Ball Four (TV series)
| Ball Four | |
|---|---|
 Jim Bouton (left) as Jim Barton and Ben Davidson as 'Rhino' Rhinelander in the pilot episode | |
| Genre | Situation comedy |
| Created by |
Jim Bouton Marvin Kitman Vic Ziegel |
| Written by |
Jim Bouton Marvin Kitman Vic Ziegel |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 5 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 25 min. |
| Production company(s) | Time-Life Television |
| Distributor | Warner Bros. Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | September 22 – October 27, 1976 |
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.[1]
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).[2] Like the book, the series covered controversial subjects including womanizing players, drug use, homosexuality in sports and religion.[3] The series included a gay rookie ballplayer, one of the earliest regular gay characters on television.[4] 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.[2]
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.[2]
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.[1][2] The show was unsuccessful and CBS canceled it after just five episodes.
Cast
- Jim Bouton as Jim Barton
- Jack Somack as 'Cap' Capogrosso
- David James Carroll as Bill Westlake
- Ben Davidson as 'Rhino' Rhinelander
- Bill McCutcheon as Coach Pinky Pinkney
- Lenny Schultz as Lenny 'Birdman' Siegel
- Marco St. John as Rayford Plunkett
- Jaime Tirelli as Orlando Lopez
- Samuel E. Wright 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 |
Notes
- 1 2 Sharbutt, Jay (1976-09-22). "Ball Four Falls Off Mound". Sarasota Journal (Associated Press). p. 16C. Retrieved 2010-09-04.
- 1 2 3 4 Ludtke, Melissa (1976-09-27). "Two Strikes On 'Ball Four'". Sports Illustrated. p. 38. Retrieved 2010-09-04.
- ↑ "Bouton Stars In Series Created From His Book". Sarasota Journal. 1976-07-12. p. 5D. Retrieved 2010-09-04.
- ↑ Frutkin, Alan; Gerry Kroll (1996-08-20). "Gays on the tube". The Advocate. p. 12. Retrieved 2010-09-04.
External links
- Ball Four at the Internet Movie Database