The Bad News Bears (1976)

"Come on, fellas. Rome wasn't built in a day."

"Yeah, it took several hundred years."

Morris Buttermaker (Matthau), is a former minor league baseball player.  He is hired by city councilman, Bob Whitewood (Ben Piazza), to coach a little league team called the Bears.  The kids don't know anything about baseball and Buttermaker prefers drinking to coaching.  Their first game is a massacre.

Their opponents, coached by Roy Turner (Morrow), are ruthless and taunt the team after the game.  When the team threatens to quit, Buttermaker brings in two ringers: pitching star Amanda Whurlitzer (O'Neal) and talented delinquent Kelly Leak (Haley).  Can they come together as a group and win some games, or will they always be the screw-ups.


This film is considered a baseball classic.  It is popular enough, that it was remade in with Billie Bob Thorton.  The film has all of the well-known sports movie troupes: a cranky / reluctant coach, a group of underdogs, an unexpected star player, etc.  I'm not sure if these were established before this film or because of this film... regardless, it works here.

Nobody plays a curmudgeon better than Walter Matthau.  The kids are great, even though only two continued to act as adults: Jackie Earle Haley and Tatum O'Neal.  While both O'Neal and Haley are great, the other boys gets bigger laughs.  My favorite character is Tanner, played by Chris Barnes.  He gets some great lines and just cracks me up.  Each of the boys gets a moment to shine, even if you don't remember their names when the movie is over.  They area riot (as is their hair, but that is a different issue).

A timeless baseball movie.

The Bad News Bears (1976) 102 minutes
Director: Michael Ritchie
Starring: Walter Matthau as Coach Morris Buttermaker
Tatum O'Neal as Amanda Whurlitzer
Jackie Earle Haley as Kelly Leak
Alfred Lutter as Ogilvie
Chris Barnes as Tanner Boyle
Erin Blunt as Ahmad Abdul Rahim
Gary Lee Cavagnaro as Engelberg
Quinn Smith as Timmy Lupus
Jaime Escobedo as Jose Agilar
George Gonzales as Miguel Agilar
David Stambaugh as Toby Whitewood
David Pollock as Rudi Stein
Scott Firestone as Regi Tower
Brett Marx as Jimmy Feldman
Vic Morrow as Coach Roy Turner