Manager - Dutch Schnell 35
No. Coaches
31 Egg Barnard
44 Joe Jaros
36 Mike Mulrooney
33 Clint Strapp
No. Pitchers
38 Porter Biggs (R-R)
42 Lindon Burke (R-R)
28 Horse Byrd (R-R)
29 Frankie Caselli (S-R)
40 Keith Crane (R-L)
17 Herb Macy (R-R)
39 Jack Sterling (R-R)
18 Jim Van Gundy (L-L)
23 Whitey Whiteside (R-L)
30 Henry Wiggen (L-L)
43 Gil Willowbrook (R-R)
No. Catchers
15 Wesley Barr (R-R)
41 Jonah Brooks (L-R)
13 Piney Woods (R-R)
No. Infielders
12 Sid Goldman (L-L)
27 George Gonzalez (R-R)
19 Ugly Jones (L-R)
11 Coker Roguski (S-R)
20 Perry Simpson (R-R)
10 Willis Tyler (R-R)
No. Outfielders
2 Pasquale Carucci (L-R)
6 Vinny Carucci (L-R)
14 Frank Longabucco (R-R)
9 Reed McGonigle (L-R)
1 Canada Smith (R-R)
Batting Practice Pitcher - Billy Brooks 50
Trainer - Scooter Corrigan
BANG THE DRUM SLOWLY
"The fates had it in for Bruce Pearson my making him a naive, dense second-rate catcher, but they completely outdid themselves with the coup de grace that he was dying.
Motion pictures about ballplayers have grounded out ever since baseball caught the fancy of the American public. Usually, all the Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig and Monte Stratton and Jimmy Piersall movies bear little resemblance to the genuine major league baseball situation. They are just not believable.
'Bang the Drum Slowly,' produced by Paramount and taken from the 1956 novel by Mark Harris, is different (perhaps because it's dealing with fictional characters). In most instances, the players and the action seem natural here- which is to say that no one throws like a girl, runs bases like a duck or fields like an arthritic.
Action shots for the film were taken at Yankee and Shea Stadiums. At times, footage of real ballplayers and Stadiums were included, adding to the authenticity.
Henry Wiggins has an easy and fluid windup, not unlike a professional pitcher. Catcher Bruce Pearson's form is adequate. Yet he appears too slight and too small to be a backstop. Catchers are stocky, if not downright chunky. Pearson looks more like a second baseman.
Manager Dutch Scnhell is hardbitten enough to appear legitimate. But his preoccupation with the personal problems of his players seems implausible in the major leagues. Managers do not get paid for prying into a player's life. In fact, Marvin Miller and the Ballplayers Union would not brook such interference.
The producers also have the Pirates and the Orioles playing in the same league. But, for the most part, 'Bang the Drum Slowly' will not insult the intelligence of the baseball purist.
'Author' Wiggins earns $70,000 a year and is perhaps the top hurler in baseball. He is a successful author and insurance salesman. He is bright, famous, well-liked, handsome and married to a doll. In short, he is a winner.
Bruce Pearson is a third-string catcher with barely enough tools to stay in the big leagues. He is dense, if not stupid. Few fans even know he is with the club. He is in love with a prostitute, and his face and clothes are strewn with tobacco juice, as his hair is with grease. Now he's been handed another bum deal. He will soon die from Hodgkin's disease.
The movie is about these two roommates and the secret only they share in their final season together. It is a story of their friendship and their relationship with their teammates.
The opening of the season finds Wiggins holding out for $125,000. In a conference with the team's top brass, he says he will settle for $70,000 with the stipulation that a clause be added to his contract. 'There must be a clause,' he insists, 'saying that me and Bruce Pearson will stay with the club together or else go together. Whatever happens to one must happen to the other, traded or sold. We must be tied in a package ... '
This is to assure that Pearson does not spend his last season alone in the minors. Manager Schnell wonders out loud if he is dealing with 'a couple of fairies,' but agrees to the clause.
Their team, the New York Mammoths, is the class of the league. They have the best outfield and double-play combination in the majors. Their pitching is outstanding. However, they are not running away with the pennant as expected, because they can't get along as a team.
Pearson, naive and dull-witted, is often the butt of his teammates' 'ragging.' He is an easy target for the less sensitive Mammoths who are unaware of his secret.
Yet, for some incredible reason, Bruce Pearson is enjoying his finest season. He feels no debilitating effects from his illness and is a starter for the first time in his career.
Throughout the season, the tough, ornery Schnell suspects something is up between his star pitcher and his lowly catcher. He tries to squeeze the truth, first out of Wiggins and then Pearson, but without success. Even a hired detective cannot get at their secret.
Finally, in the midst of the team squabbles, Wiggins confides to one of the more raucous members of the team that Pearson is, in fact, dying. Soon the entire team becomes cognizant of their neglected catcher's imminent doom. The ragging suddenly stops. Pearson begins to receive from his teammates affection never before shown. He becomes 'one of the boys.' Even Dutch, with a heart like stone, warms up to his dying catcher, at the same time bringing in additional catching strength.
The Mammoths win the pennant, and Pearson, though now nearing the end, manages to last the regular season. On his departure home, he promises Henry he will see him again in the spring. It is a promise they both know will not be kept."
-Steven Clark (Associated Features, Popular Sports 1974 Baseball)
He was not a bad fellow, no worse than most and probably better than some, and not a bad ballplayer neither when they gave him a chance, and they laid off him long enough ...
-Mark Harris, Bang the Drum Slowly
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