For the Record

Abstract

Narrative films are not factual films-even when they purport to divulge the true-life stories of real people. Whether their subjects are sports figures, show business personalities, or world leaders, such movies are often rife with misinformation. But unless their function is to propagandize, they are not purposefully fashioned to toss the viewer curveballs and spitballs. They exist as entertainments, not as historical records.1The above observation references The Winning Team (1952), a Hollywood biography of Hall of Fame hurler Grover Cleveland Alexander. But it holds true for biopics released across the decades, and it certainly relates to Eight Men Out (1988), directed and scripted by John Sayles and based on Eliot Asinof 's celebrated chronicle of one of the most notorious episodes in baseball history: the 1919 Black Sox scandal. The tainted Black Soxers also appear in Field of Dreams (1989), based on W.F. Kinsella's novel. Field of Dreams is the It's a Wonderful Life of baseball films: a wistful fantasy about love, dreams, and the timelessness of the game. The scenario deals with the scandal from a wholly different perspective than Eight Men Out, with the defamed ballplayers restored to their glory when their spirits come to play in an eternal, pastoral ballfield. But there are no facts with which to quibble about in Field of Dreams. Even though the film features depictions of real-life athletes-from the Black Sox players to Archibald Moonlight Graham, the notable one-game major leaguer-Field of Dreams is a fantasy.But Eight Men Out is not presented as make-believe. Nor is it adapted from a novel. Sayles's film purports to be factual, yet it features a number of verifiable errors. Some literally are of the did-he-throw-left-handed-or-throw-right-handed variety. For example, pitcher Dickie Kerr (played by Jace Alexander), who in 1919 was a White Sox rookie, was a left-hander. However, 61 minutes and 50 seconds into the film, he is shown warming up right-handed. Then, 15 seconds later, Kerr informs Kid Gleason ( John Mahoney), his manager, that he recalls the first major league game that he attended. His grandfather took him and, in it, Gleason not only bested Cleveland's Cy Young in a 1-0 thriller but tossed a no-hitter. Kerr was born in St. Louis in 1893. Gleason (who played in that town from 1892-1894) leftpitching for good in 1895; he spent his final years as a big leaguer mostly at second base. So it is unlikely that Kerr would have recalled seeing Gleason pitch. Plus, there is no record of Gleason hurling a no-hitter, against Cy Young or anyone else.2 In the film, fielders play with their index fingers extending outside their gloves. Hap Felsch (Charlie Sheen), for one, is depicted as such at 48 minutes, three seconds. Yet there is no evidence that big leaguers followed this practice in 1919; they did not do so until the 1950s. Willie Mays biographer James S. Hirsch writes, When Mays entered the big leagues (in 1951), fielders kept all their fingers inside their glove. But Mays realized that he could control the glove better by sticking his leftindex finger outside the mitt. He doesn't claim credit for starting the trend, but eventually most players had their index fingers outside as well.3A number of slip-ups are found in the Sayles depiction of Game One of the 1919 series. Before the start of the contest, 43 minutes and 38 seconds into the film, Sleepy Bill Burns (Christopher Lloyd) and Billy Maharg (Richard Edson), who played key roles in arranging the fix, are seen settling into their seats in the Cincinnati ballpark. Yet neither of them attended the game. 4 At 48 minutes and 27 seconds, the ballyard scoreboard is shown. It is the bottom of the fourth inning and the score is Cincinnati 1, Chicago 0. The Reds tallied one run in the bottom of the first, which is accurately represented, but the White Sox responded by tying the score in the top of the second. So at this juncture, the score should be 1-1. …