Trivia for
Bull Durham (1988) More at IMDbPro »

• When Crash Kevin Costner lists the things that he believes in to Annie Susan Sarandon he mentions that he "believes Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone." In Oliver Stone's movie JFK, Costner plays Jim Garrison, the man who devoted much of his life to proving that President John Kennedy's murder involved a conspiracy.
  
  
• The movie was filmed on location in North Carolina in October and November, 1987, which is why the grass had to be touched up with green paint. It is also why the breath of the actors can be seen in many of the night scenes.
  
  
• In one scene, 'Nuke' LaLoosh (Tim Robbins ) gives up a home run that strikes the bull, supposedly rewarding the opposing hitter with a free steak. In reality, at the old Durham Athletic Park, the bull was in foul territory.
  
  
• Kevin Costner (Crash Davis) is a switch hitter; he is shown hitting both left and right-handed at different points in the film.
  
  
• In the scene where the bat boy tells Crash Davis "Get a hit, Crash", Kevin Costner ad-libbed the response of "Shut up." Since the kid actor playing the bat boy obviously didn't know this response was coming, he started crying.
  
  
• The bull sign in the old ballpark was built for the film, but was retained by the Durham Bulls as a new, old tradition. It is a staple of the new ballpark, complete with red eyes, smoking nose and lifted tail when a Bull hits a home run. It also says, "Hit bull, win a steak. Hit grass, win a salad."
  
  
• The "rainout" scene was based on actual event. In the late 1960s, Ron Shelton played minor-league ball in the Texas League. Shelton's team was in Amarillo, Texas for a season-ending series. The night before the final game, Shelton, some teammates and some Amarillo players were out partying and decided to go to the stadium and turn on the sprinkler system, thereby flooding the field and ensuring a "rainout". However, the Amarillo team owner rented a helicopter, dried the field, and the game was played.
  
  
• Kurt Russell helped Ron Shelton develop the script and was originally penciled in to play Crash, the part that went to Kevin Costner. After the film was made, Russell was so impressed, he actually wrote fan letters to Costner and Shelton.
  
  
• Ron Shelton was a former minor league baseball player and used his experience as the basis for the story.
  
  
• Kurt Russell, who helped Ron Shelton develop the script, also played minor league baseball in the early-1970s
  
  
• The note that Crash writes to Annie actually reads "Let's fuck this time" not "I want to make love to you". It can be seen over Crash's right shoulder when he writes the note in the dugout.
  
  
• As the credits are rolling at the end of the film the picture (which is made to be a shrine) is of Yankee great Thurman Munson who died in plane crash.
  
  
• In their confrontation outside the bar, Crash tells Nuke, "I hear you couldn't hit water if you fell out of a fucking boat." Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda said this in 1984, in reference to weak-hitting San Diego Padres infielder Kurt Bevacqua.
  
  
• Ron Shelton reportedly based the character of Nuke LaLoosh on a minor league teammate from his playing days named Steve Dalkowski. Dalkowski is something of a legend among baseball fans and is widely regarded as the fastest throwing pitcher ever. Unlike the character in the film, Dalkowski never made the major leagues.
  
  
• The poem that Annie refers to when she says that "the road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom" is William Blake's "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell".
  
  
• During a conversation between Crash and Nuke on the team bus, a newspaper's sports page is shown briefly with a headline reading "Hard-hittin' Whiten". At the time the movie was filmed in 1987, Mark Whiten was a top prospect for the Toronto Blue Jays in the South Atlantic League and made that league's All-Star Game. Whiten said he missed his brief moment of fame when he first saw the movie in the theatre, but caught it when he rented it later. Whiten went on to have a fairly ordinary 11-year career in the majors highlighted by one 1993 game in which he tied two major league records with four homers and 12 RBI.
  
  
• Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon first met during the filming of this movie.
  
  
• The bar scene takes place in Mitch's Tavern on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh, North Carolina, across the street from NC State University. Today, in Mitch's there are a few mementos from the movie: framed film still of Crash Davis and Annie Savoy (autographed by Susan Sarandon and Kevin Cosnter) and glass door which Nuke Laloosh breaks is framed. The furniture, fixtures, and layout of the tavern largely remain the same as they were in 1988.
  
  
• Real-life couple Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins have stated that of all the films they have made during their respective careers, this remains their personal favorite.
  
  
• According to director Ron Shelton in the DVD Commentary, he came up with the name Ebbie Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) after being served in a restaurant by a waiter named Ebbie Calvin "Nook" LaRoosh. Shelton thought it was a stand out name and changed the spelling of the nickname and last name.
  
  
• The costume designer did a little research and learned that the last baseball jersey number director Ron Shelton ever wore as a minor league player was number 8. So she gave Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) that number.
  
  
• There really was a ballplayer named "Crash" Davis. Ron Shelton found his name in a baseball listing as a minor leaguer and American Legion player. Realizing that he would have to have the permission of the real Davis to use his name (and thus avoid a lawsuit). When Shelton approached Davis, he was asked "Do I (Meaning Kevin Costner)get the girl in the end?" Shelton told him he does and Davis signed off his permission.
  
  
• In the scene where the Bulls have returned from the long road trip, Annie is seen at the game wearing a black veil and appearing as if she had just come from a funeral. This is because the previous scene, where Annie attends Max Patkin's funeral, was deleted in post-production. Ron Shelton had written a scene where Max was killed in a car crash during the season.
  
  
• The front of the Wheaties box from which Crash eats depicts Chicago Bears great Walter Payton.
  
  
• Ranked #5 on the American Film Institute's list of the 10 greatest films in the genre "Sports" in June 2008.
  
  
• An "Annie" is a term referring to baseball groupies, hence the name Annie Savoy.
  
  
• When Nuke is promoted to the majors we see him giving a television interview. This scene was filmed at Arlington Stadium, which was the former home field for the Major League team the Texas Rangers.
  
  
• Although Kevin Costner plays the 'older' more experienced ball player, in real life he's only three years older than Tim Robbins (33 and 30 respectively during filming), and Susan Sarandon was actually in her early forties (42). Additionally, Costner is about three and a half inches shorter than the very tall Robbins (almost 6'5").
  
  
• Kay Lenz was originally offered the female lead role but turned it down.
  
  
• Kim Basinger, Mary Steenburgen and Pamela Stephenson auditioned for the role of Annie.
  
  
• Harrison Ford was considered for the male lead role.
  
  
• Cybill Shepherd was interested to play the part of Annie but declined due to her commitment to the TV series "Moonlighting" (1985).
  
  
• Bruce Willis was considered for the role of Crash, but turned it down due to his commitment to the TV program "Moonlighting" (1985).
  
  
• Both Carrie Fisher and Debra Winger auditioned for the role of Annie but backed out.
  
  
• Glenn Close auditioned for the role of Annie but was forced to turn the role down due to her commitment to the film Dangerous Liaisons (1988).
  
  
• Kelly McGillis was interested to play the role of Annie but turned it down. Instead, McGillis starred in The Accused (1988).
  
  
• Melanie Griffith was considered for the female lead role. However, Griffith starred in Working Girl (1988).
  
  
• Both Jeff Bridges and Don Johnson turned down the role of 'Crash'.
  
  
• Nick Nolte, one of the biggest male stars at the time, turned down the lead because he had just finished several movies back-to-back, and, most importantly, because he isn't a fan of baseball. Nolte famously played a footballer in North Dallas Forty (1979), a movie he co-wrote.
  
  
• The book Robert Wuhl's character (Larry Hockett) is reading during the rain-out near the end of the film is titled Mayan Wisdom Made Easy, which appears to be a fictional title/book.
  
  
• At the end of the film, during footage of a rain out, Larry is seen in the dugout reading a book called Mayan Wisdom Made Easy.
  
  

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