"42" has been seen by millions since it opened in theaters, so it's unlikely reality will ever eclipse what Hollywood planted in the public consciousness. Still, the truth about what actually happened between Jackie Robinson and former Pirates pitcher Fritz Ostermueller is spreading.
Over the past couple weeks, I've had the pleasure of speaking with Fritz Ostermueller's adopted daughter Sherrill Ostermueller Duesterhaus. She was born in Canonsburg, PA - just outside Pittsburgh - and was adopted just after her birth. She now lives in Joplin, Missouri. Sherrill learned about the less than flattering (and frankly, inaccurate) portrayal of her father in "42" on the Monday after the film's opening. No one from the studio ever contacted her to inform her that her father would be one of the movie's primary villains opposing Jackie Robinson. "It's broken my heart," she told me over the phone. Since our first conversation, Sherrill has seen "42" for herself. She recently put her reaction into words, and posted it as a comment under my previous post on Fritz Ostermueller on this blog. She also shared some press clippings from her personal scrapbook of her father's career. It includes the best evidence I've seen that Ostermueller did not hit Jackie Robinson with a pitch out of malice. I've become very invested and passionate about Fritz Ostermueller, and how he's portrayed in "42". However, I could never speak or write with the same honest and heartfelt emotion as his daughter does. The man she knew was not a racist. He was a good man. A great father. Now, she's taken up what she calls her duty to defend his good name.
The new trailer for "42", the biopic on Jackie Robinson, has made its debut online. The first trailer was spectacular, and it really got my wheels turning. My interest was peaked by a scene in which Robinson is hit in the head by a ball thrown by a Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher. It's pretty vile, and we get to see more of it in the second trailer. Take a look.
It's now well-established that the Pirates pitcher portrayed in "42" is a real person. His name is Fritz Ostermueller. In this new trailer we see more of a confrontation between Ostermueller and Robinson, and there's even some dialogue. Here's a fresh collection of screen grabs. You can check out the shot by shot analysis I did for the first trailer here.
"You don't belong here, and you never will."
Jackie Robinson batting at Forbes Field in 1947, his rookie season. This is the first in a series of shots from the Forbes Field scene that we saw in the first trailer.
Ostermueller delivers a pitch. Look at the detail in the scenery behind him. The scoreboard looks perfect. Just beyond it, you can see part of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
The ball hits Robinson square in the head.
This did happen in real life. Robinson has hit by a pitch thrown by Ostermueller during a game at Forbes Field in 1947, but the circumstances in "42" appear to be much different, and quite frankly, fabricated. One account I found of the game indicates it was most likely an accident. The report says Ostermueller apologized to Robinson through a teammate later in the game.
This new trailer for "42" suggests Robinson later gets his revenge against Ostermueller.
Robinson drives the ball to left in this gorgeous shot. It looks like it could be a home run. That would be interesting because Robinson didn't record an extra base hit at Forbes Field during his rookie year. Again, the details of Forbes Field are incredible, especially the buildings beyond the outfield wall.
Robinson makes a face.
Ostermueller makes a face.
This a new shot that was not in the first "42" trailer, and it may be the most remarkable one yet from the Forbes Field scene. You can clearly see the Cathedral of Learning on the University of Pittsburgh campus.
There's little doubt in the my mind that "42" will include the most detailed and accurate recreation of Forbes Field ever put to film. It's almost mind-blowing to see just the handful of shots in the first couple trailers. What makes it all the more remarkable is that Forbes Field probably plays little more than a cameo role in the movie.
In both trailers there are also scenes at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field which look just as gorgeous. I can imagine more than a few longtime Dodgers fans will be welling up when they see it on the big screen. For Pirates fans, seeing the old "House of Thrills" in recreated with such care and attention to detail is going to be a great treat.
We now present an even closer examination of the series of events that apparently depicts a Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher beaning Jackie Robinson in the head during the trailer for the movie "42". Fritz Ostermueller is the culprit. We know this from newspaper reports on the filming in Birmingham, Alabama earlier this year. However, Ostermueller may not be the only Pirates pitcher shown. There may be someone else. Watch the trailer one more time. The initial sequence of events involving the Pirates begins around the 1:00 mark of the trailer.
Now, let's take a closer look at the sequence of shots involving the Pittsburgh Pirates.
This is the first Pirates pitcher we see in the trailer for "42", but it may not be Fritz Ostermueller.
The next shot shows Jackie Robinson in a Montreal Royals uniform, but it appears this is from another scene.
That's because the next shot is most certainly Robinson in a Brooklyn Dodgers uniform. You can see the loop of the "g" just under his left arm.
The cutaway during the swing shows that we are at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. You can see the iconic scoreboard in left field. It is 1947, Robinson's rookie season.
Looks like a home run, even though records show Robinson didn't have any extra base hits during his first series as a Dodger at Forbes Field. Regardless, Robinson casually tosses aside his bat. The #21 on the back of the pitcher's uniform is the clue that led us to discover that the character is real-life Pirates pitcher, Fritz Ostermueller.
The next shot shows that Ostermueller is not amused. He is played by actor Linc Hand. Also, look at the attention to detail in this shot. You can see the roof of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History over the left field wall in the background. The scene was shot at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama. There is no such building there in real life. It was added during post-production.
At this point, the trailer goes off on a bit of a tangent. It returns to the scene seconds later.
A Pirates pitcher delivers. Is it Fritz Ostermueller, or someone else? Compare the pitcher in this shot to the one we know is Ostermueller in the shot directly above. To me, it looks like someone else. Specifically, it looks like the pitcher in the very first shot at the top of this article.
The pitch is traveling directly at Jackie Robinson's head.
Not.
Good.
Certainly not trying to make light of the situation. The trailer shows the ball striking Robinson directly in the head. That contradicts at least one report from the time, which stated that Robinson appeared to get his arm up to protect his face. Perhaps the reporter meant to say that Robinson tried to get his arm up to protect himself, but was unable to do so. As far as a second Pirates pitcher, I'm not sure what to believe. It makes sense for it to be Ostermueller alone. Perhaps I'm looking too closely. Take a look for yourself and share your own feedback. It's always appreciated. Thanks for reading.
I had heard some good things about the trailer for "42", the upcoming Jackie Robinson biopic.
Then, I watched it. You should too. It's really cool. The fun for Pirates fans begins at the 1:00 mark.
My first reaction: Oh boy! Meet the most evil player in the history of the Pittsburgh Pirates!
I think Warner Bros. must have missed the memo stating that only the New York Yankees are
to be used as the embodiment of pure evil in major motion pictures about baseball.
Who is that pitcher seen beaning Jackie Robinson in the head? Did this really happen?
The trailer provides us with the clue we need. When the pitcher turns his back you can clearly see his jersey #21. It didn't take long to learn the mystery pitcher being portrayed on screen is a real person.
Fritz Ostermueller pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1944-1948. Over those five season the southpaw started 106 games, posting a 49-42 record and a 3.48 ERA. It was the final stop of his 15 year career, that previously included time with Branch Rickey's Brooklyn Dodgers.
The actor playing Ostermueller in "42" is Linc Hand. The beaning scene was filmed in Birmingham, Alabama earlier this year. A local newspaper reported on Hand's role, and added a few details on the scene we see in the trailer.
Ostermueller hit Robinson with a pitch early in his groundbreaking rookie season and was also on the mound in June 1947 when Robinson led his team to a 4-2 victory against the Pirates by stealing home.
On May 17, 1947, Ostermueller scattered 12 Dodger hits in a complete game shutout victory at Forbes Field. The Pirates scored 4 runs on 4 hits to create the winning margin. The box score shows Robinson went 2-4, and was hit by a pitch, the fourth HPB of the season for him.
Was the incident as violent and mean-spirited as it appears in the "42" trailer? The 2008 book, "Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson's First Season", includes the original reporting of the game by the Pittsburgh Courier's Wendell Smith.
...pitcher Fritz Ostermueller threw a fastball up and in. Robinson, unable to duck it in time, raised his arm to protect his face and fell to the ground.
"When the ball hit him a deathly silence hovered over the entire park," Smith wrote. "Jackie was on the ground grimiacing in pain." The Dodger bench emptied as teammates checked to see if he was all right. As soon as Robinson got up and ran to first, some of his teammates began shouting threats at Ostermueller.
Though the taunting was profane, Smith interpreted the Dodgers' attacks on the pitcher as "expressions of their regard for Robinson." Later in the game, Frankie Gustine singled and went to first, where he apologized to Robinson on Ostermueller's behalf. "I'm sure he didn't mean it," Gustine told Robinson, adding that he, too, was happy to see the rookie getting on well in the big leagues.
The trailer seems to indicate that the beaning incident involving Ostermueller is some kind of retaliation against Robinson, but there's nothing I can find to support that being the case.
The box score for the game on the Retrosheet website shows Robinson was hit by the pitch in the top of the first inning, after the Dodgers lead-off man had grounded out. It's Robinson's rookie year, and the first series of the season between the Dodgers and Pirates. Safe to assume, Jackie Robinson and Fritz Ostermueller had never faced one another on the diamond previously. Smith's report also indicates that Ostermueller was apologetic after the incident.
Most of us understand that any movie based on actual events is going to take some liberties with the truth in the interest of pacing or simply telling a better story. However, if Fritz Ostermueller is indeed portrayed as a villain in "42", I wonder if it would have been better to simply make up a fictional name for the Pirates pitcher who beans Robinson.
Honestly, I had never heard the name Fritz Ostermueller until my curiosity about the "42" trailer led me to him. I'm now wondering how much the line between truth and fiction is blurred in this movie. Whether a forgotten, yet successful, Pirates pitcher from the past is having his name dragged back into the spotlight for the wrong reason.
