Ron Shelton

April 7, 1997

Shelton, a ex-minor league baseball player, was born on September 15, 1945 in Whittier, California. His experiences as a minor leaguer would influence his scripts and directorial skills on sports films. After writing two scripts for director Roger Spottiswoode, he made a smashing directorial debut with the baseball comedy-drama, Bull Durham (1988). He followed it up with two more hits, including Blaze (1989), about Louisiana Governer Earl Long and his notorious stripper girlfriend.

He returned to the world of sports, with the satirical inside look at the competitive sport of street basketball, White Men Can't Jump (1992). Most of his films deal with sports figures, not as supermen from Krypton (like the ever-so ludicrous The Natural), but flawed and occasionally egotistical people (sometimes even downright nasty, like in Shelton's overated Cobb). But he adds a humorous perspective and an insider's eye to whatever sport he makes a film about.

My rating on a scale of 1 to 10: 7

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