The Pecan Park Eagle

5) Ronald Reagan as Grover Cleveland Alexander in “The Winning Team”

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan loved baseball, but his punting as George Gipp was far better than his pitching as Pete Alexander.

4) Jimmy Stewart as Monty Stratton in “The Stratton Story”

Jimmy Stewart

This part of Stewart’s stretch pitch looked pretty good. If only he could have escaped having to go through the other motions required for the delivery of what appears to be an unhittable pitch.

3) Ray Milland as Mike Kelly in “It Happens Every Spring”

Ray Milland

If only Jimmy Stewart could have seen Ray Milland try acting out the entire wind up and delivery.

2) Gary Cooper as Lou Gehrig in “Pride of the Yankees”

Lou Gehrig

As you probably know, right-handed Gary Cooper had to wear a jersey wit an inverted # 4 and “NY” logo and then run to 3rd base when he hit the ball to make it look as though he was capable of batting left-handed when the film was then developed in reverse.

Nuff Sed.

1) Anthony Perkins as Jimmy Peirsall in “Fear Strikes Out”

Anthony Perkins (right)

Athleticism? If all human beings from the beginning of time possessed only the genetic talents of Tony Perkins, there never would have been a sport called baseball, or any other team sport, or the initiation of any regular event of competition among nations known today as either the summer or winter Olympics.

On the other hand, my vote for the greatest actor/athletes of all time is a three-way tie between …

1t) Burt Lancaster as Jim Thorpe in “Jim Thorpe, All American”

Burt Lancaster (R) who played the great Olympian Jim Thorpe (L).

1t) Robert Redford as Roy Hobbs in “The Natural”

Robert Redford

1t) Kevin Costner as Crash Davis in “Bull Durham”

Kevin Costner