Frank Thomas Buying Iconic Field of Dreams Isn’t the Ballpark’s Coolest Fact
Hey, Chicago White Sox fans! The 'Big Hurt' just made a 'Big Purchase'. Frank Thomas now has controlling interest of one of the most notorious pieces of land.
After a summer in the spotlight, the legendary baseball field in Dyersville, Iowa announced some more big news as the Major League Baseball season enters the coveted month of October.
The 'Big Hurt' is Calling the Shots
Legendary first-baseman, Frank Thomas, heads a company that just purchased controlling interest in the iconic Field of Dreams movie site that just hosted its first MLB game featuring his former team. The Reds and Cubs are already scheduled to play a game in Dyersville during the 2022 season.
Go the Distance Baseball, LLC is headed by Frank Thomas as chief executive officer and former Los Angeles Dodgers general manager, Dan Evans.
I'm very excited to see what happens with Frank and his team running the show. An elite level baseball player who excelled during his years in 'the show' definitely has plans that are worth our attention.
The stories we don't know about this iconic movie and baseball field are numerous, and very interesting.
Cool Facts about the Greatest Baseball Movie Ever Made, Field of Dreams
Did you know that Kevin Costner was not considered for the role right away?
Costner was the first actor to come to Robinson's mind to play Ray, but he had just starred in Bull Durham, another baseball movie. A Universal executive got Costner to read the script anyway, and he decided to do it because he felt it would be akin to It's a Wonderful Life.
The BIG "People Will Come' speech that James Earl Jones delivers was something he was certain wouldn't make it into the movie. Well.....
It was Jones' wife who convinced him to accept the role of Terence Mann in the first place, though she warned him that the "long speech about baseball will never be in the film, it'll be on the cutting-room floor."
All movies have a filming schedule, for Field of Dreams, the schedule was based around the growth of the corn in the outfield.
The corn had to be Kevin Costner's height (he's listed as 6'1") or taller when the voice first spoke to him. With a thumbs up from the state of Iowa, filmmakers dammed a nearby creek to make sure the corn had enough water. It worked almost too well; when Costner first hears "If you build it, he will come," he had to walk on a foot-high platform. Just in case the creek damming failed, fake corn from Asia was on standby to be shipped in.
The people of Dyersville, Iowa played some interesting roles in the making of this film.
A town-wide blackout was enforced in order to make the final scene work.
3,000 Iowa residents in 1,500 cars agreed to take part. There was a forced blackout in the town of Dyersville, Iowa, which included other baseball games and the local train. The director's instructions were broadcast on a local radio station. One was for the drivers to flash their high beams off and on as they drove to make it look as if there was more movement than there actually was.
There are so many things you probably didn't know about this fantastic movie. MentalFloss.com has even more cool facts.