''How to Play Baseball'' is a

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

produced by

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

and released by

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...

in September 1942, featuring

Goofy Goofy is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. He is a tall, Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic dog who typically wears a turtle neck and vest, with pants, shoes, white gloves, and a tall hat originally designed as a rumpled f ...

. The short was produced at the request of

Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz; yi, שמואל געלבפֿיש; August 27, 1882 (claimed) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer. He was best known for being the founding contributor a ...

and first shown to accompany the 1942

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

The Pride of the Yankees ''The Pride of the Yankees'' is a 1942 American film produced by Samuel Goldwyn, directed by Sam Wood, and starring Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, and Walter Brennan. It is a tribute to the legendary New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig, who die ...

''.

Plot

takes the time to demonstrate America's national pastime, then plays a game - one in which he plays all the bases. The short describes the basics of

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

in humorous terms; the equipment, uniforms, positions, and pitches, as well as the mannerisms of the players. It then switches to a game in progress, a deciding game in the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

between the fictional Blue Sox and Gray Sox (possibly a parody of the real-life

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

). The Blue Sox are up three runs and working a no-hitter when the Grays rally in the bottom of the ninth. In a series of events the Grays load the bases, leading to a base clearing hit. The game is tied, but the play at the plate is too close to call for the umpire, and it then ends in an argument. They unmask the

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

(yet another Goofy!) and the other players attack the three. The narrator then concludes the short praising the values of what makes baseball America's sport.

Production

This is the first of Disney's “How to...” shorts starring

. The short was made on a rushed schedule of 12 weeks so it could be released in time to accompany Samuel Goldwyn's ''

.'' It was followed by nine “How to...” shorts in

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

's lifetime: ''How to Swim'' and ''

How to Fish ''How to Fish'' is an animated short produced by Walt Disney Productions and first released on December 9, 1942. It stars Goofy and was directed by Jack Kinney John Ryan Kinney (March 29, 1909 – February 9, 1992)Lenburg (2006), pp. 180 was ...

''; (both also in 1942); ''How to Be a Sailor'', ''

How to Play Football ''How to Play Football'' is an animated comedy short film by Disney starring Goofy, released on September 15, 1944. The short was directed by Jack Kinney. The seven and a half minute film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short ...

'', and '' How to Play Golf'' (1944); ''How to Ride a Horse'' (1950, originally included in '' The Reluctant Dragon'' in 1941); ''How to Be a Detective'' (1952); and ''How to Sleep'' and ''How to Dance'' (both 1953). After Disney's death, the studio produced ''How to Haunt a House'' (1999) and ''

How to Hook Up Your Home Theater ''How to Hook Up Your Home Theater'' is a 2007 American animated comedy short film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, directed by Kevin Deters, and co-directed by Stevie Wermers-Skelton. It was the first theatrical Goofy solo cartoon sho ...

'' (2007). Similarly-styled Goofy shorts that do not include the “How to” titling convention are ''

The Olympic Champ ''The Olympic Champ'' is a 1942 Goofy cartoon made by Walt Disney Animation Studios which explains the events in track and field at the Olympic Games. Summary It starts off with Goofy doing the Olympic torch relay to the cauldron and then explai ...

'' (1942), ''

Hockey Homicide ''Hockey Homicide'' is a cartoon made by Walt Disney Productions in 1945, featuring Goofy. Plot Narrator Doodles Weaver explains the rules of ice hockey in satirical format. The narration's emphasis on good sportsmanship is countered by the vio ...

'' (1945), ''

Goofy Gymnastics ''Goofy Gymnastics'' is a Goofy cartoon produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures on September 23, 1949. Plot Goofy enters home tired after a hard day at work. Exhausted, he suddenly notices an exercise advertisemen ...

'' (1949) and ''

Motor Mania ''Motor Mania'' is a cartoon released by Walt Disney Productions on June 30, 1950. In this madcap motoring animation, Goofy (during his "Everyman" period) transforms into a Mr. Hyde-type split personality, when he gets behind the wheel and pro ...

'' (1950). Prior to ''How to Play Baseball'', Disney had released two other "instructional" shorts starring Goofy: ''

The Art of Skiing ''The Art of Skiing'' is a Goofy cartoon made by Walt Disney Productions in 1941. It has historical significance as the first cartoon to use the now-famous Goofy holler, as well as the short that led to the "How to..." series, beginning with '' ...

'' and '' The Art of Self Defense'' in November and December 1941, respectively.

Voice cast

* Goofy: Pinto Colvig * Narrator: Fred Shields

Reception

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called it "deliciously confused ... goofy burlesque." ''

The Film Daily ''The Film Daily'' was a daily publication that existed from 1918 to 1970 in the United States. It was the first daily newspaper published solely for the film industry. It covered the latest trade news, film reviews, financial updates, informatio ...

'' wrote, "With a serious world looking forward to the World Series, that incomparable master of animated humor, Walt Disney, comes forward with one of his most side-splitting subjects... The footage was especially created by Disney to accompany Samuel Goldwyn's RKO Radio powerhouse, ''

''... Exhibs. will be figurative namesakes of Goofy if they don't book this one."

Releases

*1942 – theatrical release *1956 – ''

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...

'', episode #2.24: "The Goofy Sports Story" (TV) *1972 – ''

The Mouse Factory ''The Mouse Factory'' is an American syndicated television series produced by Walt Disney Productions and created by Ward Kimball, that ran from 1972 to 1973. It showed clips from various Disney cartoons and movies, hosted by celebrity guests (cre ...

'', episode #17: "Sports" (TV) *1977 – ''

The New Mickey Mouse Club ''The Mickey Mouse Club'' is an American variety show, variety television show that aired intermittently from 1955 to 1996 and returned to social media in 2017. Created by Walt Disney and produced by The Walt Disney Company, Walt Disney Producti ...

'', episode #1.20: "Showtime" (TV) *1979 – '' Disney's Wonderful World'', episode #26.4: "Baseball Fever" (TV) *c. 1983 – ''

Good Morning, Mickey! ''Good Morning, Mickey!'' is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. It was first aired on April 18, 1983 when Disney Channel was launched. It was one of the Disney Channel's first original programs, a ...

'', episode #22 (TV) *c. 1992 – ''

Mickey's Mouse Tracks ''Mickey's Mouse Tracks'' is an American animated television series on The Disney Channel which ran from 1992 to 1995, and featured Disney cartoons and animated short films, dating from before the advent of The Disney Channel. A similar show was ...

'', episode #55 (TV) *c. 1992 – ''

Donald's Quack Attack ''Donald's Quack Attack'' is an American animated television series which ran on The Disney Channel and was later rerun on Toon Disney. It premiered on November 2, 1992,''The Disney Channel Magazine'', Vol. 10, no. 5, October/November 1992: pp ...

'', episode #41 (TV) *c. 1997 – ''The Ink and Paint Club'', episode #3: "Sports Goofy" (TV) *2010 – ''

Have a Laugh! ''Have a Laugh!'' is an American animated comedy series produced by the Walt Disney Company for the Disney Channel. The series is a set of interstitials, presenting edited versions of classic ''Mickey Mouse'' cartoons that lasted from 2009 to 201 ...

'', episode #15 (TV)

Home media

The short was released on December 2, 2002 on '' Walt Disney Treasures: The Complete Goofy''. Additional releases include: *1983 – "Cartoon Classics: Sport Goofy" (VHS) *2005 – " Classic Cartoon Favorites: Extreme Sports Fun" (DVD) *2011 – "

Volume Three" (DVD)

References

External links

* {{Goofy in animation 1942 films 1940s Disney animated short films 1940s sports films American baseball films Goofy (Disney) short films Baseball animation 1942 animated films Films directed by Jack Kinney Films produced by Walt Disney