This Old Cub (2004)

Jeff Santo explores the life and career of his father, Chicago Cub great Ron Santo.

Director:

Jeff Santo

Writer:

Jeff Santo

Stars:

Ron Santo, Dennis Farina, Dennis Franz

Cast

Credited cast:
Ron Santo	...	Himself
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dennis Farina	...	Himself
Dennis Franz	...	Himself
Pat Hughes	...	Himself
Joe Mantegna	...	Himself / Narrator
Bill Murray	...	Himself
William Petersen	...	Himself (as William L. Petersen)
Gary Sinise

Storyline

Jeff Santo explores the life and career of his father, Chicago Cub great Ron Santo.

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Plot Keywords:

chicago cubs | diabetes | baseball

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Genres:

Documentary | Sport

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 March 2004 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Shea Stadium - 12301 Roosevelt Avenue, Flushing Meadows Park, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

A portion of all proceeds from the release of the movie will/was (be) donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

User Reviews

must see for any person, not just baseball (or cub) fans

This is an excellent film. I am fortunate enough to live in one of the cities that the film was released in and took advantage of my luck and went to see the movie. This film (best described as a documentary) is the story of Ron Santo, one of the best third basemen to ever play the game of baseball and the passionate radio commentator for the Chicago Cubs. The main subjects of the film are Ron's lifelong battle with Type 1 diabetes (which has cost him both of his legs), his desire to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and his overall obsession with the cubs.

To see this movie, you don't have to be a cubs fan. The movie describes some cub history, focusing on Ron's career, but also speaks of many other teams (including the hated Mets). The anecdotes provide by a number of other ballplayers from Ron's time make the movie a treat for any real baseball fan. There are also a great deal of celebrities in the film that provide their memories of watching Ron play ball when they were young.

The most touching part of the film is the depiction of Ron's struggle with his disease. His everyday life with diabetes is shown to the audience. The squeamish look away whenever his amputated legs are shown, but the point of the movie is not to scare but to enlighten. Not many people (including myself) realize the severity with which diabetes can affect a person. Seeing Ron's everyday struggle is very inspiring for any person with or without diabetes. He is the type of person that proves that you can overcome any struggle to be the best at anything.

I haven't seen many of the other of this years documentaries (Fahrenheit 9/11 or Super-size me), but I feel that this film definitely deserves Oscar consideration. I would recommend this movie to anyone whether they like baseball or not. The story of Ron Santo's life is truly amazing and inspiring, and like every cub fan I am only truly happy when I hear Ron happily joking around with Pat Hughes on the radio during a Cubs win. Watch this movie, it will make you appreciate each and every day. (Rating: 10/10)