U of A Professor's Documentary Tells of the Birth of Baseball's Spring Training

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The great baseball tradition known as Spring Training started in 1886 in the Arkansas resort town of Hot Springs. That’s also where it became a tradition, over parts of eight decades, with fans getting a chance to see many of the greats of the game, players for teams including the Red Sox, Dodgers, and Pirates—and the Negro League’s Monarchs, Crawfords and Grays.

The First Boys of Spring, a one-hour documentary by filmmaker and University of Arkansas professor Larry Foley, tells that story. The film will premiere at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, in the Hot Springs Convention Center as part of the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. The unique time prevents conflict with another significant athletic event — the Arkansas vs. Alabama football game.

The First Boys of Spring features tales of baseball Hall of Famers who worked out, gambled and partied in Hot Springs, including Cy Young, Satchel Paige, Honus Wagner and baseball’s first superstar, Mike “King” Kelly. The young Babe Ruth is there too, belting a 573-foot home run into the Arkansas Alligator Farm while trying to convince Boston Red Sox management to play him every day, even though he was already the game’s dominant pitcher.

The documentary is narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Billy Bob Thornton, with photography direction by Jim Borden, editing by journalism professor Dale Carpenter, and an original musical score by U of A professor emeritus James Greeson. 

Additional screenings for the film will be at:

• 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20, at the Ron Robinson Theater, Little Rock; tickets are available at 501-683-5239 or publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu  
• 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25, at the Fayetteville Public Library
• 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, at the Fort Smith Public Library
• 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, at the Ouachita Room, Rich Mountain Community College, Mena

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.