Screen Rant: The Hill Leaves Out An Incredible True Story About Rickey Hill’s Baseball Career, Netflix movie The Hill covers the remarkable rise of baseball player Rickey Hill but leaves out one unbelievable part of the true story. BY GREG MACARTHUR PUBLISHED 2 DAYS AGO https://screenrant.com/the-hill-movie-rickey-hill-championship-ring-return-true-story/

 

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The Hill Leaves Out An Incredible True Story About Rickey Hill’s Baseball Career, 40 Years After The Movie’s Ending

BY

GREG MACARTHUR

PUBLISHED 2 DAYS AGO

The hit Netflix movie The Hill covers the remarkable rise of baseball player Rickey Hill but leaves out one unbelievable part of the true story.

(Colin-Ford-as-Rickey-Hill)-&-(Dennis-Quaid-as-Pastor-Hill)

SUMMARY

 "The Hill," starring Colin Ford and Dennis Quaid, is a popular sports film on Netflix that tells the inspiring true story of Rickey Hill's journey from a hopeful underdog to a Major League Baseball player.

 The movie highlights Rickey's battle with a degenerative spine disease, showcasing his determination to overcome obstacles and achieve his dream.

 The film leaves out an important part of the story: Rickey's championship-winning season with the Grays Harbor Loggers in the Northwest League in 1978, and his struggle to receive his well-deserved championship ring for nearly four decades.

The Hill leaves out a remarkable part of Rickey Hill's true story as a professional baseball player. Directed by Jeff Celentano (Glass Jaw, Breaking Point), The Hill has recently become one of the most popular movies on Netflix in January 2024, starring Colin Ford as Rickey and Dennis Quiad as his father Pastor Hill. The sports film also stars Joelle Carter, Randy Houser, Jesse Berry, Bonnie Bedelia, and Scott Glenn and was released in theaters in the United States in August 2023.

The Hill is one of seven 2023 projects in which Dennis Quaid was involved, setting a career milestone for the celebrated actor. The Hill, based on a screenplay by Angelo Pizzo and Scott Marshall Smith, follows the incredible true story of Rickey Hill's unlikely rise from a hopeful underdog in Texas with a love for baseball to becoming a Major League Baseball player. Rickey is challenged by a degenerative spine disease throughout the film that affects his chances of following his dream, but against all odds Rickey overcomes his greatest obstacles.

Dennis Quaid as Pastor Hill and Scott Glenn as Red Murff in The Hill.

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Dennis Quaid starred as Pastor James Hill in The Hill, which served as a reunion between him and one actor 40 years after their previous movie.

Rickey Hill Was Given His Championship Ring From The Grays Harbor Loggers 37 Years After Winning The Northwest League

One of the best parts of Rickey Hill's true story was left out of The Hill altogether. The last team that Rickey Hill played for was the A-Level Grays Harbor Loggers in the Northwest League out of Washington State. In 1978, the Loggers became the champions of the Northwest League but according to Fox Sports, Rickey never got his well-deserved championship ring. What's even more surprising is that Rickey led the team in home runs during their championship season.

1978 would be the only year that the Loggers would win the championship title in the Northwest League. Rickey waited nearly four decades until he told anyone that he had yet to get his championship ring, which perplexed the team personnel who were in charge of distributing them all those years ago. Not a single member of the 1978 Loggers stuck around for the next season, which could have contributed to the unbelievable delay in Rickey finally getting his ring.

TheHill-DennisQuaid-PastorHill

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What Happened To Dennis Quaid's Pastor James Hill After The Hill In Real Life

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Why Rickey Hill Retired From Baseball After His 1978 Season With The Loggers

Colin Ford as Rickey Hill and Siena Bjornerud as Gracie Shanz in The Hill.

Rickey Hill's ring was apparently purchased by another person close to the organization who was a big fan of the Loggers. Hill's baseball career ended after the 1978 season with the Loggers due to the overwhelming strain the sport was putting on his body, particularly his spine. Once known to have one of the best swings in baseball, Hill's story has become one of inspiration, courage, and hope in the face of tragedy and intense adversity as depicted in The Hill.

Source: Fox Sports

The Hill 2023 Movie Poster

The Hill

PG

Biography

Drama

Sports

ScreenRant logo

The Hill is a sports-drama biography about Rockey Hill, a baseball player who suffered from a degenerative disease but battles to overcome his condition to achieve his life-long dream of playing in the MLB. Despite protests from his family and community faith leaders, Rickey will stop at nothing to achieve his goal.

Release Date

August 25, 2023

Director

Jeff Celentano

Cast

Dennis Quaid , Colin Ford , Joelle Carter , Randy Houser , Jesse Berry , Bonnie Bedelia , Scott Glenn

Runtime

126 Minutes

Writers

Angelo Pizzo , Scott Marshall Smith

Story By

Bill Chaffin, Stephen Hintz, Aric Hornig

Studio(s)

Vitamin A Films , Rescue Dog Productions , Piney Pictures

Distributor(s)

Briarcliff Entertainment

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THE HILL (2023)

About The Author

Greg MacArthur • Senior Features Writer

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The Hill: Red Murff's Baseball Career & History As An MLB Scout Explained

BY

SARAH LITTLE

PUBLISHED 4 DAYS AGO

Scott Glenn stars as Red Murff, a Major League Baseball scout, in the 2023 movie The Hill. Read on to learn more about Murff in real life.

Scott Glenn as Red Murff in The Hill and Red Murff in real life.

SUMMARY

 "The Hill" is a 2023 biographical sports drama film about baseball player Rickey Hill.

 Hill's determination to overcome health issues and pursue his dream of being a professional baseball player is a central theme in the movie.

 Red Murff, portrayed in the film as the scout who discovered Hill, had a brief MLB career and later became known for discovering Nolan Ryan and Jerry Grote.

The Hill tells the miraculous true story of baseball player Rickey Hill, but the movie also focuses on the real-life scout who discovered him — Red Murff. The 2023 biographical sports drama film was directed by Jeff Celentano and written by Angelo Pizzo and Scott Marshall Smith. Hill was an executive producer and very involved in making the movie, so it's about as accurate a depiction of his story as any project based on real events can get. However, Murff died on November 28, 2008, so he couldn't see himself depicted on the big screen.

Hill was diagnosed with a degenerative spinal disease as a child, but he also suffered from many other ailments throughout his early life. He was determined to make his dreams of becoming a professional baseball player come true, even if his health made it much harder. Ultimately, Hill convinced Murff to give him a chance, and at an MLB tryout game, the athlete impressed the scout. As mentioned at the end of The Hill, Hill signed with the Montreal Expos in 1975 and played baseball at the minor league level for four years before an injury ended his career.

Red Murff's Baseball Career: Which MLB Teams He Played For

Scott Glenn as Red Murff in The Hill.

Before Red Murff was a scout, as he was in The Hill, he played in the major leagues. According to Baseball Reference, Murff made his MLB debut as a relief pitcher on April 21, 1956, for the Milwaukee Braves when he was 35. Given his older age (in terms of baseball) as a rookie, Murff's tenure in the MLB didn't last long. He played for the Braves for two seasons before his final game on May 30, 1957. Ultimately, Murff's MLB career ended with a 4.65 ERA and a 2-2 record over the course of 26 games.

Siena Bjornerud as Gracie Shanz and Colin Ford as Rickey Hill in The Hill.

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Red Murff's Time As An MLB Scout Explained

Scott Glenn as Red Murff in The Hill.

Although Red Murff played two seasons for the Milwaukee Braves (before they relocated to Atlanta in 1966), he is more well-known for his career as an MLB scout. Following his retirement as a major leaguer, Murff coached in the minors (including taking on a managerial role for the Jacksonville Braves) for a handful of years before becoming a scout. While Murff was a scout for the New York Mets, he discovered one of the greatest MLB pitchers of all time.

In the early 1960s, Murff attended a high school baseball game in Texas, looking for potential star athletes, and he found one in Nolan Ryan, a sophomore at the time. The scout immediately reported Ryan's talent back to the Mets, and the team later drafted the pitcher in 1965. Ryan, now a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, played for an impressive 27 years. Over his career, Ryan set many records, including the most strikeouts thrown (5,714) and most no-hitters thrown (seven). Aside from discovering Ryan and Rickey Hill (as seen in The Hill), Murff is also known for scouting catcher Jerry Grote.

The Hill, starring Scott Glenn as Red Murff, is available to stream on Netflix.

Source: Baseball Reference

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