Secrets From A League Of Their Own Film Exposed In New Book

Everything you could ever want to know about arguably the most celebrated baseball film of all time is offered by Erin Carlson in her new book – No Crying In Baseball: The Inside Story of A League Of Their Own.

Wow! Carlson delivers, as the book jacket promises, Big Stars, Dugout Drama, and a Home Run for Hollywood—every scene. From cast members to production crew, there are no bases left untouched, when dishing on the 1992 film directed by the late Penny Marshall.

First, let me squeeze in two tidbits of my appreciation for League.

I, like countless other moviegoers, was hooked on the concept and characters of the film that has given us that timeless shoutout in Americana - “There’s no crying in baseball”, from the first viewing. Now, past one dozen watches from a myriad of locations on an increasing number of platforms, the people acting have become unofficial best pals of mine.

What seems like a lifetime ago and remains a delightful memory of the film and of my beloved Cooperstown, unexpectedly in 2000 I was fortunate on Mother’s Day to meet several of the leading cast members from League at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

There was a book signing scheduled in the Hall’s atrium, located by the library. There, all seated, with pen and Sharpie at the ready, I was first in line to meet Lori Petty, who played the role of Kit Keller, Megan Cavanagh, the loveable Marla Hooch, Tracy Reiner known as Betty Spaghetti, and Marshall (who my wife Barbara caught smoking inside the museum, and who later was asked by a high ranking museum leader to take her cigarette outside) led the celebrated list of invitees.

The joy that I and I’m sure those who joined me in line that beautiful spring Sunday at the Hall felt getting to be up and personal with the characters was a once-in-a-lifetime feeling.

I was wrong. Enter Carlson and her journalistic wonders. Her creation of No Crying In Baseball is a better, more lasting experience of League, than when meeting the real people who created the most entertaining baseball fantasy ever.

It would be easy for me to instruct you to take my trusted word for it, to go purchase a copy of The Inside Story of A League Of Their Own. Simple. True. To the point. However, first, you need to meet Carlson. Her finished product is as detailed and addicting, just the same as watching the film.

Every scene that you could recite, and I have no doubt fanciers of the film can come close to naming them all, Carlson explains the whos, whats, and wheres pertaining to them.

In her writings Carlson dishes that it is Jim Belushi who originally got the part of the Rockford Peaches’ manager Jimmy Dugan. As we learn in League, according to Belushi, he had the part on Friday, and by Monday it was Hanks’.

Debra Winger was cast as Dottie Hinson but was replaced by Gina Davis. Why was Winger given $3 million to go away? Oh, and Carlson lets her readers in on the turmoil (hint – think Madonna).

Salaries. Marshall was paid $3.75 for directing and producing and Hanks collected a cool $5 million. Petty and John Lovitz, who appear in the first half of the film, each reportedly were paid $175,000 for their work in League.

Every page of No Crying In Baseball is a treasure trove of exciting “inside information” on who was doing what with whom, in front of the cameras and after hours on location. And just where were the shooting locations other than in Cooperstown in the fall of 1991, Carlson tells.

To say speaking with Carlson is an exciting, positive experience only hints at how uplifting she is about her work. She is easy to root for. It should be a little surprise that so many connected with the film spoke with her, to offer first-hand accounts of what they witnessed during filming.

“During the filming, Lori Petty was so funny,” explains Carlson during a recent phone conversation from Illinois. “She (Petty) was very candid. Lori was really the character she played (Kit Keller). When Debra (Winger) was out, Lori panicked thinking she was going to be replaced. Gina (Davis) comes in, right off her work in Thelma and Louise, and Lori saw herself as a “nobody” in her mid-20s.”

Carlson reveals the pranking Petty pulled on Madonna throughout the production of League. More tidbits fans of League will want to digest by reading No Crying In Baseball.

A cherished caveat in researching her book, speaking with Lovitz was as Carlson had hoped.

“He (Lovitz) was so funny. He’s a comedy legend.”

Remember in the film when Lovitz’s character baseball scout Ernie Capadino belts out unmistakably to a cow, “Will you shut up”, during a scene in a barn? There’s a reason why these words were said when considering what was going on as cameras rolled.

“The cow mooing was so loud, his shouting at it was total improvisation. A lot of this populated the film. With the actors Penny had, they could do this, said Carlson. ”

As for Hanks’ time on and off set, Carlson tells of his remaining private after hours. With his wife Rita Wilson and son Colin, they took up residence at a private home away from fans and cast. However, when not in a scene, Hanks routinely appeared. He was a team player. Being around the movie-making process is something Hanks enjoys.

Mysteriously, each Friday, after cut was called, a Xeroxed copied newsletter was circulated entitled – Peach Phuzz. As it turns out, Hanks was its publisher (unknown during the months of filming), filling cast and crew in on who was canoodling with whom.

Remember the locker room scene when cast member Renee Coleman playing catcher Alice Gaspers displays the nastiest, biggest welt ever seen on her thigh? Well, that giant bruise was for real. The story behind it is gripping.

Then, as Carlson informs, there was a main character who preferred to sleep in his trailer rather than a designated hotel room – due to a penchant for hitting a jazz club nightly after filming was concluded. Who was he (or she)? It’s in No Crying In Baseball.

Why are Michael Douglas, Paul Newman and Harvey Keitel’s names included in Carlson’s writings? You have to read the book. The excitement continues to roll on.

The back story on Marshall, her career, and her personal life, this information alone is worth picking up a copy of No Crying In Baseball.

“Penny was a larger-than-life director. I wanted to focus on her life, and how she got to make this film. Penny was a gifted entertainer. As a director, she was the first woman to pass $100 million at the box office,” says Carlson.

After more than two million feet of Kodak film was used during the filming of A League of Their Own, Marshall had a winner for Columbia Studios. However, the cost to Marshall, away from the set, was becoming enormous.

After page 235, at the conclusion of No Crying In Baseball, the only question left for Carlson to address is, could she please pen a sequel? What was left on the proverbial cutting floor should fill up another couple hundred pages.

Please, Erin, give it a thought.