did make the news, they were public scandals. In this case, Mrs. Alexander (who was played brilliantly by Doris Day here), protected her husband's image at the time by omitting (apparently) some divorces that were designed to help him come to his senses.

Perhaps it was to help protect her as well. She probably felt she made mistakes too in trying to help him the wrong way. It's hard to know how to handle when someone's whole personality changes due to an illness.

The way the media is today, an athlete's whole career could be railroaded with no second chance by an episode of making a bad choice due to pain of getting intoxicated. This doesn't excuse Alexander's bad choices. He should have been honest with his wife and got help (also should have been honest with his baseball team(s)).

But the fact is, Babe Ruth would likely have had a tough time getting in the Hall of Fame in this age when Mark McGuire was overlooked because some people BELIEVE he used illegal steroids. It has yet to be proved and he never admitted it, only to the use of legal vitamin supplements, yet he isn't in the Hall of Fame.

Pete Rose is not forgiven to this day for the gambling which didn't occur as a player, but apparently as a manager.

Yes, baseball as in all of life should have standards. I just see that there have been many double standards as in not giving people a second chance and trying to build up heroes just to knock them down and ruin their lives.

Enough of them do it on their own (i.e. Ken Caminiti, Jose Conseco, etc.) without having to have people who aren't even in the know judging men who have the same weaknesses as us, yet have sought to inspire us to rise above those weaknesses and excel at something to give young people encouragement.

One unguarded moment or comment off the record to a reporter these days is enough to ruin a guy's life and career. Some guys are truly bad characters and deserve it.

Others, like Grover Cleveland Alexander, seem to deserve some understanding and compassion.

Would he have received it in today's journalistic environment?