With baseball season in full swing, these three programs will surely be popular additions to sports video collections. The first, Babe Ruth, is an affectionate and accurate tribute to the Sultan of Swat, baseball's most honored player. Mel Allen narrates this overview which covers Ruth's amazing career, his legendary affection for and devotion to children, his problems with health and money, and his thwarted efforts to become a manager. Combining historical film and photos with interview footage of Jimmie Reese (now in his 72nd season of professional baseball), this program captures both the public and private man, and does so in an entertaining and informative way. The second title, Billy Martin, also focuses on one of the greats of the game, the legendary Yankees manager who died late last year in a tragic auto accident. This video is built around his last in-depth interview. "Losing is a bitter pill, and I've never been able to swallow it," said Martin, and this drive to win comes through most forcefully from this man who could be very quiet during an interview and quite vociferous on the field. Not only is Martin a consistently interesting talker--who has a number of insights gained over a lifetime to share--he's also much more than the popular picture of a blustery manager who screams at players, umpires, and press with equal fervor. Interviews with those who knew him best--Mickey Mantle George Steinbrenner, Whitey Ford, Rod Carew, and Craig Nettles, among others--attest to this other side of Billy Martin which the public rarely encountered. The final program, The History of Great Black Baseball Players, is an excellent theme video hosted by the great Ernie Banks, who spent 19 memorable seasons with the Chicago Cubs. While there is good coverage of the major modern black players (Rod Carew, Willie Mays, Bob Gibson, Willie Stargell, Hank Aaron, Lou Brock, Reggie Jackson, etc.), the program goes far beyond a baseball card approach in chronicling the early history of black players who played in the Negro National League during the 20s--and only recently have been granted Hall of Fame recognition as some of the greatest players to ever grace the game. The color barrier was broken in 1946, when Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and over the next several years, the program makes clear that black players were chosen as much for their character as for their playing ability--no one wanting any trouble. A revealing examination which features archival film and photos as well as interviews with the great Hank Aaron (who received hate mail prior to breaking Babe Ruth's home run record), Lou Brock, Whitey Herzog, and others. All three titles are highly recommended. (Available from most major distributors.)
Babe Ruth: The Man, The Myth, The Legend; Billy Martin: The Man...The Myth...The Manager; The History Of Great Black Baseball Players
(1989) 40 m. $19.95. Fries Home Video. Public performance rights included. Vol. 5, Issue 4
Babe Ruth: The Man, The Myth, The Legend; Billy Martin: The Man...The Myth...The Manager; The History Of Great Black Baseball Players
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