''Soul of the Game'' (also known as ''Field of Honour'') is a 1996

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

about Negro league baseball. The film stars

Blair Underwood Blair Erwin Underwood (born August 25, 1964) is an American actor. He made his debut in the 1985 musical film ''Krush Groove'' and from 1987 to 1994 starred as attorney Jonathan Rollins in the NBC legal drama series '' L.A. Law''. Underwood has ...

as Jackie Robinson, Delroy Lindo as

Satchel Paige Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Negro league baseball and Major League Baseball (MLB). His career spanned five decades and culminated with his induction in ...

Mykelti Williamson Mykelti Williamson (born March 4, 1957) is an American actor best known for his roles in the films ''Forrest Gump'', ''Con Air'' and '' Ali'', and the television shows ''Boomtown'', '' 24'', and '' Justified''. In 2016, he portrayed Gabriel Maxs ...

Josh Gibson Joshua Gibson (December 21, 1911 – January 20, 1947) was an American baseball catcher primarily in the Negro leagues. Baseball historians consider Gibson among the best power hitters and catchers in baseball history. In 1972, he became the se ...

, and Harvey Williams as "Cat" Mays, the father of

Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid" and "Buck", is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Regarded as one of the greatest players ever, Mays ranks second behind only Babe Ruth on most all-tim ...

. The film depicts Paige and Gibson as the pitching and hitting stars, respectively, of the

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

in the period immediately following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Robinson is an up-and-coming player on Paige's team, the

Kansas City Monarchs The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 19 ...

Premise

Branch Rickey, played by

Edward Herrmann Edward Kirk Herrmann (July 21, 1943 – December 31, 2014) was an American actor, director, and writer. He was perhaps best known for his portrayals of Franklin D. Roosevelt in both the miniseries ''Eleanor and Franklin'' (1976) and 1982 film ...

, is the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers who is determined to integrate

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. He begins sending his scouts to Negro league games to find the best players. Rickey directs his scouts to look not only at playing ability but also at the players' maturity and capacity to withstand the hostility that is sure to be directed

Cast

Main

* Delroy Lindo as

as Branch Rickey *

as Jackie Robinson * R. Lee Ermey as Wilkie *

Salli Richardson-Whitfield Salli Elise Richardson-Whitfield () is an American actress, director and producer. Richardson is known for her role as Angela in the film ''A Low Down Dirty Shame'' (1994) and for her role as Dr. Allison Blake on the Syfy comedy-drama series '' ...

as Lahoma (credited as Salli Richardson) *

Gina Ravera Gina Ravera is an American actress. She has appeared in the films ''Showgirls'' (1995), ''Soul Food'' (1997), '' Kiss the Girls'' (1997), and ''The Great Debaters'' (2007). She co-starred as detective Irene Daniels in the TNT crime drama series ...

as Grace *

Obba Babatundé Obba Babatundé (born Donald Cohen; December 1, 1951) is an American actor. A native of Queens, New York City, he has appeared in more than seventeen stage productions, thirty theatrical films, sixty made-for-television films, and two prime-time ...

Cum Posey Cumberland Willis "Cum" Posey Jr. (June 20, 1890 – March 28, 1946) was an American baseball player, manager, and team owner in the Negro leagues, as well as a professional basketball player and team owner. Early life Cumberland Jr. was born i ...

Cylk Cozart Calvin Cylk Cozart (born February 1, 1960) is an American actor, director, writer and producer who has appeared in over 30 films and 20 television shows. Early life Cozart was born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee. His father is African A ...

as Zo Perry * J.D. Hall as

Gus Greenlee William Augustus Greenlee (December 26, 1893 – July 7, 1952) was a highly successful businessman in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who was born and raised in Marion, North Carolina. After migrating to Pittsburgh as a young man and working in the ...

Jerry Hardin Jerry Hardin (born November 20, 1929) is an American actor. Hardin has appeared in film and television roles, including the character nicknamed Deep Throat in ''The X-Files''. Hardin was born in Texas and studied acting at London's Royal Academ ...

as Happy Chandler *

Brent Jennings Brent Jennings (born January 1, 1951) is an American actor. He was born in Little Rock, Arkansas and is a 1969 graduate of Little Rock Central High School. He played Oakland Athletics coach Ron Washington (later manager of Texas Rangers) in th ...

as Frank Duncan *

Richard Riehle Richard Riehle (born May 12, 1948) is an American character actor. He portrayed Walt Finnerty on ''Grounded for Life'' (2001–2005) and The Warden on ''The Young and the Restless'' (2007). He also appeared in over 200 films, including '' Glory' ...

as Pete Harmon * Armand Asselin as Rip * Joey Banks as Link Rudolph

Supporting

* Paul Bates as Orderly #1 * Bruce Beatty as Reporter * Guy Boyd as

Clark Griffith Clark Calvin Griffith (November 20, 1869 – October 27, 1955), nicknamed "The Old Fox", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, manager and team owner. He began his MLB playing career with the St. Louis Browns (1891), Boston Reds ...

* Stacye P. Branche as

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

Gregg Burge Gregg Burge (November 14, 1957 – July 4, 1998) was an American tap dancer and choreographer. Career Burge graduated from New York's prestigious Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts in 1975. His credits ranged from television's ...

Bill Robinson Bill Robinson, nicknamed Bojangles (born Luther Robinson; May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949), was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid African-American entertainer in the United States during the f ...

* Ed Cambridge as Bellhop * Mimi Cozzens as Jane Rickey * Daniel Estrin as Paperboy * Zaid Farid as Clerk * Edith Fields as Nurse * Erika Flores as Girl * Holiday Freeman as Lillian the Secretary * Jesse D. Goins as John Givens Reporter * Tracy Holliway as

Marian Anderson Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897April 8, 1993) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throughout the United ...

* David Johnson as

Roy Campanella Roy Campanella (November 19, 1921 – June 26, 1993), nicknamed "Campy", was an American baseball player, primarily as a catcher. The Philadelphia native played in the Negro leagues and Mexican League for nine years before entering the minor lea ...

* Johnny G. Jones as Hotel Manager * Jonathon Lamer as Cardinal * Joseph Latimore as Jesse Williams * William Bruce Lukens as Umpire #3 * Bob Minor as Goon #2 * Edwin 'EdVanz'd' Morrow as Young

(credited as Edwin Morrow) * Jon Pennell as Steve Buckley * Alex Rascovar as Boy *

Lou Richards Lewis Thomas Charles "Lou" Richards, (15 March 1923 – 8 May 2017) was an Australian rules footballer who played 250 games for the Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) between 1941 and 1955. He captained the tea ...

as Baseball Announcer * Terrence Riggins as Orderly #2 * Joe Rodriguez as Dodger * Al Rossi as Mayor LaGuardia * Kevin Sifuentes as Waiter * Tim Snay as Umpire #1 * Charles C. Stevenson as Supervisor * Darnell Suttles as Goon #1 * Arthur Tipp as Umpire (Home Plate) *

Isaiah Washington Isaiah Washington IV is an American actor and media personality. Following a series of film appearances, he came to prominence for portraying Dr. Preston Burke in the first three seasons of the series ''Grey's Anatomy'' from 2005 to 2007. Wash ...

as Adult

* Harvey Williams as Cat Mays * Oscar Williams as Grays Manager

Cameo appearance

* Sean Blakemore as Grace's husband *

Jeff Coopwood Jeff Coopwood (born June 29, 1958) is an American actor,
TV.com. CBS Interactive. 20`3. Retrieved November 13, ...

as Stadium Announcer * Jimmy Ortega as El Gigante (Cuban baseball player)

Reception

Review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

gives the film a 67% rating based on 6 reviews. Audiences gave the film a 67% rating based on 114 reviews.

References

External links

* * {{Kevin Rodney Sullivan 1996 television films 1996 drama films 1996 films 1990s sports films American baseball films HBO Films films Sports films based on actual events American drama films Films set in Indiana Films set in the 1940s Films shot in Indiana Cultural depictions of Jackie Robinson Cultural depictions of baseball players Films directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan African-American biographical dramas 1990s English-language films 1990s American films