A League of Their Own

Two sisters join the first female professional baseball league and struggle to help it succeed amidst their own growing rivalry.

• Director: Penny Marshall
• Genre:Comedy / Drama / Sport
• Runtime:123 minutes

Cast

Tom Hanks : Jimmy Dugan
Geena Davis .: Dottie Hinson
Madonna : Mae Mordabito
Lori Petty : Kit Keller
Jon Lovitz : Ernie Capadino

When World War II threatens to shut down Major League Baseball, candy manufacturing magnate Walter Harvey (Garry Marshall) decides to create a women’s league to make money. Ira Lowenstein (David Strathairn) is put in charge of public relations and scout Ernie Capadino (Jon Lovitz) is sent out to recruit players.

Capadino likes what he sees in catcher Dottie Hinson (Geena Davis). She’s a terrific hitter and, almost as important, “a doll” and likely to attract male fans. He offers her a tryout, but the married woman is content where she is, working in a dairy and on the family farm in Oregon while her husband is away at war. He’s less impressed with her younger sister, pitcher Kit Keller (Lori Petty), who loves the game passionately but appears to be less talented. He finally lets her come along when she persuades Dottie to give it a try for her sake. Along the way to the tryouts, he also checks out Marla Hooch (Megan Cavanagh), a great switch-hitting slugger. However, the blunt-speaking scout finds her too homely and rejects her. Dottie and Kit refuse to continue on without her and Ernie reluctantly gives in.

When the trio arrive at the tryouts in Chicago, they meet Doris Murphy (Rosie O’Donnell) and Mae Mordabito (Madonna), two tough-talking Brooklynites. They are assigned with 11 others to form the Rockford Peaches; 48 other prospects are chosen for the Racine Belles, Kenosha Comets, or South Bend Blue Sox. The Peaches are managed by drunkard former baseball great Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks). Jimmy initially treats the whole thing as a joke, leaving the managerial duties to Dottie. However, he takes over when he clashes with Dottie over whether or not to let their best hitter swing away, a decision which proves him to be a smarter manager than he has shown. Meanwhile, the players have to attend mandatory etiquette classes to maintain a “lady-like” image, even though they are also required to wear very short (by 1940s standards) skirts as part of their uniforms. Read more

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