Baseball Movies in the 80s: Eight Men Out

MOVIE STATS
Released: Sept 2, 1988

Distributor: Orion

MPAA Rating: PG
Total Run Time: 119 mins.
Cast: D.B. Sweeney, John Cusack, David Strathairn, Charlie Sheen, Clifton James, Michael Lerner, and Christopher Lloyd

Plot: A dramatization of the Black Sox scandal when the underpaid Chicago White Sox accepted bribes to deliberately lose the 1919 World Series.
Weeks as Box Office #1: N/A
Box Office Rank: #116 overall in 1988
US Domestic Gross: $5.7 million
Budget: N/A

RD80s take:
There's another 80s baseball movie with Charlie Sheen, that often gets overlooked. Eight Men Out is a great baseball film about one of the most talked about stories in its history. I'd say that this period film is probably not for your average moviegoer, but for baseball fans, it's one that will grab your attention. It features a collection of some great young actors of its time, most insisting their desire to make the film was for their love of baseball. I really enjoy the movie and encourage baseball fans who may have never watched it to check it out.

Extended Plot:

In 1919, eight players of the Chicago White Sox are paid by a group of gamblers to fix the outcome of the World Series. The movie follows the players as they struggle with their decision. Some gladly go along with the decision like Sheen's character Happy Felsch and Eddie Ciotte (played by David Strathairn) who seeks financial gain and revenge against the White Sox owner. However, Buck Weaver (played by John Cusack) insists he wants nothing to do with the fix, but is included with the group anyway.

Memorable lines:

1st Cincinnati Reds Player: These guys don't look so tough.
2nd Cincinnati Reds Player: Yeah, that's what Custer said when the Indians took the field.

Ring Lardner: Sports writers of the world unite; you have nothing to lose but your bar privileges.

Hap Felsch: I may be dumb, fellas, but I ain't stupid. 

PeeWee: Say it ain't so, Joe. Say it ain't so.

Special edition DVD and Kindle book available on Amazon

Thanks to BoxOfficeMojo, IMDB, and Wikipedia

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