Lights, Camera, Fastball: Nine MLB Players Who Became Actors

About this episode

This episode explores the transition of nine MLB players from baseball to acting in Hollywood.

Moving from a pro baseball diamond to a Hollywood set is a rare occurrence. The examples start in the early 1900s, when vaudeville and silent films were a natural spot for sports heroes. The pattern continues all the way to modern Hollywood studios and the current media scene. We’re going to examine the stories of nine professional baseball players who leveraged their athletic careers to start new ones as on-stage or on-screen actors. Some were fueling a second passion, some did it for survival after playing days were done, and some used their skills on the field to build legacies that still exist in Hollywood today. It’s been a fascinating topic to study. If you’re interested in learning more about the baseball to Hollywood pipeline, I highly recommend you check out: - From Spring Training to Screen Test: Baseball Players Turned Actors which is an ebook produced by the Society for American Baseball Research and edited by Rob Edelman and friend of the show Bill Nowlin. - The Hall of Famer Filmography assembled by the National Baseball Hall of Fame - The book Bats, Balls, and Hollywood Stars: Hollywood’s Love Affair with Baseball by Joe Siegman. - Make sure to check out the…

Topics covered

• baseball
• Hollywood
• actors
• MLB players
• sports history
• entertainment

Keywords

• MLB
• actors
• baseball history
• Hollywood
• sports
• entertainment
• John McGraw

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Society for American Baseball Research, National Baseball Hall of Fame