Williams as Eddie Dibson Bruce Cowling as Ted Lyons Cliff Clark as Josh Higgins Mary Lawrence as Dot Dean White as Luke Appling Robert Gist as Earnie Gene Bearden as Himself Bill Dickey as Himself Jimmy Dykes as Himself Mervyn "Merv" Shea as Himself Agnes Moorehead, who played the role of Monty Stratton's mother, was only seven years James Stewart's senior. Warner Bros. contract player Ronald Reagan sought the title role, but the studio refused to loan him to MGM because it believed that the film would be a failure. Van Johnson was announced at one stage to play the lead. Historical inaccuracy The movie falsely indicates that Stratton's debut for the Chicago White Sox was part of a catastrophic 16–0 loss to the New York Yankees. However, Stratton's MLB debut occurred on Saturday, June 2, 1934 in a White Sox home game at Comiskey Park versus the Detroit Tigers. Detroit already held a 10–0 lead and had two runners on base when Stratton entered the game in relief with two outs in the sixth inning. Stratton retired the Tigers in that inning without any further runs scored. Over the game's final three innings, Stratton allowed two more runs (both earned) on four hits as the Tigers won 12–0. It was Stratton's only major-league appearance of the 1934 season. Production Scenes were staged at various baseball parks, including: Brookside Park in Pasadena, a spring training site for the White Sox Comiskey Park in Chicago, the home field of Stratton's team, the White Sox Gilmore Field, the home of the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League, used in the final scenes of the film that were set in Texas Wrigley Field (Los Angeles) Stock footage was used to depict several other American League baseball parks in establishing shots. Reception According to MGM records, the film earned $3,831,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $657,000 overseas, resulting in a profit of $1,211,000. It was one of the most popular films of the year. Radio adaptation The story was adapted for a one-hour CBS Lux Radio Theatre episode broadcast on February 13, 1950 that was entitled "The Stratton Story." Stewart and Allyson repeated their roles for the program. References External links 1949 films 1940s biographical drama films 1940s sports films American baseball films American biographical drama films American black-and-white films Biographical films about sportspeople Chicago White Sox Cultural depictions of American men