Finding Buck McHenry
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Charles Burnett
Ossie Davis
Ruby Dee
Ernie Lee Banks
Michael Schiffman
Duane Mclaughlin
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
When 11-year-old Jason Ross gets cut from his baseball team, he forms his own expansion team. In searching for a new coach, Jason comes to believe that Mack Henry, the custodian at his school, is really Buck McHenry, the legendary pitcher from the old Negro Baseball Leagues. Although Mr. Henry denies that this is his true identity, Jason and his friends set out to prove their hunch at great personal cost to the elderly custodian. In the process, Jason must decide between proving his point or respecting another person's privacy.
Jason Ross is a precocious 11-year-old whose love for baseball unfortunately exceeds his talent for the game. When he is suddenly cut from his Little League team, his indomitable spirit leads him to try and create an expansion team. In need of a coach, he discovers that the school janitor, Mack Henry, seems to have a wealth of knowledge about baseball, especially about the old Negro Leagues. Finding an ally with Mack's wife, the two convince the reluctant janitor to coach the newly formed team. Jason develops a friendship with Mack's grandson, Aaron. The two set off to recruit for the new Stadium Sluggers. Unfortunately, they have only three team members: Jason, Aaron and the local sportcaster's daughter, Kim Axelrod. When Mack begins to coach this small, rag-tag team, his methods produce immediate results with the not-so-talented Jason.
At his favorite hang-out, The Stadium Sports Card Shop, Jason finds a card featuring an obscure Negro League ballplayer, Buck McHenry, who has amazing statistics. Unfortunately, after a scrape with the law, Buck dropped out of sight and was never heard from again. Jason realizes that the picture on the card resembles Mack and is convinced that the two men are the same person. Jason confronts Mack who laughs at the absurdity of the boy's assumption. Jason is convinced he is right and continues his investigation, ignoring the fact that he is intruding into another man's privacy.
When Kim's father, a sports anchorman for the local news channel, gets wind of the story, he decides to do a feature on Mack and all hell breaks lose. Mrs. Henry tells Jason that his assumptions are completely wrong, and that a story like this could cause problems for her husband. Jason is terrified by what he has set in motion, but with the help of his father, the two fly to Kansas City and visit the Negro Baseball League Museum with the hope that they can find proof that McHenry is dead, thus preventing the story from airing. They meet Ollie Johnston, who was Buck McHenry's closest friend. He describes the terrible incident that led to Buck's disappearance and takes them to a gravesite which is Buck's final resting place. Tom and Jason Ross return home to sqaure accounts with everyone.
Director
Charles Burnett
Cast
Ossie Davis
Ruby Dee
Ernie Lee Banks
Michael Schiffman
Duane Mclaughlin
Megan Bower
Kevin Jubinville
Michael Rhoades
Karl Pruner
Catherine Blythe
Don Dickinson
Marcello Meleca
Anthony Antonacci
J J Gallo
Brad Borbridge
Conrad Coates
Michael Cranston
Alex Crockard-villa
Tait Rowsel
Donovan Palma
Lynn Vogt
Sonia Dhillon
Crew
Chris Abbott
Bob Action
Darrel Alvaro
Pembrooke Andrews
George Aywaz
Roy Aywaz
David Bailey
Kabin Bechel
Imedla Beltiong
Thor Benitez
Marty Bennett
Matt Beville
Mike Bingham
Magnus Bjarnason
Sylvia Bohne
Laurel Bresnahan
Randy Brown
Simon Brown
Matthew Carlson
Julia Carter
Ian Chan
Anthony Chrystosum
Arthur Clark
Kathleen Climie
Mercedes Coats
Stephanie Collins
Becky Constantinides
Peter Constantinides
Peter Constantinides
Erin Crowe
Catherine Currie
Bob Davidson
Andrew Decristofaro
John Njaga Demps
John Njaga Demps
Chris Di Venanzo
Natasha Dodd
Alan Doucette
Darren Doyle
Stephanie Earle
Tom Enright
David Field
Owen Ford
Marshall Garlington
Melanie Gaupholm
Ava Gerlitz
Dede Gilser
Melissa Goguen
Tera Goldblatt
Zorka Gostavic
Charles Gould
Jeff Gradon
Anessa Briggs Gray
Shem Greig
Ted Grossman
Matthew Hallett
Robert Halmi Jr.
Doug Hamilton
Rebecca Hanck
Dorian Harris
Bobby Heller
Mary Sue Heron
Claire Hewitt
Mark Hindle
Andy Holt
Ben Holzberg
Mark Holzberg
Lorna Howarth-vallings
Susan James
Erika Jaudzems
Jamie Jones
Faye Katz
Shawn Kennelly
Jennifer Kiefaber
Irene Kiellerman
Marilyn Kiewiet
Stacey Knocker
Michael Lacroix
Mark Lanza
Mesach Lavender
David Lavitt
Armand Led
Marzena Lediard
Gai Loper
Mike Macaulay
Laura Macias
Karen Maduro
Chemagne Martin
Charles May
Pat Mccorkle
Jason Mcfarling
Renay Mcgowan
Duncan Mckee
Andrew Mckendy
Kim Mclachlan
Erica Milo
Bob Mitchell
Michael A. Morongell
John Moser
Terri Muz
Ganeesh Nankoosinsh
Roman Neubacher
Scott Nicol
Nancy Kyong Nugent
Lin Oliver
Tony Oliver
Dean Owen
Catherine Pantazopoulos
Dan Pawlick
Andrew Peach
Mike Pettit
Tyler J Pichach
Susan Pilcher
Simon Reynolds
Kelly Richardson
Darcy Rodriguez
Robert C Rodriguez
Sarah Rosensweet
Sean Rowe
Larry Saunders
Dan Scolnik
Alfred Slote
Alfred Slote
Hassan Smith
Catherine M Speakman
Sheelagh Stewart
Andrea Stich
Chris Stoyan
Peter H Stranks
John C. Stuver
Craig Taylor
Stephen James Taylor
Ken Teaney
Eric Thompson
Chad Tomasoski
Susan Tonna
Stephen J Turnbull
Stephen J Turnbull
Berge Varcabet
Greg Wall
Chris Radley Walters
Alison Winn
Tamara Winston
Liisa Younger
Joan Ziff
Mike Zingrove
Blair Zopek
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Aired in United States April 16, 2000
Telecast as a presentation of "Showtime Original Pictures For All Ages."
Began shooting September 13, 1999.
Completed shooting October 15, 1999.
