YouTube Channel Weird History Food goes in depth into the history of Big League Chew, a brand of American bubble gum invented in the late 1970s by a minor league baseball pitcher and a bat boy, cut into thin strips (originally akin to chewing tobacco) that has become synonymous with baseball (and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame), and its connections with Hollywood through its teenage co-inventor (who also never received any cut of the profits from its sale to the Wrigley Company in 1980) who later went on to become one of the most acclaimed writers/directors of his generation.
It was actor-turned-writer/director/producer Todd Field (six-time Academy Award nominee for ‘In The Bedroom’/’Little Children’/’TAR’, ‘Twister’ secondary cast member, actor who played the piano player who led to Tom Cruise’s character getting in too deep in cult shit in ‘Eyes Wide Shut’), if you didn’t guess from my other post today where I explicitly said that in the post itself. This popped up when I went to explain that factoid to another ONTDer who didn’t know that backstory. I think I’ve posted this in the many Todd Field posts I’ve made in the past 15 years about his career and many failed projects before TAR (as a big fan of In the Bedroom/Little Children/Twister), but hey, as someone who used to chew Big League Chew when I played softball as a kid, this is relevant to my interests.
History Channel’s show ‘Adam Eats the 80s’ also featured the history of Big League Chew a few years ago, featuring Todd’s mother Candy, his childhood kitchen, and zero mention of who he grew up to be (although the YouTube comments are filled with comments about it).
The Portland Mavericks and their storied history around this time period (1973 to 1977), while owned by actor Bing Russell, are also featured in Netflix’s 2014 documentary ‘The Battered Bastards of Baseball’, featuring interviews with Kurt Russell (Bing’s son and a former Mavericks player himself/Vice President of the team), Field, and various players.
