Cincinnati Reds

In 2003, the father-son combo of manager Bob Boone and third baseman Aaron Boone was broken when Bob was relieved and the upset Aaron traded to the New York Yankees. In 2001 the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry. Riverfront Stadium was demolished in 2002, paving the way for the Great American Ball Park. The shark was also anointed #18 on AFI's 100 Years, 100 Heroes and Villains, opposite Robin Hood. In 1999 they won 96 games, but lost to the New York Mets in a one game playoff. The film is consistently on the Internet Movie Database's list of top 250 films and was #48 on American Film Institute's 100 Years, 100 Movies and #2 on its 100 Years, 100 Thrills. By 1995 the Reds were in the NLCS again, but lost to the Atlanta Braves. It was also nominated for Best Picture.

Led by Chris Sabo, Barry Larkin, Eric Davis & Billy Hatcher in the field and by Jose Rijo, Tom Browning and the Nasty Boys of Rob Dibble, Norm Charlton and Randy Myers on the mound, the Reds took out the Pirates in the NLCS & swept the shocked Oakland Athletics in four straight. It won Academy Awards for Best Film Editing, Best Music (Original Score) and Best Sound. They started off 35-12 and maintained their lead throughout the year. A one hour version of this documentary had been included on an earlier DVD release. In 1990 the Reds under new manager Lou Pinella shocked baseball by leading the NL West from wire-to-wire. The film will also be released on DVD, featuring the full two hour documentary originally featured on the LaserDisc release. In 1989, Pete Rose was banned from baseball by Commissioner Bart Giamatti, who declared Rose guilty of "conduct detrimental to baseball." Controversy also swirled around Reds owner Marge Schott who was accused several times of ethnic and racial slurs. In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the film's release, JawsFest, a festival held in Martha's Vineyard, took place in June 2005.

Among the highlights, Pete Rose became the all-time hits leader, Tom Browning threw a perfect game, and Chris Sabo was the 1988 National League Rookie of the Year. Jaws was followed by three sequels, generally regarded as increasingly poor in quality as compared to the original: Jaws 2 (1978), Jaws 3-D (1983) and Jaws: The Revenge (1987). From 1985 to 1989 the Reds finished second 4 times. Benchley is quoted as saying that he never would have written the original novel had he known what sharks are really like in the wild. By the end of 1984, Pete Rose was hired to be the Reds player-manager. Though a horror classic (voted to have the scariest scenes ever by a Bravo Halloween TV special), the film is widely recognized to be responsible for many fearsome and inaccurate stereotypes about sharks and their behavior. In 1984 Dave Parker & Tony Pérez were in Cincinnati uniforms. The runaway success of these films led to an increased shift in production towards such genres by studios in the following decades.

In 1984 the Reds began to move up, depending on trades and some minor leaguers. Along with The Exorcist and Star Wars, it is an example of a high-budget movie in what had previously been considered a disreputable or low-budget genre (in this case, suspense / horror). Johnny Bench retired in 1983. Jaws is also often cited as indicating a shift in the type of movies made by Hollywood studios. In 1981 the Reds had the best overall record in baseball, but thanks to a mid-season players' strike, they finished second in the division in both of the half-seasons that were created; to commemorate this, a team photo was taken, accompanied by a banner that read "Baseball's Best Record 1981." By 1982 the Reds were a shell of the original Red Machine; they lost 100 games that year. The wide national release pattern would become standard practice for high profile movies in the late 1970s and after. The Reds did manage to win the 1979 NL West behind the pitching of Tom Seaver. Upon its release, the film was the first to reach more than $100 million in box-office receipts, a feat not matched until Star Wars, two years later in 1977. It was a key film in establishing the benefits of a wide national release backed by heavy media advertising, rather than a progressive release that let a film slowly enter new markets and build support over a period of time.

By 1979 Tony Pérez, Don Gullett, Pete Rose, Sparky Anderson, Gary Nolan, and others had left the Reds. The main theme became a classic piece of suspense music, synonymous with approaching danger. The last four years of the '70s brought turmoil and change. John Williams' contributed the acclaimed film score. The Reds became the first NL team in 50 years to win back-to-back World Series championships. Footage of real sharks was shot by Ron and Valerie Taylor in waters off South Australia, although only a handful of these shots were used in the finished film. The New York Yankees never really caught up to the Reds, who won the series in four straight. This enforced restraint is widely thought to have increased the suspense of many scenes, giving it a Hitchcockian tone.

The Reds won the NL title from the Philadelphia Phillies, winning Game 3 in their last at-bat. For example, for much of the shark hunt its location is represented by floating yellow barrels that have been tied to it during the hunt. In 1976, the Reds swept throughout the NL West and proceeded to go 9-0 in the playoffs. The script was refined during production, and the unreliable mechanical sharks forced Spielberg to shoot many of the scenes with the shark only hinted at. Joe Morgan's RBI single in Game 7 gave the Reds their first championship in 35 years. To some degree, the delays in the production proved serendipitous. After a few close-calls either way, Carlton Fisk hit one off the foul pole in left to give the Red Sox a 7-6 win. Spielberg referred to the mechanical shark as "the turd" on a British programme about famous horror scenes and confessed that they had even less flattering names for it throughout filming.

The Reds were up 6-3 with 5 outs left when the Red Sox tied the game on former Red Bernie Carbo's three-run home run. The three mechanical sharks were collectively nicknamed "Bruce" by the production team after Spielberg's lawyer, a piece of trivia that has been cited in a number of shark-related stories (such as the appearance of the shark in 2003's Finding Nemo). Game 6 is still one of the most memorable games played. The film had a troubled shoot and went considerably over budget. The logistical problems of shooting at sea led to many delays, and the mechanical shark frequently malfunctioned. Splitting the first four games, the Reds took Game 5. Location shooting occurred at Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. In the World Series, the Boston Red Sox were the opponents. Gottlieb gives primary credit to Shaw, downplaying Milius' contribution.

They swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in three games to win the NL pennant. Spielberg tactfully describes it as a collaboration between John Milius, Howard Sackler and Robert Shaw. In 1975, the Reds won 108 games and won the NL West. The authorship of Quint's monologue about the fate of the cruiser USS Indianapolis has caused substantial controversy, with dispute as to who deserves the most credit for the speech. The Reds won 98 games in 1974 but finished second. Spielberg has claimed that he prepared his own draft, although it is unclear if any of the other screenwriters drew on his material. The Reds won a third NL West crown in 1973 but lost the NL pennant to the New York Mets. Gottlieb rewrote many scenes during principal photography, and John Milius contributed some dialogue polishes.

Six of the seven games were won by one run, but the A's won in seven. Carl Gottlieb (who also appears in a supporting acting role in the film) was brought in to add humour and more depth to the characters. The 1972 Reds won the NL West and defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates in an exciting five-game playoff series; the Reds played the Oakland Athletics in the World Series. Peter Benchley wrote the first draft of the screenplay, with a subsequent draft prepared by Howard Sackler. After the disastrous 1971 season (the only season of the '70s during which the Reds finished with a losing record) the Reds reloaded by trading Lee May and Tommy Helms for Joe Morgan, Jack Billingham, César Gerónimo, and Denis Menke. Despite his lack of feature film experience, Spielberg had proved adept at suspense material with the 1971 telemovie Duel. By time the club got to the World Series, however, the Reds pitching staff had run out of gas and the veteran Baltimore Orioles beat the Reds in five. They signed Spielberg to direct in the same year, prior to release of his first theatrical film, The Sugarland Express (also a Zanuck / Brown production).

The Reds breezed through the 1970 season, won the NL West and captured the NL pennant. His novel was loosely based on a real-life event in the summer of 1916 when a series of shark attacks killed four people along the New Jersey coast and triggered a media frenzy. Gary Nolan, Jim Merritt, and Jim McGlothlin led a pitching staff which also contained veteran Tony Cloninger and youngsters Wayne Simpson and Don Gullett. The film was produced by Richard Zanuck and David Brown, who had purchased the film rights to Peter Benchley's novel in 1973. Johnny Bench, Lee May, Tony Pérez, Pete Rose and Bobby Tolan were the early Red Machine offensive leaders. After another victim is devoured and Brody's son is nearly killed on the Fourth of July, Brody, Hooper, and shark hunter Quint (Shaw) set out in Quint's boat, the Orca, to face and hopefully destroy the man-eater. The Reds began the season winning 70 of their first 100 games. A large tiger shark is caught, but upon examining it, Hooper declares that the attacks were the work of a much larger fish. Brody wants the beaches closed, but Mayor Vaughn, again refusing to accept the possibility of danger, refuses.

Riverfront Stadium, a 52,000 seat multi-purpose venue on the shores of the Ohio River opened its doors. When marine biologist Matt Hooper examines the remains of the first victim, he becomes convinced that a very large and dangerous shark was responsible, more specifically, a Great White Shark which is a large and extremely voracious predator, known to be dangerous to humans. Together with general manager Bob Howsam, the Reds began the 1970s with a bang. A few days later, a boy is killed by the shark while swimming on a crowded beach and his mother places a substantial bounty on the animal. In 1970, little known George "Sparky" Anderson was hired to manage the Reds. However, the town mayor ignores the protests about the danger of more shark attacks and orders the beaches kept opened, as Amity is dependent on the money it makes from its summertime and, especially, Fourth of July business, and tells Brody to say the girl was killed by a boat propeller. In its place, a new stadium, and a new Reds dynasty. He then orders the beaches to be closed.

The Reds' final game at Crosley Field, home to over 4500 baseball games, was played on June 24, 1970. The next morning, Martin Brody (Scheider), the sheriff of Amity Island, finds some of her remains and concludes that she was killed in a shark attack. All this set up for a fantastic run known as the Big Red Machine. Suddenly, she begins to get jerked around and is pulled under. The farm system produced players such as Jim Maloney (the Reds pitching ace of the 1960s), Pete Rose, Tony Pérez, Johnny Bench and Gary Nolan. The film opens with a young girl swimming a little far from Amity Island, a New England island that is a summer resort. In 1964, they lost the pennant by one game. It was directed by Steven Spielberg and stars Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss and Lorraine Gary.

They won 98 games in 1962 (paced by Purkey's 23) but finished 3rd. Jaws (1975) is an American film, based upon a bestselling novel by Peter Benchley, which tells the story of a resort town's sheriff who tries to protect beachgoers from the predations of a huge great white shark by closing the beach, only to be overruled by the town council. The rest of the 1960s were successful on the field, but didn't produce any championships. However for the Reds, 1961 was the year New York Yankee Roger Maris hit 61 HR and they took the Reds in 5 games in the World Series. The Reds captured the 1961 NL pennant, holding off the Los Angeles Dodgers & the San Francisco Giants.

Pitchers Joey Jay, Jim O'Toole and Bob Purkey led the staff. By 1961, Robinson was joined by Vada Pinson, Wally Post, Gordy Coleman and Gene Freese. Led by NL Rookie of the Year Frank Robinson, the Reds hit 221 HR to tie the NL record. By 1956, the Reds began the most successful portion of their clubs history.

The rest of the offense was a collection of over-the-hill players & not-ready-for-prime time youngsters. Ted Kluszewski was the NL home run leader in 1954. Ewell "The Whip" Blackwell was the main pitching stalwart before arm problems cut short his career. In 1944, Joe Nuxhall, age 15, pitching for the Reds on loan from Hamilton High School, became the youngest person ever to play in a major league game -- a record that still stands today.

Throughout the remainder of the 1940s and the early 1950s, Cincinnati finished mostly in the second division. World War II and age finally caught up with the Reds. In 1940, they repeated as NL Champions and for the first time in 21 years, the Reds captured a World Series beating the Detroit Tigers 4 games to 3. The Reds were swept by the New York Yankees in four straight.

By 1939 they were National League champions. By 1938 the Reds were out of the second division finishing fourth. Ernie Lombardi was named the National League's Most Valuable Player in 1938, First baseman Frank McCormick was the 1940 NL MVP. Other position players included Harry Craft, Lonny Frey, Ival Goodman and Lew Riggs. The offense came around in the late 1930s.

Thanks to Vander Meer, Paul Derringer, and shortstop-turned-pitcher Bucky Walters, the Reds had a solid pitching staff. Johnny Vander Meer became the only pitcher in major league history to throw back-to-back no-hitters in 1938. Crosley Field (formerly Redland Field) became the host of the first night game in 1935. The Reds throughout the 1930s became a team of "firsts".

McPhail began to develop the Reds' minor league system and expanded the Reds' base. had also started WLW radio and the Crosley Broadcasting Company in Cincinnati and was doing quite well as a civic leader. Crosly produced radios, refrigerators and other household items, bought the Reds out of bankruptcy in 1933 and hired Larry McPhail to be the General Manager. Powell Crosley Jr. Powell Crosley Jr., a electronics magnate who with his brother Lewis M.

By 1931 the team was bankrupt, thanks to the Great Depression, and Redland Field was in a state of disrepair. Eppa Rixey, Dolf Luque and Pete Donahoe were pitching stars; the offense never quite lived up to the pitching. In the remainder of the 1920s and early 1930s the Reds were second division dwellers for most of those years. By 1920, the "Black Sox" scandal put an asterisk by the Reds first championship.

The Reds finished ahead of John McGraw's New York Giants, and then won the world championship in 8 games over the Chicago White Sox. The 1919 team had hitting stars led by Edd Roush and Heinie Groh while the pitching staff was led by Hod Eller and Harry "Slim" Sallee, a lefthander. The 1918 team finished 4th, and then new manager Pat Moran led the Reds to a NL pennant in 1919. By the late 1910s the Reds began to come out of the second division.

In 1912 Redland Field, built on the corner of Findlay and Western on the city's west side opened for the Reds. In 1911, Bob Bescher stole 81 bases which is still a team record. Seymour's .377 average in 1905 was the first individual batting crown won by a Red. At the turn of the century, the Reds (shortened from the Red Stockings so not to be confused with the Boston AL entry, now shortened to Red Sox) had hitting stars like Sam Crawford and Cy Seymour.

The Red Stockings wandered through the remainder of the 1890s signing local stars & aging veterans. By some accounts, the AA team switched leagues in 1890; by other accounts, the AA team folded the same year the new NL team started, and the new team simply signed many of the AA team's star players. When the American Association, a rival league, began play in 1882, it included a team from Cincinnati, which was also called the Red Stockings. (In 1871, Harry Wright took most of his best players to Boston, and founded the Boston Red Stockings, now known as the Atlanta Braves.) The Red Stockings were a charter member of the National League in 1876, but was expelled from the league later, in part for violating league rules by serving beer to fans at games.

Early stars for the Red Stockings included the Wrights, George and Harry. The Red Stockings won 130 games in a row between 1869 & 1870, before the Brooklyn Atlantics defeated the Red Stockings. The original Cincinnati Red Stockings, baseball's first openly all-professional team, was founded in 1869. They are in the Central Division of the National League.

The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Billings Mustangs
GCL Reds. Sarasota Reds
Dayton Dragons. Chattanooga Lookouts.

Louisville Bats. National League
. Pitching saves: Jeff Brantley, 44 (1996). Pitching ERA: Harry McCormick, 1.52 (1882).

Pitching strikeouts: Mario Soto, 274 (1982). Pitching wins: Will White, 43 (1883). Strikeouts: Adam Dunn, 195 (2004) [MLB record]. Walks: Joe Morgan, 132 (1975).

Hitting streak: Pete Rose, 44 games (1978). Stolen bases: Hugh Nicol, 138 (1887). Total bases: George Foster, 388 (1977). Extra-Base hits: Frank Robinson, 92 (1962).

Triples: John Reilly, 26 (1890). Doubles: Frank Robinson and Pete Rose, 51 (1962 and 1978). Singles: Pete Rose, 181 (1973). Hits: Pete Rose, 230 (1973).

Runs: Bid McPhee, 134 (1886). Runs batted in: George Foster, 149 (1977). Home runs: George Foster, 52 (1977). Batting average: Cy Seymour, .377 (1905).

Harry Wright (2005). George Wright (2005). Will White (2004). Billy Werber (1961).

Bucky Walters (1958). Johnny Vander Meer (1958). Johnny Temple (1965). Mario Soto (2001).

Cy Seymour (1998). Edd Roush (1960). Frank Robinson (1978). Eppa Rixey (1959).

Jose Rijo (2005). Bob Purkey (1974). Wally Post (1965). Vada Pinson (1977).

Tony Perez (1998). Jim O'Toole (1970). Joe Nuxhall (1968). Gary Nolan (1983).

Billy Myers (1966). Joe Morgan (1987). Bid McPhee (2002). Roy McMillan (1971).

Bill McKechnie (1967). Mike McCormick (1966). Frank McCormick (1958). Jim Maloney (1973).

Jerry Lynch (1987). Dolf Luque (1967). Red Lucas (1965). Ernie Lombardi (1958).

Brooks Lawrence (1976). Larry Kopf (1965). Ted Kluszewski (1962). Fred Hutchinson (1965).

Dummy Hoy (2003). Bob Howsam (2004). Tommy Helms (1979). Bubbles Hargrave (1962).

Noodles Hahn (1963). Don Gullett (2002). Heinie Groh (1963). Ken Griffey (2004).

Wayne Granger (1982). Ival Goodman (1959). Giles (1969). Warren C.

Lonny Frey (1961). George Foster (2003). Bob Ewing (2001). Pete Donohue (1964).

Paul Derringer (1958). Eric Davis (2005). Jake Daubert (1966). Hughie Critz (1962).

Sam Crawford (1968). Harry Craft (1963). Dave Concepcion (2000). Gordy Coleman (1972).

Clay Carroll (1980). Leo Cardenas (1981). Smoky Burgess (1975). Rube Bressler (1963).

Ewell Blackwell (1960). Jack Billingham (1984). Johnny Bench (1986). Gus Bell (1964).

Sparky Anderson (2000). 42 Jackie Robinson (retired throughout baseball). 24 Tony Pérez. 20 Frank Robinson.

18 Ted Kluszewski. 10 Sparky Anderson.   8 Joe Morgan.   5 Johnny Bench.

  1 Fred Hutchinson. 72 Mike Stefanski (bullpen catcher]]. 55 Mark Berry (third base). 41 Jerry Narron (bench).

47 Tom Hume (bullpen). 35 Don Gullett (pitching). 49 Chris Chambliss (hitting). 53 Randy Whisler (first base).

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