Only one of the following facts or stories is untrue.
It is up to you to decide which one.
Along the way, you may find out a couple of things you didn't know
Here we go...
1. There were 500 'extra's in the Fenway Park scene in
'Field of Dreams'.
Among them were Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.
2. A gifted baseball player, Kevin Costner had to sell himself as a novice when playing on screen in 'Field of Dreams'.
He attended college baseball powerhouse Cal State Fullerton, where he tried to walk on but failed to make the team as a student.
3. W.P. Kinsella, the writer of 'Shoeless Joe', upon which 'Field of Dreams' was based, got the idea of corn in the outfield from watching local games in Iowa. A local legend named Dory Fielding made a game ending catch in center field and disappeared into the corn.
4. 'Sudden' Sam McDowell was one of the hardest throwing pitchers of the 60's. Most thought his ticket to baseball immortality was punched.
Alcoholism got the better of McDowell and he never became the All Time great that many predicted.
His story became the basis for the character, 'Sam Malone' of the long running tv show, 'Cheers'.
5. Steve Dalkowski threw hard. In the 1950's, it was estimated that he threw a ball 110 miles per hour.
In 1958, he threw a ball THROUGH a backstop.
Many big league players and coaches agreed that nobody threw harder.
The problem being that Dalkowski had no idea where the ball was going after it was released.
He also fought the bottle and had rage issues that made him 'unsignable'.
A teammate of his was Ron Shelton.
Shelton would give up baseball and pursue another dream.
Screenwriting.
Shelton replaced the alcohol and rage problems, Dalkowski dealt with, and replaced them with being dimwitted.
And the character 'Nuke LaRoosh' was born for 'Bull Durham'.
6. Bama Rockwell played for the Boston Braves in 1946.
While playing against the Dodgers at Ebbets Field, Rockwell drove a ball that hit a landmark above the scoreboard.
A large Bulova Watch with the local time on the face.
The blow from the ball crushed the face of the clock, shattered and tumbling down the scoreboard and raineing on the field were shards of glass from the iconic timepiece.
Bernard Malamud, a Dodger fan, wrote that story in his book, 'The Natural', replacing Rockwell with Roy Hobbs and replacing the clock with a light tower.
7. Robert Redford was the star pitcher of his high school team.
Don Drysdale played second base on the same team.
8. Charlie Sheen was 40-15 as a high school pitcher.
9. Kevin Costner threw two no-hitters and once struck out 16 in a game.
10. Billy Bob Thornton was a roadie for the 'Nitty Gritty Dirt Band'
A stocker in a grocery store.
A house painter.
A drummer for a band.
A drill presser.
A hay baler.
And had a tryout for the Kansas City Royals as a pitcher.
Remember, only one of the 10 previous items is false.
It's up to you to decide which one.
You can go to a computer and get the answer, but what fun would that be?
I'll have the answer later in the day......
Edited for typo...
