Ball Four (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Ball Four is a 1976 American situation comedy that aired on CBS
in 1976. The series is inspired by the 1970 book of the same name
by Jim Bouton
. Bouton co-created the show with humorist and television critic Marvin Kitman and sportswriter Vic Ziegel. Bouton also starred in the series.
Ball Four followed the Washington Americans, a fictitious minor league baseball team, dealing with the fallout from a series of Sports Illustrated
articles written by Americans player Jim Barton (Bouton).
Like the book, the series covered controversial subjects including womanizing players, drug use, homosexuality in sports and religion. The series included a gay rookie ballplayer, one of the earliest regular gay characters on television.
The trio began developing the series in 1975, looking to other series like M*A*S*H and All in the Family
as models. CBS expressed interest and the creative team developed a script. CBS shot the pilot episode and ultimately bought the series.
Ball Four aired at 8:30 PM Eastern time, which was during the Family Viewing Hour
, an FCC
-mandated hour of early evening "family-friendly" broadcasting. Consequently the writers had some trouble with the network's Standards and Practices in their attempt to portray realistic locker room scenes, especially the language used by the players. Pseudo-profanity such as "bullpimp" was disallowed, while "horse-crock" and "bullhorse" were approved.
Ball Four debuted on September 22. While Bouton and other members of the cast received praise for their performances, critics found the series uneven in quality. The show was unsuccessful and CBS canceled it after just five episodes.
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
in 1976. The series is inspired by the 1970 book of the same name
Ball Four
Ball Four is a book written by former Major League Baseball pitcher Jim Bouton in . The book is a diary of Bouton's 1969 season, spent with the Seattle Pilots and then the Houston Astros following a late-season trade. In it Bouton also recounts much of his baseball career, spent mainly with the...
by Jim Bouton
Jim Bouton
James Alan "Jim" Bouton is a former American Major League Baseball pitcher. He is also the author of the controversial baseball book Ball Four, which was a combination diary of his season and memoir of his years with the New York Yankees, Seattle Pilots, and Houston Astros.-Amateur and college...
. Bouton co-created the show with humorist and television critic Marvin Kitman and sportswriter Vic Ziegel. Bouton also starred in the series.
Ball Four followed the Washington Americans, a fictitious minor league baseball team, dealing with the fallout from a series of Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
articles written by Americans player Jim Barton (Bouton).
Like the book, the series covered controversial subjects including womanizing players, drug use, homosexuality in sports and religion. The series included a gay rookie ballplayer, one of the earliest regular gay characters on television.
The trio began developing the series in 1975, looking to other series like M*A*S*H and All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
as models. CBS expressed interest and the creative team developed a script. CBS shot the pilot episode and ultimately bought the series.
Ball Four aired at 8:30 PM Eastern time, which was during the Family Viewing Hour
Family Viewing Hour
The Family Viewing Hour was a policy established by the United States Federal Communications Commission in 1975. Under the policy, each television network in the U.S. had a responsibility to air "family-friendly" programming in the first hour of the prime time lineup...
, an FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
-mandated hour of early evening "family-friendly" broadcasting. Consequently the writers had some trouble with the network's Standards and Practices in their attempt to portray realistic locker room scenes, especially the language used by the players. Pseudo-profanity such as "bullpimp" was disallowed, while "horse-crock" and "bullhorse" were approved.
Ball Four debuted on September 22. While Bouton and other members of the cast received praise for their performances, critics found the series uneven in quality. The show was unsuccessful and CBS canceled it after just five episodes.
Cast
- Jim BoutonJim BoutonJames Alan "Jim" Bouton is a former American Major League Baseball pitcher. He is also the author of the controversial baseball book Ball Four, which was a combination diary of his season and memoir of his years with the New York Yankees, Seattle Pilots, and Houston Astros.-Amateur and college...
as Jim Barton - Jack Somack as 'Cap' Capogrosso
- David James Carroll as Bill Westlake
- Ben DavidsonBen DavidsonBenjamin Earl Davidson is a former collegiate and professional American football player between 1961 and 1972, most notably in the American Football League with the Oakland Raiders from 1964 through 1969, and for the NFL Raiders from 1970 through 1972. He had also played in the NFL for the league...
as 'Rhino' Rhinelander - Bill McCutcheonBill McCutcheonJames William McCutcheon was an American character actor known for his roles in film, television, and theatre, several of which won him Emmy and Tony awards....
as Coach Pinky Pinkney - Lenny Schultz as Lenny 'Birdman' Siegel
- Marco St. JohnMarco St. JohnMarco St. John is an American actor who has starred in many films and on television. He is best known for his role as the perverted truck driver in the 1991 hit film Thelma & Louise. St. John is also well known in the horror fan community for playing Sheriff Tucker in the 1985 horror film Friday...
as Rayford Plunkett - Jaime Tirelli as Orlando Lopez
- Sam WrightSam WrightSamuel Wright Jr. was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball for a total of four seasons. He played for the New Haven Elm Citys , Boston Red Caps , and Cincinnati Reds . In 45 games played, he batted .168, had 29 hits, four doubles, five RBIs, scored 10 runs, and one base on balls in 173...
as C. B. Travis
Episodes
| Title | Original air date |
|---|---|
| Work in Progress | September 22, 1976 |
| The Unpractical Joke | September 29, 1976 |
| High-Flying Rookie | October 13, 1976 |
| A Quiet Day at the Iroquois Hotel | October 20, 1976 |
| What's a Nice Watch Like You Doing in a Place Like This? | October 27, 1976 |
External links
- Ball Four at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...