This is a Cinderella story about a baseball team that stopped just short of grabbing the brass ring. From 1973 to 1978, the Portland Mavericks, under the ownership of former actor Bing Russell, defied the establishment of professional baseball to become one of the most successful franchises in Class A history. Russell, for those who might not have heard of him, was a character actor who portrayed Deputy Clem Foster on the television series 'Bonanza'. And if you're not familiar with him, you'll be shocked to check his stats here on IMDb, with a hundred seventy six credits spanning 1951 to 1990. Interestingly, right after watching this documentary, I caught a Russell appearance in the TV Western 'Bronco', titled 'Destinies West', one of those serendipitous moments that I experience while pursuing this hobby of mine.
Bing Russell was also the father of actor Kurt Russell, and a neat point of trivia you'll come away with here is that Kurt actually played for the Portland Mavericks in it's first year of existence. Kurt is on screen any number of times talking about his Dad and the history of the team. Interviewed as well are a number of former players and sports writers of the era, all attesting to the remarkable success of the Portland team, which made history with it's pitcher Gene Lathorn throwing a no-hitter in the Mav's very first game, and Bing being named Sporting News Class A Executive of the Year in 1974. On a somewhat bizarre note, at least for this viewer, film clips of the team's premier player, Reggie Thomas, show him wearing the numbers #5 and #27 in different games. That's one I couldn't figure out!
The biggest name of course to be hired by the Mavericks was seven year retired former New York Yankee pitcher Jim Bouton, who's 1970 book 'Ball Four' stunned the sports world with it's behind the scenes look at teams and players in a most uncharacteristic fashion. Controversial to say the least, Bouton fit right in with the outwardly seeming misfits who made up the Mavericks roster. The former World Series winning pitcher with the Yankees couldn't be happier with his four hundred dollars per month salary with the Mavs!
To give you just another flavor of what the Portland Mavericks were all about, I'll offer up this quote from one of their pitchers, among the many hundreds of players who showed up in 1973 to try and make the team. Larry Colton probably summarizes it best when he says - "It was clearly the only team in America that would have even let me try out". For both fans of the game and those who don't care much about baseball, this is an entertaining documentary about achieving the American dream by following one's passion. The name of Bing Russell will stay with you after watching this picture.
Bing Russell was also the father of actor Kurt Russell, and a neat point of trivia you'll come away with here is that Kurt actually played for the Portland Mavericks in it's first year of existence. Kurt is on screen any number of times talking about his Dad and the history of the team. Interviewed as well are a number of former players and sports writers of the era, all attesting to the remarkable success of the Portland team, which made history with it's pitcher Gene Lathorn throwing a no-hitter in the Mav's very first game, and Bing being named Sporting News Class A Executive of the Year in 1974. On a somewhat bizarre note, at least for this viewer, film clips of the team's premier player, Reggie Thomas, show him wearing the numbers #5 and #27 in different games. That's one I couldn't figure out!
The biggest name of course to be hired by the Mavericks was seven year retired former New York Yankee pitcher Jim Bouton, who's 1970 book 'Ball Four' stunned the sports world with it's behind the scenes look at teams and players in a most uncharacteristic fashion. Controversial to say the least, Bouton fit right in with the outwardly seeming misfits who made up the Mavericks roster. The former World Series winning pitcher with the Yankees couldn't be happier with his four hundred dollars per month salary with the Mavs!
To give you just another flavor of what the Portland Mavericks were all about, I'll offer up this quote from one of their pitchers, among the many hundreds of players who showed up in 1973 to try and make the team. Larry Colton probably summarizes it best when he says - "It was clearly the only team in America that would have even let me try out". For both fans of the game and those who don't care much about baseball, this is an entertaining documentary about achieving the American dream by following one's passion. The name of Bing Russell will stay with you after watching this picture.