Eight Men Out
DVD cover
Directed by	John Sayles
Produced by	Sarah Pillsbury
Written by	John Sayles
Starring	Jace Alexander John Cusack Gordon Clapp
Music by	Mason Daring
Cinematography	Robert Richardson
Editing by	John Tintori
Distributed by	Orion Pictures Corporation
Release date(s)	September 2, 1988
Running time	119 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$6,000,000 estimated.
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Eight Men Out is an American dramatic sports film, released in 1988, based on 8 Men Out, published in 1963, by Eliot Asinof. It was written and directed by John Sayles.^[1] Image File history File links Eight_Men_Out_DVD_cover. ... Photo of John Sayles by Robert Birnbaum John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an independent American film director and writer who frequently takes a small part in his own and other indie films. ... Jace Alexander (born April 7, 1964) is an American television director and former actor. ... John Paul Cusack (born June 28, 1966) is an American film actor and writer, born in Evanston, Illinois to a liberal Irish-Catholic family. ... Gordon Clapp (born September 24, 1948) is an American actor, best known for playing the role of Detective Greg Medavoy for 12 seasons on the television series NYPD Blue, winning an Emmy Award in 1998. ... Mason K. Daring (born September 21, 1949 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American musician and composer of scores for film and television. ... Robert Bridge Richardson (born 27 August 1955 in Hyannis, Massachusetts) is an American cinematographer. ... Orion Pictures Logo Orion Pictures Corporation was a United States movie production company, formed in 1978 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. ... September 2 is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... // Michael Jacksons first film was Moonwalker Rain Man, starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise Who Framed Roger Rabbit, starring Bob Hoskins Coming to America, starring Eddie Murphy Big, starring Tom Hanks Twins, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito Crocodile Dundee II Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis The Naked Gun... See also: 1962 in literature, other events of 1963, 1964 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Photo of John Sayles by Robert Birnbaum John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an independent American film director and writer who frequently takes a small part in his own and other indie films. ...

It is a dramatization of Major League Baseball's 1919 Black Sox scandal, in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox conspired with gamblers to intentionally lose the World Series. Much of the movie was filmed at the old Bush Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The 1919 World Series was played between the Chicago White Sox of the American League and the Cincinnati Reds of the National League. ... 1919 Chicago White Sox team photo The Black Sox Scandal refers to a number of events that took place around and during the play of the 1919 World Series. ... Major league affiliations American League (1901–present) Central Division (1994–present) Current uniform Retired Numbers 2, 3, 4, 9, 11, 16, 19, 42, 72 Name Chicago White Sox (1904–present) White Stockings (1900-1903) St. ... For other events named World Series, see World Series (disambiguation). ... Owen J. Donie Bush Stadium is the name of a former minor league baseball park in Indianapolis, Indiana. ... Location in the state of Indiana Coordinates: County Marion Founded 1821 Government  - Mayor Bart Peterson (D) Area  - City  372 sq mi (963. ...

Plot

The Chicago White Sox owner, Charles Comiskey, is portrayed as a skinflint with little inclination to reward his team for a spectacular season. Charles Comiskey baseball card, 1887 Charles Albert Comiskey (August 15, 1859 - October 26, 1931) was a Major League Baseball player, manager and team owner. ...

When a gambling syndicate led by Arnold Rothstein gets wind of the players' discontent, it offers a select group of stars — including Buck Weaver, and outfielder 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson — more money to play badly than they would have earned to try to win the series against the Cincinnati Reds. Arnold Rothstein Arnold Rothstein (January 17, 1882 - November 4, 1928) was a New York businessman and gambler, chiefly famous for his role as a kingpin of organized crime. ...

Background

Former Chicago Cubs third baseman Ron Santo served as the personal coach for John Cusack, who played Buck Weaver. Santo taught Cusack the basic footwork and moves of the position. In addition, former Chicago White Sox outfielder Ken Berry served as a baseball coach for the cast. Major league affiliations National League (1876–present) Central Division (1994–present) Current uniform Retired Numbers 10, 14, 23, 26, 42 Name Chicago Cubs (1902–present) Chicago Orphans (1898-1901) Chicago Colts (1890-1897) Chicago White Stockings (1870-1889) (a. ... Ronald Edward Santo (born February 25, 1940 in Seattle, Washington) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who played almost his entire career with the Chicago Cubs. ... John Paul Cusack (born June 28, 1966) is an American film actor and writer, born in Evanston, Illinois to a liberal Irish-Catholic family. ... Major league affiliations American League (1901–present) Central Division (1994–present) Current uniform Retired Numbers 2, 3, 4, 9, 11, 16, 19, 42, 72 Name Chicago White Sox (1904–present) White Stockings (1900-1903) St. ...

In preparing for the role, D.B. Sweeney, a former Tulane University outfielder, spent a season training with the Class-A Kenosha Twins of the Midwest League. A natural righthanded hitter, Sweeny learned to bat lefty in the six months prior to filming. Daniel Bernard Sweeney (born 14 November 1961 in Shoreham, New York) is an American movie and television actor. ... Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana. ... Kenosha is a city located in Kenosha County, Wisconsin. ... The Midwest League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the Midwestern United States. ...

This film contains one of the hardest plays for live-action baseball broadcasters to execute. Shoeless Joe Jackson, played by D.B. Sweeney, drove a triple into the right-field corner while the camera operator was able to keep the batter-runner and the ball in the camera frame for the duration of play. The camera was positioned on home-plate side of the third-base dugout. Joseph Jefferson Shoeless Joe Jackson (July 16, 1888 – December 5, 1951) was a left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Athletics, Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox. ... In mathematics, a triple is an n-tuple with n being 3. ...

Cast

• Jace Alexander as Dickey Kerr
• John Cusack as Buck Weaver
• Gordon Clapp as Ray Schalk
• Don Harvey as Swede Risberg
• Michael Lerner as Arnold Rothstein
• Bill Irwin as Eddie Collins
• Clifton James as Charles Comiskey
• Perry Lang as Fred McMullin
• Christopher Lloyd as Bill Burns
• John Mahoney as Kid Gleason
• James Read as Lefty Williams
• Michael Rooker as Chick Gandil
• Charlie Sheen as Hap Felsch
• David Strathairn as Eddie Cicotte
• D.B. Sweeney as 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson
• James Desmond as Smitty
• John Sayles as Ring Lardner
• Andy Dominianni as Scoreboard Kid
• Studs Terkel as Hugh Fullerton
• John Anderson as Kenesaw Mountain Landis

Several people involved in this film would go on to be involved with Ken Burns' 1994 film miniseries Baseball. Cusack, Lloyd and Sweeney did several voice-overs, reading recorded reminiscences of various personalities connected with the game. Sayles and Terkel were interviewed on the subject of the 1919 World Series. Sayles also contributed to the section on Roberto Clemente, and Terkel, a historian and a former labor leader, spoke about other Chicago-related items and the movement toward labor freedom in baseball. Terkel also "reprised his role" by reading Fullerton's columns during the section on the Black Sox. Jace Alexander (born April 7, 1964) is an American television director and former actor. ... Richard Henry Dickie Kerr (July 3, 1893 - May 4, 1963) was a starting pitcher for the Chicago White Sox from 1919-1921. ... John Paul Cusack (born June 28, 1966) is an American film actor and writer, born in Evanston, Illinois to a liberal Irish-Catholic family. ... George Daniel Buck Weaver (August 18, 1890 - January 31, 1956) was an American shortstop and third baseman in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Chicago White Sox. ... Gordon Clapp (born September 24, 1948) is an American actor, best known for playing the role of Detective Greg Medavoy for 12 seasons on the television series NYPD Blue, winning an Emmy Award in 1998. ... Ray Schalk of the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park in 1913. ... Charles August Swede Risberg (13 October 1894 - 13 October 1975) was an American baseball player. ... Michael Lerner is the name of several notable people from the Americans: Michael Lerner, rabbi and left-wing political activist Michael Lerner, actor Michael Lerner, retailer with Lerner Stores This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Arnold Rothstein Arnold Rothstein (January 17, 1882 - November 4, 1928) was a New York businessman and gambler, chiefly famous for his role as a kingpin of organized crime. ... Bill Irwin (born April 11, 1950, Santa Monica, California as William Irwin) is an American actor and clown noted for his contribution to the renaissance of American circus during the 1970s. ... Edward Trowbridge Collins Sr. ... Clifton James is an actor born on May 29, 1921. ... Charles Comiskey baseball card, 1887 Charles Albert Comiskey (August 15, 1859 - October 26, 1931) was a Major League Baseball player, manager and team owner. ... Perry Lang is an American television director and actor. ... Frederick William McMullin (13 October 1891 - 21 November 1952) was an American baseball player. ... Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is a 3-time Emmy Award-winning American character actor. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A 1904 photograph of Gleason as the second baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies. ... James Read in 1985, as young George Hazard James Christopher Read (born July 31, 1953 in Buffalo, New York) is an American television actor. ... Claude Preston Lefty Williams (March 9, 1893 - November 4, 1959) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. ... Michael Rooker (born April 6, 1955 in Jasper, Alabama) is an American actor. ... Arnold Chick Gandil (19 January 1887 _ 13 December 1970) was an American baseball player. ... Charles Irwin Sheen (born Carlos Irwin Estévez on September 3, 1965) is a Golden Globe Award-winning and Emmy-nominated American actor. ... Oscar Happy Felsch (22 August 1891 - 17 August 1964) was an American baseball player. ... David Russell Strathairn (born on January 26, 1949) is an Academy Award-nominated American film and television actor. ... Edward Victor Cicotte (June 19, 1884 - May 5, 1969 Born and Died in Detroit, Michigan) (pronounced See-Cot) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball best known for his time with the Chicago White Sox. ... Daniel Bernard Sweeney (born 14 November 1961 in Shoreham, New York) is an American movie and television actor. ... Joseph Jefferson Shoeless Joe Jackson (July 16, 1888 – December 5, 1951) was a left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Athletics, Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox. ... Photo of John Sayles by Robert Birnbaum John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an independent American film director and writer who frequently takes a small part in his own and other indie films. ... Ringgold Wilmer Lardner (March 6, 1885 - September 25, 1933) was an American sports columnist and short story writer best known for his satirical takes on the sports world, marriage, and the theatre. ... Andy Dominianni (1972) is a television news anchor in Columbus, Ohio. ... Photo of Studs Terkel by Robert Birnbaum Louis Studs Terkel (born May 16, 1912) is an American author, historian and broadcaster. ... Hugh Fullerton III (1873 - 1945) was an influentional American sportswriter of the first half of the 20th century. ... John Anderson (October 20, 1922 - August 7, 1992) was an American actor and director born in Clayton, Illinois. ... Kenesaw Mountain Landis Kenesaw Mountain Landis (November 20, 1866 – November 25, 1944) was an American jurist who served as a federal judge from 1905 to 1922, and subsequently as the first commissioner of Major League Baseball. ... American Filmmaker Ken Burns For other people named Burns, see Burns (disambiguation). ... Baseball: A Film by Ken Burns is an Emmy Award-winning 1994 documentary series by Ken Burns about the game of baseball. ... Roberto Clemente Walker (August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Major League Baseball right fielder and right-handed batter. ...

Sheen soon took up the role of a fictional major league player, pitcher Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn of the Cleveland Indians, in Major League. Major League Baseball (MLB) is the highest level of play in professional baseball in North America. ...

Clifton James had just played another Chicagoan of authority, a district attorney in The Untouchables, and is probably best remembered as Sheriff J.W. Pepper in the James Bond films Live and Let Die and The Man With the Golden Gun. A district attorney is, in some U.S. jurisdictions, the title of the local public official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminals. ... The Untouchables can refer to: The Untouchables (law enforcement), a group of Department of Justice agents led by Eliot Ness who helped take down the gangster Al Capone. ... J.W. Pepper is a fictional Louisiana sheriff, portrayed by Clifton James in two James Bond films: Live and Let Die and The Man with the Golden Gun. ... Flemings commissioned image of James Bond to aid the Daily Express comic strip artists. ... 2002 Penguin Books paperback edition Live and Let Die is the second James Bond novel by Ian Fleming, first published in 1954. ... 2004 Penguin Books paperback edition The Man with the Golden Gun is the thirteenth and final James Bond novel written by Ian Fleming and published posthumously in the United Kingdom and the United States by Glidrose Productions, in 1965. ...

Footnotes

The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ...

External links

• Eight Men Out at Rotten Tomatoes.