Williams documentary to be shown at Hall of Fame Sept. 21
Elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966, Ted Williams is famously quoted as having said, “All I want out of life is that when I walk down the street folks will say, ‘There goes the greatest hitter who ever lived.’”
On Friday, Sept. 21, the critically acclaimed documentary, Ted Williams: ‘The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived’ will bat lead-off for the 13th annual Baseball Hall of Fame Film Festival with a 7:30 p.m. showing inside the completely renovated Grandstand Theater. Representing the one-hour Ted Williams doc in Cooperstown will be its director/producer Nick Davis and executive producer Albert M. Tapper.
The additional 18 films scheduled for the three-day tribute to the national pastime on the silver screen, to be held through Sept. 23, will be shown at the Hall of Fame’s Bullpen Theater. These include A League of Her Own on Saturday, Sept. 22, 11:30 a.m., with the nine-minute film’s subject, 2017 J.G. Taylor Spink Award honoree Claire Smith attending. The festival concludes on Sunday, Sept. 23, with an 11:30 a.m. showing of St. Paul Saints: For the Fun of the Game, with Mike Veeck, part-owner of the independent league team and son of Hall of Famer Bill Veeck, in attendance.
Davis talked recently about the thrill of showing his Ted Williams film in Cooperstown as part of the Film Festival.
“I’m honored and excited,” Davis said. “This is the closest I will ever get to being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. And I’m sure I reacted much the way anyone does when they’re elected to the Hall of Fame – I nearly broke down in tears of joy when I heard the news. It’s the best.”
Ted Williams: ‘The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived’ premiered on July 23, 2018, as part of PBS’s American Masters series. Narrated by actor Jon Hamm, the documentary features never-before-seen footage of Williams’ final game in 1960 and includes interviews with broadcasters Bob Costas and Dick Enberg, ballplayers Wade Boggs, Jim Kaat, Willie McCovey and Joey Votto, writers Roger Angell and Ben Bradlee Jr., and Teddy Ballgame’s daughter Claudia Williams.
“My hope is that what people come away with after watching the film is an appreciation for Williams as a man, as a human being, an appreciation for what it takes to be great, and a deeper understanding of just who he was,” Davis said. “Getting at the humanity of a person is always the goal in making a film and so that, above everything else, would be what I want people to take from it.”
Williams, who passed away in 2002 at the age of 83, has a Hall of Fame plaque that certainly makes the argument that he was in fact the greatest hitter who ever lived despite twice interrupting his career to serve as a Marine Corps pilot in World War II and Korea: “Batted .406 in 1941. Led A.L. in batting 6 times; slugging percentage 9 times; total bases 6 times; runs scored 6 times; bases on balls 8 times. Total hits 2654 included 521 home runs. Lifetime batting average .344; Lifetime slugging average .634. Most valuable A.L. player 1946 & 1949. Played in 18 All Star games, named Player of the Decade 1951-1960.”
At his induction into the Hall of Fame on July 25, 1966, Williams took the stage and made news with his words instead of his bat. What began as a standard acceptance speech evolved into something more meaningful when spoke for those without a voice: “Inside this building are plaques dedicated to baseball men of all generations and I’m privileged to join them…And I hope that someday the names of Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson in some way can be added as a symbol of the great Negro players that are not here only because they were not given a chance.”
For Davis, who grew up in New York City a lifelong fan of the Mets, this will be only his third trip to Cooperstown, the others coming more than three decades ago. One of his first stops will be the famed Plaque Gallery to take a photo in front of the bronze image of the subject of his film.
“It’s the coolest thing,” he said. “Somehow I have failed in my fathering. I have two girls who are 14 and 19 and neither of them are much of a baseball fan, and my wife is not a baseball fan, so the idea of, which I floated periodically on vacations, like, ‘Hey, let’s drive to Cooperstown!’ it just got us nowhere. So I can’t wait.”
Tickets for all films are free but must be reserved in advance by calling 607-547-0397 weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. Admission to the Museum is required for films shown during regular Museum hours.
For a complete Baseball Hall of Fame Film Festival schedule, click here.
Bill Francis is the senior research and writing specialist at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
