Around this time of year, I watch a lot of baseball movies in anticipation of the upcoming season. Some of my favorites are 42, Trouble with the Curve, The Perfect Game, and Field of Dreams. What is your favorite movie?
I think it would be safe to say everybody and everyone has probably seen Field of Dreams so I don’t think I would be given up any spoilers. At some point in the movie, the characters Ray Kinsella and Terrence Mann journey to Chisholm, Minnesota in search of Archibald ‘Moonlight’ Graham. Here we learn more about Dr. Graham besides having a very short career in the Major Leagues.
Of all the years I’ve watched Field of Dreams, I have never taken the time to look up Archibald Graham to see if he was an actual player and if his story was true.
It is true.
June 29, 1905, Moonlight Graham made his major league debut with the New York Giants by playing the last two innings in an 11-1 rout of Brooklyn. Unfortunately, he never got an at-bat as he was on deck when the last out was recorded for their side. And as I understand it, never fielded the ball as he played right field in the bottom half of the ninth inning.
He would never get the chance again, although he continued to play in the minors for a few years afterward.
W.P. Kinsella wrote the book Shoeless Joe and in 1989 it was made for the big screen in the form of Field of Dreams. Mr. Kinsella happened to come across Graham’s name along with his stat line and decided to use him as a character in the book. But there is more to Graham’s life.
Graham graduated from the Maryland School of Medicine just weeks before playing in the major leagues. He was called ‘Moonlight’ because he was said to have been one of the fastest players in the game.
Dr. Graham actually was Chisholm, Minnesota’s town doctor and was very involved with children even to the point of giving away eyeglasses and free medical services to needing families. He passed away in 1965 at the age of 82. He will forever be immortalized in Mr. Kinsella’s book and in the movies.
Later on in the movie a younger version of ‘Moonlight’ Graham is playing on the field of dreams where he hits a sacrifice fly, scoring a run. When he sits back down on the bench he is congratulated by his teammates and then he looks over at Ray Kinsella. A smile crosses his face and I am immediately transported back to the days I saw that same smile on my son’s face during a game.
One conversation I had with someone whose favorite movie is Field of Dreams stated, “If we could be so lucky as to have one last catch with our Dad one more time. That scene IS Baseball to me.”
I have to agree.
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