A telephone lineman in rural Nebraska, Grover Alexander (Ronald Reagan) and his fiance Aimee (Doris Day) are saving money so they can get married and buy a farm. What Grover really wants to do, though, is play baseball, so when he is asked to pitch in a local game, he does so...to Aimee's great dismay. Although Aimee insists that baseball shouldn't be Grover's whole life...that it should just be something to help him relax---like checkers---when the manager of a semi-professional team approaches him about joining the team, Grover does so, and he finds success, which leads him right into the Major Leagues and, ultimately, to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
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From his 28-wins rookie season in 1911, to his final season nearly two decades later, Grover Alexander made a name for himself as one of the pitching greats of baseball history. Playing for Philadelphia, Chicago (Cubs), and St. Louis, over the course of 20 seasons, Grover---known as Alex the Great---fought the effects of a head injury which resulted in double-vision and seizure-type symptoms, as well as the demon of alcohol abuse, in order to become one of the greatest pitchers in baseball. He was even instrumental in leading his team to a come-from-behind victory in the 1926 World Series.
This is an inspiring story, and the pairing of Doris Day and Ronald Reagan makes for a "winning team" for me. There is great chemistry between them, and they both are strong and solid in their roles. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I believe a lot of people discount Ronald Reagan as an actor simply because they don't like his politics. No, he's not the best actor who ever came down the pike, but he's certainly not the worst. He's very capable and solid in several roles, not the least of which is this one. So, set politics aside, put your "objective" hat on, and give him a chance in this---and other---dramatic roles.
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The film also provides an opportunity to hear the delightful melodious voice of Doris Day, as she sings a couple lines of (what else) "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." Russ Tamblyn (billed as Rusty Tamblyn) has a very tiny role as one of Grover's younger siblings. Finally, there's some real baseball footage, including shots of the now-destroyed Yankee Stadium.
The final innings of the final game of the movie (the 1926 World Series) are depicted fairly accurately, although not completely. I checked in my son's book, 20th Century Baseball Chronicle, and found that things didn't happen exactly as shown in the movie. The end result was the same, but Hollywood took a bit of license. Be sure to check out what really happened....and should you be interested in learning a bit more about this Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher, HERE is an encyclopedia article about him.
Out on DVD as part of the Ronald Reagan Collection, The Winning Team should be fairly easy to track down. Additionally, it is on the TCM schedule for Friday, July 19th, at 6:00 p.m. (ET). For baseball fans---especially those who are interested in learning about the all-time greats---I think this film is well worth a watch.
Happy viewing!!
