“It took me sixteen years to get here. You play me, and I’ll give ya the best I got.”
While the story is an adaptation of the book by Bernard Malamud the plot was changed so the movie would be more uplifting. Several characters and symbols are heavily influenced by the writings of Homer and Greek mythology. Roy Hobbs is Odysseus trying to find his way home. The oak tree and lightning bolt on the Wonderboy bat are his symbols. The broken bat is the broken sword. Pop Fisher is The Fisher King. The baseball team is called “The Knights”. The Judge is Hades, God of the Underworld always in the dark, a.k.a. Death – where the dead were judged. The plot borrows from the true story of the bizarre shooting of the former Philadelphia Phillies first baseman, Ed Waitkus by Ruth Ann Steinhagen in the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago on June 14th, 1949. Roy Hobbs breaking the scoreboard clock with a home run was inspired by Bama Rowell of the Boston Braves doubling off the Ebbets Field scoreboard clock on May 30, 1946, showering glass. He was promised a free watch by Bulova for hitting the company’s scoreboard sign, but Rowell had to wait until 1987 to receive it. While actor Darren McGavin had a major role as the bookmaker Gus Sands, McGavin didn’t receive a film credit. He was cast late in the picture and would’ve had to receive a lesser billing than the other stars. So he chose to go uncredited. The line spoken by Roy Hobbs (Redford) about what it takes to be a big leaguer, “you have to have a lot of little boy in you”, was actually a quote by Brooklyn Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella.
