Roogie's Bump

I saw this movie back in the mid 60's when I was a kid. At that time I thought this was the coolest movie I had ever seen. Of course by todays standards it wouldn't begin to compare. It was in black and white and had few to no special effects. It was cool however because the kid in the movie, Roogie, could have been any kid in the world, including me. That just drew me into the movie and the rest was magic.

For years I often wondered what the name of this movie was. Then one evening, Sylvestor Stallone was on a late night talk show and mentioned this movie as one of his favorites. He described it exactly how I had remembered it, and gave it's name. Even though I now know the name of the movie I still haven't been able to find the movie in any stores.

I had an experience similar to the reviewer above. I saw the movie as a boy around the time it was released and loved it. I've always remembered certain scenes, such as the boy flying from the mound to home plate after forgetting to release the ball. In another scene, when the boy first learns he has acquired a special power and a 120 mph fastball, he heaves a rock across a river that hits a tower a mile away. In retrospect, I'd infer that the movie visualized fantasy in a way that engaged a young boy's mind -- at least it did in 1954, before computer graphics took our visual expectations to a whole new level.

What I could not recall was the title, which finally came to me when I was chatting with another film buff who remembered it as Roogie's Bump. As far as I'm aware, the original is impossible to find and has never been shown on television. Unfortunately, the 1993 remake by Daniel Stern, released as 'Rookie of the Year', was almost too dreadful to watch.