Crowdfunding for 'Lefty O'Doul: Baseball's Forgotten Hero'
Crowdfunding for 'Lefty O'Doul: Baseball's Forgotten Hero'
A documentary by veteran baseball filmmaker Jon Leonoudakis.
I first encountered Jon Leonoudakis at a Baseball Reliquary event at the Arcadia Public Library some years ago. He was wearing a Giants jersey with black and orange piping in the deep-blue-for-generations San Gabriel Valley, and while I was mildly offended, I had to admire the gumption. And then I got to know him a little, and to view two of his films, and my admiration grew. The two documentaries are “Not Exactly Cooperstown” and “The Day the World Series Stopped” and I recommend them both.
Now Leonoudakis is working on a new documentary, “Lefty O’Doul: Baseball’s Forgotten Hero,” and is looking to baseball fans to help fund the production (visit the crowdfunding page, with some fine donor premiums, here).
Interesting filmmaker and lover of baseball, compelling subject matter and a worthy project. I hope you’ll consider contributing.
A few words about Lefty O'Doul, via Jon Leonoudakis:
Lefty O’Doul was one of the most remarkable figures in baseball history, holding the fourth highest batting average in MLB history (.349), an influential pioneer developing Japanese baseball, and one of the game’s greatest ambassadors.
In 1949, General Douglas MacArthur was concerned post-WWII Japan was a nation adrift, it’s soul in pieces, economy in tatters, and Communists making entreaties to a desperate country. Lefty O’Doul, who had made several trips to Japan with MLB all-stars in the 1930s, including bringing Babe Ruth there in 1934, conducted clinics and cultivated lifelong friendships while falling in love with the country and its people. MacArthur sent Lefty and his San Francisco Seals Pacific Coast League team there and the trip was a massive success, building a bridge between the two WWII enemies and healing the soul of a nation. MacArthur called it, “the greatest act of diplomacy ever,” and Lefty was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002.
When O’Doul retired after the 1934 season, he went on to become the winningest manager in Pacific Coast League history, notching over 2,000 victories. As a manager, he helped Joe DiMaggio, Dominick DiMaggio and Ted Williams with their hitting. Each of them said O’Doul was the greatest hitting instructor they’d ever seen.
For all his achievements and impact on the game at home and abroad, Lefty O’Doul is not in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. He passed away in 1969, and only the most ardent baseball fans and historians remember him. Most think he’s a fictional character along the lines of Betty Crocker.
Lefty O’Doul truly is baseball’s forgotten hero, and this documentary film will bring him out of the shadows of time and into the light of the 21st century to tell his incredible story in film for the first time.
Francis “Lefty” O’Doul lived three lifetimes of adventures and achievements in his 69 years. While his profile as one of the greatest hitters in the history of the game is impressive, what stands out is his humanitarian heart. One of our interviewees who grew up in Tokyo and went to two of the games during Lefty's historic 1949 goodwill tour of Japan told us, “I want American people to understand O’Doul’s contribution to world peace—not only baseball, world peace."
The magnitude of the impact of O’Doul’s 1949 tour cannot be overstated. Few baseball figures have impacted the lives of millions of people as Lefty O’Doul did in October of 1949. Lefty not only built a bridge between bitter enemies, but forged a path of brotherhood through a love of baseball that continues to shine today. The best example of that was the final at-bat of the 2023 WBC championship game, with Ohtani striking out Mike Trout swinging to win the tournament. O’Doul’s fingerprints are all over that moment.
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About the filmmaker:
Jon Leonoudakis has been an award-winning producer in the entertainment industry for over 30 years, leading projects for Disney, Pixar, and Universal Studios. He is also one of the producers of the internationally-acclaimed music documentary, “The Wrecking Crew.” Since 2010 he's been producing documentaries exploring the human side of the national pastime as well as social issues of race and gender through the lens of baseball.
Stream Jon’s other films:
“Ball Four Turns 40” - 60 minutes.
“Hano! A Century in the Bleachers” - 48 minutes.
“Shutout! The Battle American Women Wage to Play Baseball” - 89 minutes.
And remember, glove conquers all.
Howard Cole has been writing about baseball on the Internet since Y2K. Follow him on Twitter. Follow OBHC on Twitter here. Read OBHC online here.