The Bad News Bears (1979–1980)

The comic misadventures of a misfit Little League baseball team.

Stars:

Jack Warden, J. Brennan Smith, Tricia Cast

Cast

Series cast summary:
Jack Warden	...	Morris Buttermaker (26 episodes, 1979-1980)
J. Brennan Smith	...	Mike Engelberg (26 episodes, 1979-1980)
Tricia Cast	...	Amanda Whirlitzer (26 episodes, 1979-1980)
Billy Jayne	...	Rudi Stein (26 episodes, 1979-1980)
Sparky Marcus	...	Leslie Ogilvie (26 episodes, 1979-1980)
Corey Feldman	...	Regi Tower (26 episodes, 1979-1980)
Meeno Peluce	...	Tanner Boyle (26 episodes, 1979-1980)
Kristoff St. John	...	Ahmad Abdul Rahim (26 episodes, 1979-1980)
Shane Butterworth	...	Timmy Lupus (26 episodes, 1979-1980)
Catherine Hicks	...	Dr. Emily Rappant (26 episodes, 1979-1980)
Phillip R. Allen	...	Roy Turner (18 episodes, 1979-1980)
Rad Daly	...	Josh (12 episodes, 1979-1980)
Bill Lazarus	...	Frosty (12 episodes, 1979-1980)

Storyline

To avoid a year in jail, swimming pool cleaner Morris Buttermaker agrees to coach a Little League baseball team called the Bears. Unfortunately, the Bears are the worst team in the league, boasting a roster of the most inept and least disciplined players in school. Buttermaker, with the help of principal Rappant, eventually wins the respect of the Bears, and they even win a few games along the way.

---

Plot Keywords:

team | little league | baseball | baseball team | game | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Sport

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 March 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Bären sind los

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Huk & Frog Productions, Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (26 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Follows The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training (1977)

User Reviews

A Great Sitcom That Was Never Given A Chance To Become Popular.

Jack Warden, one of our great character actors, plays Morris Buttermaker, a pool cleaner who loses his temper and drives a customer's car into same. A judge gives him a choice of jail or the chance to manage a junior high school's baseball team. Warden takes the job but soon realizes that jail might have been a better choice. This team had some great characters, not the least of which was a very young Corey Feldman. They were loveable and endearing and you cared about all of them. Why wasn't it given more time to catch on? I have no idea, but I'm sorry that it didn't get that chance. This TV version was better than the movie in my opinion. Not enough episodes were made for it to have a chance in reruns. "Bad News"