History Trivia / ALeagueOfTheirOwn

* StarmakingRole: It ''would'' have been one for Creator/LoriPetty, except for his CareerKiller role in her first starring role, ''Film/TankGirl''.

* AFIS100Years100MovieQuotes:
** #54, "There's no crying in baseball!"

* PlayingAgainstType: Creator/TomHanks to some extent. Jimmy Dugan eventually proves to have a heart of gold, but he's arguably the sleaziest character Hanks had ever played at the time.

** Kit cracking up during the beauty school sequence and Dottie reprimanding her was actually Lori Petty genuinely losing it and Geena Davis chastising her. Penny Marshall found the moment endearing and akin to their relationship, so she left it in.

* Film/HeReallyCanAct: Since Tom Hanks has since gone on to be ''the'' contemporary idea of a Hollywood actor, it's easy to forget that he got his start in wacky comedies like ''Film/{{Big}}'' and ''Film/{{Splash}}''. This was the first movie where he got to show off his dramatic chops; originally, the producers wanted someone older (and thus more realistic as a failed ballplayer) for the part of Jimmy, but Hanks was eager to break out of his comic typecasting and lobbied hard for the part, even [[DyeingForYourArt gaining a considerable amount of weight]] to seem more like an out-of-shape athlete. His efforts proved that he could do dramas too, and his next run of films--including ''Film/{{Philadelphia}}'' and ''Film/ForrestGump''--only cemented that legacy.

* HeReallyCanAct: Since Tom Hanks has since gone on to be ''the'' contemporary idea of a Hollywood actor, it's easy to forget that he got his start in wacky comedies like ''Film/{{Big}}'' and ''Film/{{Splash}}''. This was the first movie where he got to show off his dramatic chops; originally, the producers wanted someone older (and thus more realistic as a failed ballplayer) for the part of Jimmy, but Hanks was eager to break out of his comic typecasting and lobbied hard for the part, even [[DyeingForYourArt gaining a considerable amount of weight]] to seem more like an out-of-shape athlete. His efforts proved that he could do dramas too, and his next run of films--including ''Film/{{Philadelphia}}'' and ''Film/ForrestGump''--only cemented that legacy.

* ShownTheirWork: The real members of the AAGPBL did have to attend charm school. Additionally, the song they sing in the locker room (and again at the reunion) is "Victory Song," and it's the [[http://www.aagpbl.org/index.cfm/pages/league/21/victory-song official song of the real league]].
** Even 1992 audiences thought the scene of everyone making fun of Kit for not being able to finish the game showed that the filmmakers clearly didn’t understand baseball. However up until the 1970s or so the starting pitcher was expected to finish it!

* HeroOfAnotherStory: There's a scene in which a black woman on the sidelines throws a ball back to Ellen Sue with enough pepper on it to sting her palm through her glove. That woman is meant to be Mamie "Peanut" Johnson, the first female pitcher for a professional black baseball league, as well as standing in for the thousands of black female athletes who weren't permitted to play in the All-American Girls League due to segregation.

** Creator/DebraWinger was originally set to play Dottie, but dropped out once she found out Music/{{Madonna}} was chosen as one of her co-stars. Creator/BrookeShields, Creator/LauraDern, Creator/SeanYoung, Creator/DemiMoore and Creator/JenniferJasonLeigh were also considered.

* BillingDisplacement: Creator/TomHanks, Creator/GeenaDavis, and Madonna are listed as the three main actors in promotional material, and home video, despite the fact that the characters Dottie and Kit are clearly the main stars, and Lori Petty has a much larger role than Madonna (Although Madonna also contributed the movie's theme, "This Used to Be My Playground").

* {{Corpsing}}: Lori Petty genuinely cracked up during the beauty school sequence. Penny Marshall found it endearing, so she kept it in.

* IronyAsSheIsCast: Lori Petty was actually a faster runner than Geena Davis, so she had to slow down to let Dottie beat Kit.
* JustTrainWrong: The train scenes feature the ''Nebraska Zephyr'', a streamlined train that would never have operated cross-country to either Oregon or Colorado as shown in the movie. Ditto the Frisco steam locomotive in the station scene, which operated only in the midwest and south.

** Creator/ChristopherWalken was Penny Marshall's first choice for Walter Harvey, but he proved to be too expensive, so she ended up casting her brother Creator/{{Garry|Marshall}}. Max von Sydow and James Coburn were also considered.

** Creator/ChristopherWalken was Penny Marshall's first choice for Walter Harvey, but he proved to be too expensive, so she ended up casting her brother Creator/{{Garry|Marshall}}.

* EnforcedMethodActing: Penny Marshall had the actresses play some unscripted innings to pad out the baseball scenes. Given all the training they'd been through they were more than capable.

* {{Corpsing}}: Lori Petty is genuinely cracking up during the beauty school sequence. Penny Marshall found it endearing, so she kept it in.

** Creator/LindsayFrost originally signed on to play Mae, but dropped out when her TV pilot was picked up.
** Creator/DebraWinger was originally set to play Dottie, but dropped out once she found out Music/{{Madonna}} was chosen as one of her co-stars.
** Creator/BrookeShields, Creator/LauraDern, Creator/SeanYoung, Creator/DemiMoore, Creator/JenniferJasonLeigh, Creator/AllySheedy, and Creator/KellyMcGillis were also considered for the role of Dottie.

* RetroactiveRecognition: Téa Leoni played the Racine first baseman, three years before ''Film/BadBoys''.

** [[spoiler: And she's distracted because of another dropped subplot--growing romantic tension with Jimmy. They've shared a kiss--this and the fight with Kit are what spurs her decision to quit the team--and have been arguing about it, which is why Dottie is oblivious to the warnings about Marla. Her tears are guilt over injuring Marla and her slight infidelity.]]

** "There's no crying in baseball": #54.