There's no crying in baseball... unless you are a fan of the New York Mets. Then you are allowed to whine. But you might find yourself shedding a tear as you look at this heartwarming photo of members of the Rockford Peaches -- the fictional team from Penny Marshall's seminal A League of Their Own -- who got together for an anniversary celebration of the movie's release, Check it out below:
The Twitter feed of 5 News in Arkansas shared this cast image as several members of A League of Their Own's Rockford Peaches played in a celebratory game at the Arvest Ballpark during the Bentonville Film Festival. The movie was celebrating turning 25 years old, which makes me feel like "All the Way" Mae in the epilogue of that wonderful film. Cast members who played in the game included Megan Cavanagh, Anne Ramsay and Renée Coleman. In the movie, these ladies, respectively, played second basewoman Marla Hooch, first basewoman Helen Haley, and outfielder Alice Gaspars.
A League of Their Own stands as one of the best baseball movies of all time, set in an era where baseball was struggling to populate teams because the men in the league were heading overseas to fight in the war. Two competitive sisters -- played to perfection by Geena Davis and Lori Petty -- end up on opposing teams in a new league centered around female players. And Tom Hanks stands out as playing a washed-out, frequently drunk former ball player who manages the Rockford Peaches... much to his constant chagrin:
What's really sweet is that several directors and actors who were in town for the Bentonville Film Festival, which was founded by Geena Davis, either played in the game or watched from the stands, and discussed how significant A League of Their Own was to the industry, and their careers. Actress and comedian Aisha Tyler spoke to 5 News and recalled:
I was an athlete in college and high school, and I loved it. It was a big part of my life but to know that for a lot of these women it was incredibly challenging to be a female athlete at the time. Just to see how far we've come as athletes, it's incredibly inspiring.
Now, where was Madonna for this reunion? Or Rosie O'Donnell? At least Lori Petty showed, so I'm guessing Davis has gotten over the fact that Petty beat her in the big game. Is that a spoiler? Hell, after 25 years, if you haven't seen A League of Their Own yet, that's on you guys.
