After all of these years, O’Brien’s Rockne still holds No. 1 position

By STEVE EIGHINGER

I love sports-themed films.

That cinematic addiction started during my early years of grade school. The first movie I remember being drawn to was the 1940 Pat O’Brien classic, “Knute Rockne, All-American.” I’ve probably watched that movie on at least a dozen occasions, and each time my eyes seem to fill with water at the end.

O’Brien was close to perfect in his portrayal of Rockne in the 1940 masterpiece. It also featured Ronald Reagan as George Gipp and included cameos by legendary coaches Pop Warner and Amos Alonzo Stagg.

“Knute Rockne, All-American” is a one-hour, 38-minute film that left an indelible impression on me, mostly because of O’Brien. I still rank Rockne, or at least O’Brien’s interpretation, as the No. 1 figure in a sports film. Here are my top five all-time most memorable characters in such movies.

1. Pat O’Brien (Knute Rockne): In 1997, this film was deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the U.S. Library of Congress. I couldn’t agree more.

2. Gary Cooper (Lou Gehrig), “Pride of the Yankees” (1942): We all know Gehrig’s tragic story. Cooper was magnificent in the role.

3. Kevin Costner (Crash Davis), “Bull Durham” (1988): Sports Illustrated ranked this film the No. 1 sports movie of all-time. I can’t argue, thanks largely to the performances of Costner, Susan Sarandon as Annie Savoy and Tim Robbins as Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh.

4. Burt Reynolds (Paul “Wrecking” Crewe), “The Longest Yard” (1974): This prison sports comedy was boosted by Reynolds’ natural football ability. He had played for Florida State before injuries curtailed his collegiate career.

5. Billy Dee Williams (Gale Sayers), “Brian’s Song,” 1971: It would be fair to call this football’s version of “Pride of the Yankees” as far as emotions are concerned. Is there a football fan alive who doesn’t know the story of Brian Piccolo and his friendship with Gale Sayers.?

Speaking of movies, I also have a fondness for swashbuckling/pirate films, especially those starring Errol Flynn. Ah, but that’s another column for another day …

Overrated, underrated, part deux

Picking up where we left off last week, here are a few more thoughts on this subject:

Overrated: Spider-Man.
Underrated: James Bond.

Have you noticed how many of our modern-day heroes possess superhuman powers and are decked out in all sorts of capes and tight pants? I prefer my heroes to be suave and debonair and rely on their wits, and, oh, maybe a conceal a weapon or two. I prefer espionage over X-Men.

Overrated: Eating corn on the cob.
Underrated: A bag of Fritos. They’re corn, too. Sort of.  

Let me make it clear. I love corn on the cob, but this is one of the highest-maintenance foods around. The cooking is no big deal, be it in the microwave or ye olde pot of boiling water, but the problem comes with the on-plate preparation. It’s a slippery slope you travel when trying to butter an ear of corn. More times than not, you wind up with butter all over the place, including yourself. We haven’t even mentioned the salt and other accoutrements required for such a meal.

Found on Facebook

There’s never a dull moment when perusing our favorite form of social media. Judging by these posts, I believe you’ll agree:

“My daughter told me she didn’t want to eat a pork tongue because it came out of a pig’s mouth. So I gave her an egg.” (Yeah, we can all connect the dots on that one.)

“Someone just gave me half a peace sign. Weird.” (Yep, we can all connect those dots,, too.)

“Eyelashes are supposed to prevent things from getting into your eyes … but whenever I have something in my eye, it’s always an eyelash. Eyeronic.” (Eye’d have to say that is absolutely correct.)

“Stop being afraid of what could go wrong. Start being excited about what could go right.” (I’ve said that a lot in my life. I’ve been a Cleveland Indians fan since 1961, so you’ll understand I’ve experienced more of the former.)

Happy birthday

Time to send out some more cards for these celebrities with July birthdays:

• Lisa Kudrow: She was “Phoebe” on the legendary “Friends” sitcom, and she turns 58 on July 30.
• Mick Jagger: Hard to believe the Rolling Stones’ front man will be 77 on July 26. For the record, my two favorite Stones songs are “Mixed Emotions” and “She’s a Rainbow.”
• Sally Struthers: She came to prominence as “Gloria” on “All on the Family,” the wife of “Meathead” played by Rob Reiner. Struthers will be 74 on July 28.
• Bobbie Gentry: The “Ode to Billie Joe” singer turns 79 on July 27. That song was a No. 1 hit in 1967, and I have hated it now for 54 years.
• Norman Lear: The famed TV writer and producer will be 99 on July 27. He was the man who brought “All in the Family,” “Maude,” “Sanford and Son” and “One Day at a Time” into our living rooms.

The following had July birthdays but are no longer with us. They never will be forgotten:
• Casey Stengel: He’s was best known as manager of the Yankees and Mets. Stengel became a cult hero while managing the Mets in their early years. His famous malaprops, such as “Don’t cut my throat. I want to do that later myself” and “You have to have a catcher. Otherwise you have a lot of passed balls” became legendary. Stengel was 85 when he died in 1975. He was born July 30, 1890.
• Alex Trebek: The former “Jeopardy!” host would have been 81 on July 22. Trebek died in November 2020 following a long battle with cancer. He hosted the game show for 37 years.
• Fred Gwynne: Best known as Herman Munster on the 1960s comedy “The Munsters,” Gwynne, born on July 2, died in 1993 at age 66.