Tom Hanks’ A League of Their Own character famously said, “There’s no crying in baseball,” but folks might make an exception today. A baseball park east of Los Angeles that has been a popular filming location for movies and TV shows was badly damaged in a fire overnight.
Along with the Penny Marshall-directed 1992 pic that starred Hanks, Geena Davis, Rosie O’Donnell, Madonna and Lori Petty, the park also has hosted film shoots for such features as the 1988 Charlie Sheen-John Cusack Black Sox movie Eight Men Out and the 1992 biopic The Babe starring John Goodman as Babe Ruth. It also has been used for numerous TV commercials, the city said.
The blaze was reported around 11:30 p.m. Thursday at Jay Littleton Ball Park in Ontario. An Ontario Fire Department spokesperson told Key News Network that the fire was fully involved when the crews reached to the scene. An investigation into the cause was ongoing and damage still was being assessed today, but no injuries were reported. much of the facility burned to the ground, fire officials say.
‘A League of Their Own’ (1992), left and Charlie Sheen in ‘Eight Men Out’ (1988)
Everett Collection
According to the City of Ontario, which is about 40 miles east of L.A., baseball has been played for more than 80 years at the park, which hosted one season of pro ball with the Ontario Orioles in 1947. A wooden grandstand erected in 1937 had remained in use until the fire. Boasting a centerfield seven feet deeper than Dodger Stadium, the stadium recently has been home to Little League Baseball Senior League games. The field was dedicated to Joe “The Jay Bird” Littleton in 1997. It was given historic landmark status in 2003.