"Rookie of the Year" and the Rest of the Sports Movies of My Youth

I have to admit I was shocked today when CNBC's Darren Rovell tweeted and then HarballTalk's Aaron Gleeman wrote that this is the 17th anniversary of Rookie of the Year. Although the movie is about as ridiculous as it gets, it was always, as Gleeman mentioned, my goal to have Henry Rowengartner's arm after breaking my arm--but it never happened. I was still shy of my 10th birthday when the movie came out and this movie, plus a bunch of other sports movies from the era, helped to shape me in some strange way. Here's a quick look at 5 sports movies (1990-1995) with a tidbit about each--and a few others worth mentioning:

Internet Movie Poster Awards Gallery

Rookie of the Year

• My Tagline: "Boy breaks arm and befriends Gary Busey who throws the high cheese".
• Real Tagline: "The Chicago Cubs needed a miracle... They got Henry Rowengartner" 
• IDMB plot summary: "When an accident miraculously gives a boy an incredibly powerful pitching arm, he becomes a major league pitcher for the Chicago Cubs."
• My quick thoughts: Just a great movie and "pitcher's got a big butt" must have been said on the baseball field at least once a game after this. Can still go back and watch Daniel Stern as the pitching coach and laugh.
• The adult/child stars of the movie: Thomas Ian Nicholas as Henry Rowengartner and Gary Busey as Chet "Rocket" Steadman".
• Where the stars are now: I can't believe Nicholas is 30, but after his American Pie days, he's sort of fizzled out a bit. Gary Busey is still insane.
• "Wait, they were in this movie<": This honor goes to the future Scrubs Janitor, Neil Flynn, who played Okie, the Cubs first baseman in the movie
• Lasting effect on my childhood: After I broke my arm, I was sure I was going to be a pitcher. Damn, you Hollywood!
• Jay's Take: "Loved this movie. Loved that the villains were the Mets and specifically a goon named Heddo. Loved Gary Busey and his grunts."

Pics Digger

The Mighty Ducks

• My Tagline: "Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack. The flying V! Watch out for the knucklepunk, cake-eater!"
  
• Real Tagline: "He's never coached. They've never won. Together they'll learn everything about winning!" 
• IDMB plot summary: "Gordon Bombay, a hotshot lawyer, is haunted by memories of his childhood, when, as the star player in his champion hockey team, he lost the winning goal in a shootout, thereby losing the game, and the approval of his coach. After being charged for drunk driving, the court orders him to coach a peewee hockey team, the worst in the league, Gordon is at first very reluctant. However, he eventually gains the respect of the kids and teaches them how to win, gaining a sponsor on the way and giving the team the name of The Ducks. In the finals, they face Gordon's old team, coached by Gordon's old coach, giving Gordon a chance to face old ghosts."
• My quick thoughts: There were two others after it but the original still stands out. I think that it brought other kids to love hockey as much I did--at least for a little while. And what kid didn't try a triple deke at some point while playing hockey after seeing this movie? 
• The adult/child stars of the movie: Emilio Estevez as Gordon Bombay and Joshua Jackson as Charlie Conway
• Where the stars are now: I have no clue where Estevez is since Bobby (which he wrote, directer and acted in). Jackson is in Fringe but was recently pushing Pacey-Con.
• "Wait, they were in this movie?": My Cousin Vinny's Jim Trotter III (Lane Smith) as Coach Jack Reilly. LOST's Tom Friendly (M.C. Gainey) as Lewis. Wet Hot American Summer's Katie (Marguerite Moreau) as Connie Moreau (they were real original with that last name). Law & Order: Criminal Intent's Detective Alexandra Eames (Kathryn Erbe) as Michelle MacKay in the sequel. 24's Larry Moss (Jeffrey Nordling) as Coach Ted Orion in the third. Great cameos from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Cam Neely, Chris Chelios, Luc Robitaille, Greg Louganis, Kristi Yamaguchi, and Wayne Gretzky. And, of course, Kenan Thompson as the knucklepucking Russ Tyler.
• Lasting effect on my childhood: I was involved in a P.E. class shootout and triple deked the goalie for the win and gym class glory.
• Jay's Take: "The girl who plays Henry's crush in Rookie of the Year is the same girl who played Julie "The Cat" Gaffney in Mighty Ducks 2"

Little Giants

Examiner

• My Tagline: "The Annexation of Puerto Rico"
  
• Real Tagline: "For everyone who's waited to be chosen, and wasn't... your day has come." 
• IDMB plot summary: "Misfits form their own opposing team to an elite peewee football team, coached by the elite team coach's brother."
• My quick thoughts: I can't decide if 10-year-olds are supposed to find Icebox hot or not, but she can sure play football!
• The adult/child stars of the movie: Rick Moranis and Ed O'Neill as Danny and Kevin O'Shea. Shawna Waldron as Becky "Icebox" O'Shea.
  
• Where the stars are now: The great Rick Moranis (Ghostbusters, Spaceballs, Little Shop of Horros, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, etc.) seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth except for something called Bob & Doug and Wikipedia says that he retired in 1997. O'Neill is a star in Modern Family. Waldron is still acting and has gotten pretty freakin' hot (and supposedly got naked for a movie).
  
• "Wait, they were in this movie?": Devon Sawa as Junior Floyd. The Simpsons' Ned Flanders among others (Harry Shearer) as Announcer Littbarksi. 
• Lasting effect on my childhood: Every pickup football game included an annexation of Puerto Rico--and left out playing against girls like Icebox.

The Athletic Nerd

The Sandlot

• My Tagline: "I will love this movie FOR-E-VER"
  
• Real Tagline: "The adventure of a lifetime,the summer of their dreams...the dog of their nightmares" 
• IDMB plot summary: "Scotty Smalls moves to a new neighborhood with his mom and stepdad, and wants to learn to play baseball. The neighborhood baseball guru Rodriquez takes Smalls under his wing, and soon he's part of the local baseball buddies. They fall into adventures involving baseball, treehouse sleep-ins, the desirous lifeguard at the local pool, the snooty rival ball team, and the travelling fair. Beyond the fence at the back of the sandlot menaces a legendary ball-eating dog called The Beast, and the kids inevitably must deal with him."
• My quick thoughts: Summer and baseball never went better with each other than after seeing this movie. Same with s'mores.
• The adult/child stars of the movie: Tom Guiry as Scotty Smalls and Mike Vitar as Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez. James Earl Jones as Mr. Mertle.
  
• Where the stars are now: Guiry was on one of my favorite shows to get canceled before a season was over, The Black Donnellys, and was also in U-571, Black Hawk Down, and Mystic River. Vitar was actually in both the Mighty Ducks sequel and the third installation but stopped acting after that (and Wikipedia now says that he's a firefighter for the Los Angeles Fire Department). Jones is still acting and providing his great voice to everything.
  
• "Wait, they were in this movie?": Denis Leary as Bill. Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull's Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) as Mom. Pleasantville's Margaret (Marley Shelton) as Wendy, the hot lifeguard (who recently got a DUI picked up by TMZ)
• Lasting effect on my childhood: I stopped hitting home runs for the sheer reason that I did not want to deal with that dog over the fence.

Virtual History Film

Angels in the Outfield

• My Tagline: "Real angels are honestly concerned with making sure that the Angels with whether the Angels win the pennant. Nothing else worth their time. Seriously people."
  
• Real Tagline: "It Could Happen" 
• IDMB plot summary: "When a boy prays for a chance to have a family if the California Angels win the pennant, angels are assigned to make that possible."
• My quick thoughts: No where on the Rookie of the Year level but still a quality movie and probably just above Little Big League. Tough time for kid's baseball movies.
• The adult/child stars of the movie: Danny Glover as George Knox and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Roger Bomman.
• Where the stars are now: Gordon-Levitt is a star in Inception. Glover will act until he can't walk or speak anymore.
• "Wait, they were in this movie?": There's a lot of them in this movie (besides Tony Danza and Christopher Lloyd): Adrien Brody as Danny Hemmerling, Matthew McConaughey as Ben Williams, Oscar winner Ben Johnson as Hank Murphy, and former baseball player Carney Lansford as Kit "Hit or Die" Kesey. 
• Lasting effect on my childhood: I needed something to blame on the Angels dominance over the Yankees and this seemed as good a reason as any and sure beat that damn Rally Monkey which seemed to be possessed by the Devil.

 Honorable Mentions:

• A League of Their Own. There's no crying in baseball but I know that many got teary at the end of this movie starring everyone from Tom Hanks and Geena Davis to Madonna, Jon Lovitz, Bill Pullman, Rosie O'Donnell, and the much-forgotten about Tea Leoni.
• Little Big League. Debated between this one and Angels in the Outfield. Went with the latter. Great baseball camoes, though. And Transformers' Ron Witwicky (Kevin Dunn), The Single Guy's Jonathan Eliot (Jonathan Silverman), Dennis Farina, and Kevin Elster. 
• Rudy. It wasn't a kids movie but Sean Aston was awesome and the movie was inspiring. This was the last time that anyone wanted to play for Notre Dame this badly.
• The Next Karate Kid. The first iteration came out in 1984, but this movie had Mr. Miyagi as well as Hilary Swank.
• Cool Runnings. A rare Disney movie where they didn't win in the end, this movie was awesome because of John Candy and the fact that it was based on a true story.
• Point Break. Is surfing a sport? If so, this 1991 movie rocked. And I think I found someone to call Pappas for weeks after seeing the movie. Some of the funniest bad acting you'll see.
• Rocky V. While all the other Rocky movies were probably better, this one did have a young Kevin Connolly as Chickie.
• Major League II. The first one was rated "R" and was sooooo much better but it came out in 1989. This one wasn't as good even though it still had Charlie Sheen, Dennis Haysbert, the recently departed James Gammon, and Inception's Tom Berenger. Biggest mistake? Replacing Wesley Snipes with Omar Epps and getting rid of all the cursing and vulgarity.
• White Man Can't Jump. Not a kids movie but one that always stuck with me. Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, and Rosie Perez made this movie.
• Ladybugs. I remember Rodney Dangerfield and Tommy Lasorda (as Coach Cannoli)...but not much else.
• School Ties. It had football and it was also a great excuse for Hebrew School teachers to show us a good movie during class. Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, Chris O'Donnell, Keljko Ivanek, and Ben Affleck (as Chesty Smith).
• Ed. Matt LeBlanc and a monkey. May be the worst movie I've ever seen. Ever. Looking on IMDB, Jim Caviezel was in the movie.
• Blue Chips. Awesome movie which Jay will talk about tomorrow...

Your thoughts? Did I leave anything out. With the time period we missed out on movies such as Jerry McGuire, Bad News Bears, and Space Jam.