| Soul of the Game | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama History Sport |
| Written by | Gary Hoffman (story) David Himmelstein (teleplay) |
| Directed by | Kevin Rodney Sullivan |
| Starring | Blair Underwood Delroy Lindo Mykelti Williamson Edward Herrmann R. Lee Ermey Harvey Williams |
| Music by | Lee Holdridge |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Kevin Kelly Brown Gary Hoffman Mike Medavoy |
| Producer | Robert Papazian |
| Production locations | Birmingham, Alabama Huntingburg, Indiana League Stadium - 1st & Cherry Streets, Huntingburg, Indiana Los Angeles Ontario Pasadena, California St. Louis Rickwood Field - 1137 2nd Avenue W, Birmingham, Alabama |
| Cinematography | Sandi Sissel |
| Editor | Victor Du Bois |
| Running time | 94 min. |
| Production companies | Gary Hoffman Productions HBO Pictures Mike Medavoy Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | HBO |
| Release |
|
Soul of the Game (also known as Field of Honour) is a 1996 television film about Negro league baseball.
The film stars Blair Underwood as Jackie Robinson, Delroy Lindo as Satchel Paige, Mykelti Williamson as Josh Gibson, and Harvey Williams as "Cat" Mays, the father of Willie Mays. The film depicts Paige and Gibson as the pitching and hitting stars, respectively, of the Negro leagues in the period immediately following World War II. Robinson is an up-and-coming player on Paige's team, the Kansas City Monarchs.
Branch Rickey is the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers who is determined to integrate Major League Baseball. He begins sending his scouts to Negro league games to find the best players. Rickey directs his scouts to look not only at playing ability but also at the players' maturity and capacity to withstand the hostility that is sure to be directed
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 67% rating based on 6 reviews.[1] Audiences gave the film a 67% rating based on 114 reviews.[1]
