Texas Rangers: Sport DFW’s Top-5 Baseball Movies
By Reid Hanson
No. 3: A League of Their Own, 1992
I was pleasantly surprised to see A League of Their Own make it onto all of our lists (top-5 in all but one). When a bunch of sports guys get together you fear the macho could take over and make us all gun-shy about including a movie about The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Earning the No 3 ranking on our list, that clearly did not happen.
A League of Their Own is one of those rare movies that’s hilarious for all ages. Tom Hanks’ role as Jimmy Dugan, the alcoholic manager, is nothing short of legendary. Hanks has played dozens of great characters in his brilliant career, but his this may be the most unforgettable.
I mean, who will ever forget that “There’s no crying in baseball!”
While assembling the roster, the character-introductions resembles that of a Guy Ritchie film. It’s cheesy but undeniably entertaining.
Most importantly, the movie marked a turning point in American gender roles. With so many men away to fight the war, women were relied upon to do all the things they were previously discouraged from. This movie spoke to this evolution of gender equality in the same way so many other sports movies spoke to diversity and racism.