Soul of the Game

There are great moments in American history that we, as a collective, just don't know enough about and sometimes the only way we get to learn any of the story is when a film maker decides to turn the tale into a movie. Now as most fans of baseball know, Jackie Robinson was the first Black ball player to be drafted into the majors, but the story of how that came about isn't part of the well know facts. With strong performances by Delroy Lindo (Satchel Paige), Mykelti Williamson (Josh Gibson) and Blair Underwood (Jackie Robinson), and with no holds barred this story is brought to life like a grand slam home run in the ninth inning to win the game.
As WWII whines down the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers decides it's time to start looking at bringing Black players into the majors from the Negro League. Telling such an important part of baseball history was a daunting task but with great performances from the entire cast the audience is transported into America of the 1940s. Along with the costumes and city sets there were a number of old time baseball fields recreated for the games to be played, and they were done so well you'd almost believe that they were still existent some where in the States.
This baseball story is a very important part of the history of the game, but also of the history of our nation, it shows the way that African-Americans were treated at the time by members of the game as well as the public at large. Even though its harsh reality its part of our past and we should acknowledge the facts of how our own citizens were treated and how many people then, and now, strive to be better than our ancestors. This movie is as emotional as For Love of the Game and as high powered as The Natural, and should be seen by any fan of the game. For any fan of baseball should know what their a fan of and should know the history, because the history is what makes the game what it is today.