Play Ball page 2

 Play Ball page 2 by ric gustafson

The star of ' The Pride of the Yankees' was Gary Cooper. At the time, Cooper was a rising star. Before 1942 when the film was shot, Cooper had just finished three other films. The first was ' Ball of Fire' a romantic comedy. The second was ' Sergeant York'. Cooper won Best Actor Oscar for portraying York. The third was ' Meet John Doe'.

Cooper as a ballplayer in ' Meet John Doe' helped him get ready for ' Pride of the Yankees'. To play Gehrig, Cooper trained with a former ballplayer named Lefty O'Doul. The film overall made money in 1942. This sparked interest in the Great American Pastime. ' The Pride of the Yankees' invented the modern baseball movie.

Unlike Gary Cooper, Jimmy Stewart wanted to serve in WW II. At the time of his military service, there was no hotter actor in Hollywood. After the war, Stewart became under contract with MGM. Because of what he went through during the war, Stewart did not want to be in anymore war films.

Then a great role came to Stewart. It was to play a young talented baseball player named Monty Stratton. Stratton climbs to the top of baseball, falls in love and then gets a physical ailment. Stewart could play baseball. He got the role. ' The Stratton Story' did well at the box office.

research help: ' Baseball the Movie' by Noah Gittell

Peace and God's blessings. Love Ric