“The Game Comes Home” to DC

There have been many great documentary films about baseball, but not everyone can be Ken Burns and bite off the entire history of the game.  Others like Jeff Herberger, Willie Meaux, and Phil Wood take on singular pieces of baseball’s historical patchwork.  Their new documentary “The Game Comes Home, the History of Baseball in Washington, DC,” has narrowed its focus to a corner of the game that went dark for three decades but has come roaring back.  

The 80-minute documentary was a joint venture by Meaux and Herberger who have worked in film and communications in the DC area for many years.  Their project really got off the ground when they teamed up with Phil Wood who has one of the most extensive photo galleries of Washington, DC baseball and is the most knowledgeable baseball historian in the area.  Wood and Meaux wrote the script for the film and the technical work was handled expertly by Herberger who has served as the director of photography on feature length films.

Phil Wood believes that the history of DC baseball is not fully appreciated by most fans.  “A lot of Washingtonians only know a handful of names from the old ball club,” says Woods, meaning the old Senators whose history tracks back to 1901.  Sportscasters have been especially disappointing according to Woods in trying to understand why baseball left DC.  The film tackles that vexing issue, one that has gone largely unexplored since the return of baseball in 2005.  The explanation in the film pulls up a little short in confronting the issue squarely, but should be enough to whet the appetite.

Phil Wood describes himself as “just another talking head” in the movie, and there is a colorful spectrum of them.   There are fans, broadcasters, writers and players who are the real connection to the Senators history before 2005.  Baseball in DC died in 1971.  Those who mourned it that day at RFK when the final game was played against the Yankees share their recollections of that sad and angry event when owner Bob Short was allowed to uproot baseball from one of its proudest origins.

The full seven decades of Washington Senators’ history is explored from the newly formed American League in 1901 to the first move out of town in 1960.  Clark Griffith, the Old Fox, was the first legend of DC baseball until he brought Walter Johnson to town.  “First in war, first in peace, last in the American League” was used apty to describe the original Senators in their first decade.  But the saying disappeared from the lexicon as the team became a consistent winner.

From the glory days until the wheels fell off the train during the Depression, the history tumbles down like a waterfall.  It is one that encompasses Big Train and the World Series triumph of 1924, but one that ultimately crashes to earth.

Washington baseball history is not just one of calamity though.  There are Hall of Famers like Goose Goslin, Sam Rice, and Heinie Manush, but also great players like Joe Judge, Clyde Milan and Joe Cronin.  There are great stories to tell and “The Game Comes Home” tells them in a way that should be understood and enjoyed by Washington baseball fans who want to fully appreciate the tradition of which they are part.

Hopefully “The Game Comes Home” will gain a screening next year at Silver Docs, the biggest documentary film festival in the country held right here at the American Film Institute’s Silver Spring Cinema center.  Wherever it goes, Meaux, Herberger, and Wood have done an excellent job of breathing life into the history of the Senators.  Fans in Washington need to better understand the stories and they can take it in by spreading the word about this film.  Watch excerpts or order the film on-line at http://thegamecomeshome.com/