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Dick Advocaat

Dirk Nicolaas Advocaat (born 27 September 1947) is a Dutch former football player and coach. He is the current manager of the Curaçao national football team.

Advocaat was successful as a football player and as a coach, including three stints with the Netherlands national team. He has coached a number of clubs in the Netherlands and abroad (including the Russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg, with which he won the 2008 UEFA Cup Final), as well as the national teams of a number of countries, including South Korea, Belgium and Russia. His nickname is "The Little General", a reference to his mentor Rinus Michels.

Club career

Advocaat was born in The Hague and was a defensive midfielder during his playing days. His career began as an 18-year-old with Hague club ADO Den Haag, and he made his professional debut with the club on 21 May 1967 in a 3–0 win against GVAV. He only featured for Den Haag once more that season, and that summer, the San Francisco Golden Gate Gales franchise imported the Den Haag team, which included Advocaat, to play for six weeks in the United Soccer Association as part of an effort to make the sport more popular in the United States. It was the following season that Advocaat won his only honour as a player, the KNVB Cup, in 1968. In the 1969–70 season, he became a regular in the side, making 29 appearances and scoring his first goal for the club. He made 33 appearances the season after that. From the 1971–72, the club merged with Holland Sport to become FC Den Haag. That season, his final one for the club, Advocaat made a further 66 appearances and scored 6 goals. In total, he made 147 appearances and scored 7 goals for the club.

From 1973, Advocaat's playing career continued for Roda JC until he moved to VVV-Venlo during the 1976–77 season. With Roda JC, Advocaat made 121 total appearances and scored 2 goals. When the club was to be discontinued in 2009, Goal.com described him as their most famous player. In his first season with VVV-Venlo, Advocaat scored 2 goals in 20 appearances. He made 33 appearances in the 1977–78 season, scoring four goals, and made a further 21 appearances in his final season at the club. In total, he made 74 appearances and scored 6 goals.

In 1978, Advocaat made the move to the United States to play with the Chicago Sting in the North American Soccer League (NASL). That season, he made 24 appearances, scoring two goals. In 1979, he scored three more goals in 28 appearances and for the 1980 season, he scored one further goal from 29 appearances. During the break between the 1979 and 1980 NASL seasons, Advocaat returned to the Netherlands and made 11 appearances, scoring one goal, for his former club, FC Den Haag.

Following the 1980 NASL season, Advocaat moved to Sparta Rotterdam to play the remainder of the 1980–81 season. He spent 18 months at the club, scoring six goals and making 61 appearances. Following that, Advocaat moved to Belgium and played in the second division for K. Berchem Sport. However, he only made ten appearances there before moving back to the Eredivisie to join Utrecht, where he made 39 more appearances before the end of his playing career.

1981–92: Early coaching in the Netherlands
In addition to playing football, Advocaat was a physical education teacher and became involved in coaching in 1981 when his older brother Jaap was offered a job running amateur Saturday football side Door Samenwerking Verkregen Pijnacker (DSVP). Jaap did not take the role but recommended Dick for the job. Advocaat coached this side during the final four years of his playing career with Sparta Rotterdam and Utrecht.

In 1984, Advocaat was unexpectedly appointed as assistant to Netherlands national team head coach Rinus Michels. Advocaat became a protégé of Michels, whose sobriquet was "The General". In reference to this, Advocaat acquired the nickname "The Little General". In 1987, Advocaat became manager of his first professional club, HFC Haarlem, which he led for two years. Haarlem finished in ninth place in the 1987–88 season and tenth place in the 1988–89 season. Haarlem were eliminated in the second round of the KNVB Cup in both seasons.

Advocaat then moved to Schiedamse Voetbal Vereniging (SVV) as manager. At SVV, alongside technical director Wim Jansen, Advocaat led the team to become Eerste Divisie champions in the 1989–90 season to win promotion to the 1990–91 Eredivisie, winning by 15 points. In 1991, SVV merged with neighbouring club Dordrecht '90, which failed to win promotion to the 1991 play-offs. SVV had finished 16th the previous season, but remained in the Eredivisie after winning their relegation play-off. The two teams competed as SVV/Dordrecht '90 during the 1991–92 season, where they finished in 15th place. and became FC Dordrecht the following season, after Advocaat had left. Despite success at both clubs, Advocaat was criticised in his initial coaching years for playing defensive football.

1992–98: Dutch national team and PSV Eindhoven
In 1990, Advocaat once more became an assistant to Michels, who was having his fourth spell as coach of the Dutch national team and looking to qualify for UEFA Euro 1992. At Euro 1992, it became apparent it would be Michels' last job, and following the tournament, Advocaat took over as national coach. Advocaat lost his first two matches in charge, a friendly against Italy and a 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Norway. During the qualifying campaign, Advocaat and Ruud Gullit fell out; Gullit was unhappy with Advocaat's tactics in the World Cup qualifier against England and was eventually substituted. Following this, Gullit retired from international football, but was widely expected to return with a change of administration in the summer. Advocaat qualified for the World Cup, following a crucial win against qualification rivals England. Despite the result, Advocaat was scheduled to lose his job to Johan Cruyff for the 1994 World Cup. However, talks between Cruyff and the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) broke down at the last minute and Advocaat retained his position, causing Gullit to remain in retirement although he initially joined the Dutch squad for the 1994 World Cup. In 1993, the Dutch national team had a record of five wins and two draws.

At the World Cup, Advocaat led the Dutch to the quarter-finals, where they lost 3–2 to eventual winners Brazil. Following the World Cup, Advocaat returned to manage at club level. His final match was a 5–0 win against Luxembourg.

Advocaat returned to coaching at club level with PSV on 16 December 1994, taking over from interim manager Kees Rijvers. His first match was 1–0 loss against Ajax on 1 January 1995. PSV finished third that season. Coming to the club, Advocaat coached existing players Ronaldo and Luc Nilis, and in 1995–96, Advocaat's first full season with the club, he led PSV to second place in the Eredivisie. They also won that year's KNVB Cup, which qualified them for the following years UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. Over the summer, Advocaat signed Jaap Stam, and in the 1996–97 season, PSV won the Eredivisie title and qualified for the UEFA Champions League the following year. In June 1998, Advocaat left the club. PSV also won the Johan Cruyff Shield, the Dutch Super Cup, in 1996 and 1997.

1998–2001: Rangers
In 1998, Advocaat accepted the invitation from Rangers chairman David Murray to become the Scottish Premier League (SPL) team's new manager. Walter Smith was still in the job but had announced his departure in advance.

When Advocaat took charge of Rangers, he became the first foreign manager to do so and only the tenth manager in the history of the club. The previous season was the last of seven under Walter Smith, and the first time the club had finished without a trophy in 12 years. Long-term members of the squad that had won nine league championships in a row left, including Ally McCoist, Ian Durrant, Andy Goram and Stuart McCall. With financial backing from chairman David Murray, Advocaat invested heavily in the team. Big money signings such as Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Arthur Numan and Andrei Kanchelskis were among Advocaat's first as Rangers tried to regain the league championship.

In Advocaat's first season, 1998–99, Rangers won the domestic treble, finishing six points above second-place Celtic in the league, defeating Celtic 1–0 in the Scottish Cup final, and defeating St. Johnstone 2–1 in the League Cup final. The club also had a short run in the UEFA Cup, where they reached the round of 16. In the following season, the club won the SPL by an SPL record 21-point margin, and also won the 1999–2000 Scottish Cup. Rangers fans paid tribute to Advocaat and the Dutch Rangers players at the 2000 Scottish Cup Final by wearing replica orange Netherlands international tops and other orange merchandise. Advocaat also guided Rangers into the UEFA Champions League, having beaten UEFA Cup winners Parma in the third round qualifier. However, Rangers went out of the group stage after being drawn alongside Bayern Munich, PSV and Valencia. The club then lost to Borussia Dortmund in a penalty shoot out in the UEFA Cup.

Advocaat's third season at Rangers was less successful. Despite investment in the team with players such as Tore André Flo for a record £12 million, Rangers failed to win any trophies, as Celtic under new manager Martin O'Neill won the domestic treble. Advocaat branded some of his players "fat-necks" in the press. In Europe, Rangers qualified for the UEFA Champions league for the second consecutive season after two qualifying rounds. They were drawn alongside Sturm Graz, Galatasaray and Monaco. After good results against Sturm Graz and Monaco, the club failed to qualify for the next phase of the competition, finishing third behind Galatasaray on goal difference. Rangers then lost 3–0 to 1. FC Kaiserslautern in the UEFA Cup.

In his last season at Rangers, with Celtic leading the SPL by 12 points, Advocaat resigned from the manager's position on 12 December 2001. His final match was a 1–1 draw against Hibernian. Alex McLeish was appointed as his successor, with Advocaat moving to the position of general manager. Advocaat eventually left Rangers for the Netherlands national team. More than a decade later, in March 2012, Advocaat's reign as manager came under scrutiny as Rangers entered administration. Advocaat defended the money spent on transfer fees and said he did not think the club would go bankrupt.

2002–06: International management and Mönchengladbach
Advocaat rejoined the national team set-up following Louis van Gaal's failure to take the national team to the 2002 World Cup in January 2002 and presided over the Netherlands qualification for Euro 2004 via the playoffs. His first match was 1–1 draw against England. The Oranje had finished second in their group behind the Czech Republic and therefore went into a playoff in order to qualify for Euro 2004. They managed to achieve this after a 6–1 aggregate win over Scotland but not before surviving a harrowing encounter, losing 1–0 in the first leg in Scotland. Advocaat was criticised by the Dutch media so much so that several of the team's players refused to speak to the media even after the comfortable and inspired 6–0 victory in the return leg at the Amsterdam Arena.

Despite taking Netherlands to the semi-finals of Euro 2004, the Dutch media were critical of Advocaat. Netherlands were beaten 2–1 by Portugal in the semi-finals of Euro 2004 after a dismal performance. The team also made several criticisms of his tactics, especially those in the team's shock loss to the Czech Republic in the second match of the first round of the tournament. In that match, Advocaat made a tactical change that shocked even his own players, as he brought on the aging Paul Bosvelt in midfield to replace crowd favourite Arjen Robben, who had been contributing immensely throughout the match with two assists. The Czechs seized the opportunity to capitalize on it and scored the decisive goal. Shortly after the tournament, with mounting pressure and even death threats, Advocaat quit his job as head coach on 6 July 2004.

Advocaat then went briefly back into club management. He was hired by German club Borussia Mönchengladbach on 2 November 2004. His first match was a 1–1 draw against Mainz 05 on 6 November 2004. He resigned on 18 April 2005 after less than six months at the helm. His final match was 1–1 draw against Mainz 05 on 16 April 2005. He finished with a record of four wins, six draws, and eight losses.

In July 2005, Advocaat signed a one-year contract to become coach of the United Arab Emirates national team, but he terminated this contract in September to become manager of South Korea's national team from 1 October 2005 until the end of the 2006 World Cup. During his tenure with the UAE, Advocaat was manager for two matches at the 1st International Arab Friendly Tournament in Switzerland. UAE won the first match against Kuwait 7–6 on penalties after the match had finished 1–1. They then lost the final to Egypt 4–5 on penalties, following a 0–0 draw in normal time.

Advocaat's first match in charge of South Korea was a friendly against Iran on 12 October 2005, which South Korea won 2–0. Two more friendlies were played that year in November, a draw against Sweden and a victory against Serbia.

In early 2006, during the break between domestic seasons, Advocaat took a 23-man squad of players from the K-League and J-League and embarked on a five-week, ten-match tour. It started with an Advocaat's first defeat as manager against the UAE. From there they travelled to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where they drew with Greece and won against Finland. Then they travelled to Hong Kong to take part in the Carlsberg Cup, where they defeated Croatia before losing in the final to Denmark. They then travelled to America where they lost to Costa Rica, won against Major League Soccer (MLS) side LA Galaxy and Mexico. The tour finished in Aleppo, Syria, on 22 February 2006 with an Asian Cup qualifying match against Syria which they won 2–1, ending the tour with six wins, one draw and three losses. In the lead up to the World Cup, South Korea played five more friendlies, winning two, drawing two and losing one.

At the World Cup, South Korea opened their campaign with a 2–1 victory over Togo. In their second group match, they scored a late equalizer to draw 1–1 against France, putting them in a position to qualify from Group G. However, South Korea failed to make it into the last 16 after a 2–0 loss against Switzerland, while France defeated Togo 2–0 to advance to the next round. Following Korea's exit from the World Cup, Advocaat resigned.

2006–09: Zenit Saint Petersburg
In December 2005, gas giant Gazprom took over as owners of Russian Premier League team Zenit Saint Petersburg. After a mediocre start to the season, manager Vlastimil Petržela was sacked in the summer. On 26 June 2006, Advocaat was appointed in his place, signing an 18-month contract with the option of a one-year extension. Zenit finished the 2006 season in fourth place, earning a place in the 2007–08 UEFA Cup second qualifying round. In December 2006, the Russian Premier League transfer record was broken twice, first with the signing of Pavel Pogrebnyak and then again when Zenit bought Alejandro Domínguez.

For the 2007 season, Advocaat led Zenit to their first domestic league title since the Soviet Union was disbanded. Zenit won by two points over second–place Spartak Moscow. Andrey Arshavin stood out as the star player of the season, being the only member of the team to start all 30 league matches. Advocaat became the first foreign coach to win the Russian championship and, by winning the league, Zenit qualified for the group stage of the Champions League the following season. In August, Advocaat had signed a deal to become manager of the Australia national team, however when Zenit offered him a new US$4 million contract extension in November, Advocaat reneged on the deal with Australia. In Europe, Zenit qualified for the group stage of the UEFA Cup. Zenit finished third in their group and advanced to the last 32 of the competition. They progressed to the quarter-finals coming through matches against Villarreal and Marseille on the away goals rule.

Prior to the start of the 2008 domestic season, as league winners, Zenit faced Russian Cup winners Lokomotiv Moscow in the Russian Super Cup on 9 March 2008; Zenit won the match 2–0. Continuing in the UEFA Cup, Zenit were victorious against German clubs Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich to reach the final against Rangers, Advocaat's former club. In the final, played on 14 May 2008, Zenit won 2–0 to become only the second Russian team to ever win a European trophy. On 24 August 2008, Dynamo Moscow player Danny transferred to Zenit for a Russian record transfer fee of €30 million (£23 million). The arrival of Danny increased speculation that Arshavin was to leave the club, but the club rejected substantial bids from both Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur in the summer transfer window, despite the player's strong desire to leave the club.

On 29 August 2008, Zenit contested with Champions League winners Manchester United for the European Super Cup. Zenit won the match 2–1 with new signing Danny scoring the decisive goal. In Europe, Zenit failed to advance from their Champions League group but finished third which meant they entered into the last 32 of the UEFA Cup. That year, Zenit finished fifth domestically, qualifying for the play-offs of the Europa League the following season. On 7 November 2008, Advocaat signed a one-year extension that contracted him to the club until the end of 2009. In December, Advocaat was named Trainer of the Year in Russia.

In January 2009, Arshavin was heavily rumoured to move again. Towards the end of the winter transfer window, the Russian threatened to strike if he was not sold. Arshavin transferred to Arsenal at the last-minute for around £16.9 million. In February, Zenit's UEFA Cup continued and Zenit progressed to the last 16. They failed to reach the quarter-finals, though, losing to Udinese 2–1 on aggregate. In the domestic season, Advocaat fielded seven foreign players in a team selection (one more than the league rules allow) against Lokomotiv Moscow in April 2009. Advocaat admitted he was at fault for the mistake and the club were fined but not deducted points. In May 2009, Advocaat agreed to become manager of the Belgium national team when his contract with Zenit expired on 1 January 2010. However, on 10 August 2009, after run of poor results, he was sacked by the club with Zenit seventh in the league. His final match was a 2–0 loss to Tom Tomsk on 9 August 2009. Zenit were in seventh place at the time of the dismissal.

2009–10: Belgium and AZ
Before his dismissal from Zenit, Advocaat had already agreed a two-year, US$1,688,400 contract as manager of Belgium to start in 2010. However, when Belgium failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, Franky Vercauteren resigned as manager and Advocaat's contract was brought forward to commence on 1 October 2009. Advocaat's first two matches in charge were the remaining fixtures in the qualifying campaign, a 2–0 victory against Turkey and a 2–0 defeat to Estonia. In the remainder of 2009, Belgium won in friendly matches against Hungary and Qatar. Belgium lost their first match of 2010 in a friendly against Croatia.

On 6 December 2009, it was announced Advocaat would function as manager of both the Belgium national team and Dutch club AZ. Advocaat succeeded Ronald Koeman, who was dismissed the previous day, and his contract ran until the end of the 2009–10 season. Advocaat only watched AZ's final group match of the Champions League on 9 December 2009, which Martin Haar managed. He was officially presented to the media the following day. His first match in charge was against PSV in the Eredivisie on 12 December 2009; AZ lost 1–0. His first win managing the club came the following weekend, a 3–0 win against ADO Den Haag. Belgium lost to Croatia on 3 March 2010.

On 15 April 2010, Advocaat left as manager of the Belgian national team after breaking his contract with the Royal Belgian Football Association (KBVB) amid speculation he was to become coach of the Russia national team. Advocaat was later appointed Russia manager and announced his intention to leave AZ at the end of the season. On 22 April 2010, it was announced that Gertjan Verbeek would take over as AZ manager for the following season. Under Advocaat, AZ finished fifth in the league, entering the third qualifying round of the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League.

2010–12: Russia
On 17 May 2010, Advocaat was named the new manager of the Russia national team. He began his contract on 1 July, succeeding compatriot Guus Hiddink. Advocaat signed a four-year contract.

Advocaat's side began their qualifying campaign for Euro 2012 with an unexpected defeat at home to Slovakia. However, Russia managed to win their group and secure automatic qualification to the Euro 2012 finals.

Russia began the participation of Euro 2012 (Group A) promising by defeating the Czech Republic 4–1 and playing a 1–1 draw against hosts Poland. However, the team ultimately failed to pass the group stage after losing to Greece 1–0 in the last match. It was already decided before the tournament that Advocaat would leave to take charge of PSV.

2012–14: Return to PSV and AZ; Serbian national team
Advocaat signed a contract with Dutch giants PSV. The contract began on 1 July 2012. He replaced Fred Rutten, who was sacked in March 2012. For Advocaat, it was a return to the club from which he had his first success.

Advocaat began his new job with a win in the show competition 2012 Polish Masters, followed up by beating Ajax 4–2 to secure the 2012 Johan Cruyff Shield. The 2012–13 Eredivisie campaign under Advocaat began with a shock defeat to RKC Waalwijk. At the winter break, PSV were leading the league table on goal difference over Twente. In the Europa League, PSV finished third in Group F.

After finishing second to champions Ajax in the Eredivisie, and losing the cup final to AZ, Advocaat announced his retirement from club coaching at the end of the 2012–13 season. However, on 15 October 2013, he returned to AZ to succeed the sacked Gertjan Verbeek. He was replaced at the end of the season by Marco van Basten. AZ finished the season in eighth place. He also reached the semi–finals of the KNVB Cup and the quarter–finals of the Europa League.

In July 2014, Advocaat was named the new manager of the Serbia national team. As the beginning of the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying, Serbia earned just one single point in three matches: Serbia drew 1–1 with Armenia; forfeited (3–0 loss) their match against Albania because of stadium incidents during the match; then lost 3–1 to Denmark. Advocaat agreed to terminate his contract following the 3–1 home defeat against Denmark on 14 November 2014.

2015: Sunderland
Following the sacking of manager Gus Poyet, Advocaat was appointed manager of English Premier League club Sunderland on 17 March 2015 until the end of the season. Initially, Advocaat was appointed on temporary basis. His first match in charge was a 1–0 loss to West Ham United four days later. His first win as manager came from his second match, a 1–0 victory over Newcastle United in the Tyne–Wear derby on 5 April 2015. Following a 4–1 home defeat to Crystal Palace, Advocaat oversaw a turnaround in Sunderland's form with a 1–1 draw at Stoke City, and back to back wins against Southampton and Everton.

Advocaat guided Sunderland to Premier League safety on 20 May 2015 with one match remaining after a 0–0 draw at Arsenal, and a visibly moved Advocaat was pictured in tears after the final whistle. Sunderland finished the season in 16th place, two spots and three points above the relegation zone.

He left the club a week later, announcing the end of his managerial career, but reversed his decision to retire on 4 June 2015, signing a one-year contract with Sunderland. During the summer transfer window, the club made two major signings in winger Jeremain Lens, who previously played under Advocaat at PSV, and striker Fabio Borini, who played for Sunderland on loan during the 2013–14 season. The club also signed several defenders and secured the loan signings of Yann M'Vila, DeAndre Yedlin and Ola Toivonen, the latter having also played under Advocaat at PSV. Despite the additions, Sunderland made a poor start to the season with a 4–2 away defeat at Leicester City on 8 August and a 1–3 home defeat to newly promoted Norwich City the following week. Following a 2–2 draw with West Ham, Advocaat resigned on 4 October 2015. His only win in the 2015–16 season was a 6–3 victory against Exeter City on 25 August 2015 in the League Cup. At the time of Advocaat's resignation, Sunderland were in 19th place and in the relegation zone. He finished with a record of four wins, six draws and nine losses.

2016: Fenerbahçe
On 17 August 2016, Advocaat signed a one-year contract with Turkish Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe. His first match in charge was a 2016–17 UEFA Europa League home tie against Grasshopper, which Fenerbahçe won 3–0. On 3 November, Advocaat led Fenerbahçe to a 2–1 win at home against Manchester United in the fourth group stage match of the Europa League and finished the group stage in first place, above United, with 13 points.

2017: Netherlands
On 9 May 2017, Advocaat was revealed as the new manager of the Netherlands, his third spell in charge of the national team. His first match in charge was the World Cup qualifier at home against Luxembourg on 9 June, which the Netherlands won 5–0. He was joined by Ruud Gullit as his assistant, whom Advocaat previously clashed with in his first spell in charge of the Oranje. After failing to qualify to the World Cup, Advocaat stepped down following the November friendlies against Scotland and Romania. With victories in both matches, he became the most successful Netherlands manager in terms of winning, with a total number of 37 victories, a record previously held by Bob Glendenning for 77 years.

2018: Sparta Rotterdam
On 25 December 2017, Sparta Rotterdam announced that Advocaat would be the club's new manager for the remainder of the 2017–18 season. On 20 May 2018 Sparta was relegated to the Eerste Divisie following a 1–3 loss to FC Emmen in the Promotion/relegation play-offs.

FC Utrecht
On 12 September FC Utrecht announced they had a verbal agreement with Advocaat to finish the 2018-2019 season, after their previous manager had been sacked after 4 games.

Feyenoord
On 30 October 2019, Feyenoord announced that Dick Advocaat was appointed as the club's coach for the remainder of the 2019–20 Eredivisie season after their previous manager Jaap Stam had resigned. On 3 November 2019, Feyenoord played their first game under Dick Advocaat, winning 3-0 in an away game against VVV-Venlo. On 21 April 2020, Feyenoord announced that the club and Advocaat had reached an agreement for Advocaat to continue being the club's coach for the 2020–21 season. On 12 September 2020, Advocaat become the oldest coach in the history of the Dutch Eredivisie at 72 years and 351 days old.

Iraq
On 1 August 2021, he was unveiled as the new head coach of Iraq national football team to lead them in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. However, he didn't manage a win in 6 games, with 4 draws and 2 losses. He resigned on 23 November 2021.

ADO Den Haag
On 28 November 2022, Advocaat was appointed as the new manager of a struggling ADO Den Haag side, after former manager Dirk Kuyt had been fired after an unsuccessful spell at the club. Advocaat retired as a coach at the end of the 2022–23 season as ADO Den Haag finished the season in mid-table of the second-tier Eerste Divisie.

Curaçao
On 15 January 2024, Advocaat was appointed as the new head coach of the Curaçao national football team, signing a one-year contract with an option for a further year.

Manager
SVV
 * Eerste Divisie: 1989–90

PSV Eindhoven
 * Eredivisie: 1996–97
 * KNVB Cup: 1995–96
 * Johan Cruyff Shield: 1996, 1997, 2012

Rangers
 * Scottish Premier League: 1998–99, 1999–2000
 * Scottish Cup: 1998–99, 1999–2000
 * Scottish League Cup: 1998–99

Netherlands
 * UEFA European Championship third place: 2004

Zenit Saint Petersburg
 * Russian Premier League: 2007
 * UEFA Cup: 2007–08
 * UEFA Super Cup: 2008

Individual

 * The 2008 UEFA Cup success earned Advocaat the Honorary Citizen of Saint Petersburg award, making him the city's first foreign honorary citizen since 1866.

Personal life
Advocaat is teetotal.

title: Dick Advocaat


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Sixteen Candles

Sixteen Candles is a 1984 American coming-of-age teen comedy film starring Molly Ringwald, Michael Schoeffling, and Anthony Michael Hall. Written and directed by John Hughes in his directorial debut, it was the first in a string of films Hughes would direct, centering on teenage life. The film received positive reviews from critics and was a box-office success, earning $23.6 million against a $6.5 million budget, and launched Ringwald to fame.

Plot
In suburban Chicago, high school sophomore Samantha "Sam" Baker is hopeful her 16th birthday is the beginning of a great new year, but is shocked when her family forgets the occasion because her older, beautiful, self-absorbed sister Ginny is getting married the next day.

At school, Sam fills out a friend's sex quiz where she reveals her crush on senior classmate Jake Ryan. Meanwhile, Jake, having noticed how Sam looks at him, asks his friend Rock about her. Rock dismisses her as immature and reminds him he is already in a relationship with another popular girl at school, Caroline, but Jake says he is frustrated by Caroline's constant partying. On the bus ride home, Sam fends off repeated flirtations from geeky freshman Ted.

At home, Sam's day gets worse when she discovers she must sleep on the sofa because her grandparents and a foreign exchange student named Long Duk Dong are all staying at the house for the wedding. She is further upset when her grandparents also do not remember her birthday and have Dong go with her to a dance at school that night.

At the dance, Sam pines for Jake while Dong has attracted the powerful and strong jock, Marlene. Ted, trying to impress his friends Bryce and Wease, dances with Sam, who runs off in tears. In an effort to salvage his reputation with all the geeks, Ted bets Bryce and Wease a dozen floppy disks that he will get physical with Sam before the dance ends. As proof, Bryce and Wease demand Sam's underwear. Jake asks Ted about Sam, having seen them dancing.

Ted apologizes to Sam, who opens up about her family forgetting her birthday and her crush on Jake. Ted tells her that Jake asked about her and Sam is shocked and asks what Ted thinks she should do. Despite his genuine interest in Sam, Ted encourages her to talk to Jake, and she agrees. Before she leaves, he gets her underwear to win his bet and he, Bryce, and Wease charge the other freshmen boys a dollar to see it. Meanwhile, Sam tries to approach Jake, but loses her nerve and runs off. Jake and Caroline leave the dance, leaving Sam thinking Jake does not like her, and vice-versa.

At Jake's house, Caroline and her friends have started a wild party. Jake, angry with Caroline, retreats to his bedroom and tries calling Sam, but her grandparents answer the phone, and (after they yell at him for waking them up) they tell him that Sam isn't interested. After the party, Jake is furious at the damage left behind. He finds Ted trapped under a glass coffee table after having knocked over the beer can pyramid the night before. Ted tells Jake Sam is interested in him and Jake confesses that he has lost interest in Caroline. He takes Sam's underwear from Ted and, in exchange, lets Ted take a drunken Caroline home in his father's Rolls-Royce Corniche. To further impress the geeks, Ted stops at Bryce and Wease's house to get Wease to take a picture of him with Caroline in the expensive car, but the finished picture only reveals the top of Ted's head.

Sam's father apologizes for forgetting her birthday, and tells her that if Jake does not see what a wonderful person she is, then he is not worth Sam's time. She lies on the couch thinking of Jake, not knowing that he is also thinking of her.

The next morning, Sam's mother also apologizes to her and everyone heads to the church for the wedding. Jake arrives at Sam's house, where a hungover Dong miscommunicates that Sam is at church getting married. Jake finds Caroline and Ted making out in the back of his dad's banged-up car, and then Jake and Caroline break up. Jake then surprises Sam at the church after the wedding and invites her back to his house.

That night, Jake gives Sam her underwear back, and a birthday cake with sixteen candles on it. He tells her to make a wish and she tells him her wish already came true. They kiss as the film fades to black.

Development
John Hughes originally wrote Sixteen Candles in 1982 as a low-budget production which A&M Films agreed to finance for $1 million. The film went into turnaround, but Hughes attracted more interest in his screenplays after writing the successful film National Lampoon's Vacation (1983). After Hughes was fired from his next film Mr. Mom (1983), he decided to resume pre-production on Sixteen Candles as his directorial debut as he felt it had more commercial appeal to his teenage target audience than his other planned film The Breakfast Club (1985). After Hughes was rehired on Mr. Mom, Ned Tanen greenlit both films at Universal Pictures under a three-year $30 million contract on the condition that Hughes release Sixteen Candles first.

Casting
John Hughes had asked his agent for headshots of young actresses, and among those he received were those of Robin Wright, Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy. Sheedy had auditioned for the role of Sam, but was dropped because Hughes thought Ringwald was more fitting for the role. He called her a year later to give her a role in The Breakfast Club. Inspired by Ringwald's appearance, he put it up over his desk and wrote the film just over a weekend with her in mind for the lead role.

For the male lead in the film, it had come down to Schoeffling and Viggo Mortensen. Ringwald pursued Mortensen to get the role. Emilio Estevez also auditioned for Jake. For the part of Ted, Hughes saw a number of actors for the role including Jim Carrey, Jon Cryer, Keith Coogan and Ralph Macchio. "Every single kid who came in to read for the part... did the whole, stereotyped high school nerd thing. You know—thick glasses, ball point pens in the pocket, white socks. But when Michael came in he played it straight, like a real human being. I knew right at that moment that I'd found my geek." Paul Dooley initially turned down the role of Sam's father as he was in it for two or three minutes and the last two or three minutes, then finally Hughes called him told he wrote the scene in the middle of the film so that he will be in the film and he accepted it.

Filming
Principal photography began on July 11, 1983. Sixteen Candles was filmed primarily in and around the Chicago North Shore suburban communities of Evanston, Skokie, and Highland Park, Illinois during the summer of 1983, when leads Ringwald and Hall were 15 years old. Most of the exterior scenes and some of the interior scenes were filmed at Niles East High School, close to downtown Skokie, the setting for Hall's driving the Rolls-Royce. A cafeteria scene and a gym scene were filmed at Niles North High School. The auto shop scene was filmed at Niles East High School in the auto shop. The Baker house is located at 3022 Payne Street in Evanston. The church (Glencoe Union Church at 263 Park Avenue) and parking lot where the final scenes take place are in Glencoe.

The Motion Picture Association of America initially rated the film R, but Hughes won an appeal for it to be released as PG.

Soundtrack and songs
The original soundtrack was released as a specially priced mini album containing only 5 songs. However, the movie actually featured an extensive selection of over 30 songs. Songs from the movie that were not included on the soundtrack EP are as follows:

 * "Snowballed" – AC/DC
 * "Today I Met the Boy I'm Gonna Marry" – Darlene Love
 * "Love of the Common People" – Paul Young
 * "Kajagoogoo" (Main Title Song) – Kajagoogoo
 * "Happy Birthday" – Altered Images
 * "Kazooed on Klassics" – Temple City Kazoo Orchestra
 * "Dragnet" – Ray Anthony and His Orchestra
 * "Rumours in the Air" – Night Ranger
 * "Filene" – Ira Newborn (knockoff of Madness' Our House)
 * "Peter Gunn" – Ray Anthony and His Orchestra
 * "True" – Spandau Ballet
 * "Wild Sex (In the Working Class)" – Oingo Boingo
 * "Little Bitch" – The Specials
 * "Growing Pains" – Tim Finn
 * "When It Started to Begin" – Nick Heyward
 * "Lenny" – Stevie Ray Vaughan
 * "Whistle Down the Wind" – Nick Heyward
 * "Ring Me Up" – The Divinyls
 * "Love Theme from The Godfather" – Carlo Savina (conductor)
 * "Turning Japanese" – The Vapors
 * "Rev-Up" – The Revillos
 * "Farmer John" – The Premiers
 * "Theme from New York, New York" – Frank Sinatra
 * "Young Guns (Go for It)" – Wham!
 * "Rebel Yell" – Billy Idol
 * "Lohengrin Wedding March" – Bavarian Staatsoper Munich Chorus and Orchestra
 * "Young Americans" – David Bowie
 * "Tenderness" – General Public

Home media
Pre-2003 releases of the film featured a re-scored soundtrack due to rights issues. This wasn't until 2003 when the film was released on DVD with the original theatrical soundtrack intact albeit remixed in 5.1. In 2008, the film was again released on DVD as a "Flashback Edition" with a new featurette titled "Celebrating Sixteen Candles".

In 2012, the film was released on Blu-ray for the first time as part of Universal's 100th Anniversary with the 2008 featurette carried over, along with two new features highlighting the impact of Universal Studios: "The 80s" and "Unforgettable Characters".

In 2019, Universal re-released the film on Blu-ray in a digipak highlighting its 35th anniversary. The disc was the same 2012 release with nothing new added. In that same year, Arrow Video announced their release with a new 4K restoration.

Box office
In its opening weekend the film grossed $4,461,520 in 1,240 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking second. By the end of its run, Sixteen Candles grossed $23,686,027 against a budget of $6.5 million.

Critical response
Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 81% of critics gave it a positive rating, based on 43 reviews with an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Significantly more mature than the teen raunch comedies that defined the era, Sixteen Candles is shot with compassion and clear respect for its characters and their hang-ups". Metacritic gave the film a score of 61 based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Ringwald's performance was especially praised; Variety called her "engaging and credible" while Roger Ebert wrote that she "provides a perfect center for the story" in "a sweet and funny movie".

Janet Maslin of The New York Times called the film "a cuter and better-natured teen comedy than most, with the kinds of occasional lapses in taste that probably can't hurt it in the circles for which it is intended. The middle of the film wastes time on a bit more house-wrecking and car-crashing than is absolutely necessary, and there are some notably unfunny ethnic jokes. But most of the movie is cheerful and light, showcasing Mr. Hughes's knack for remembering all those aspects of middle-class American adolescent behavior that anyone else might want to forget."

Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four and called it "the best teenage comedy since last year's Risky Business", saying it was "certain to draw a lot of laughs, but the guess here is that it also will offer comfort to young girls and boys who feel awkward. And comfort and moments of recognition are in short supply in teenage movies, which often portray a world of violence and sexual mastery that is a lie."

Pauline Kael wrote in The New Yorker, "It doesn't amount to much, and it's certainly not to be confused with a work of art or a work of any depth, but the young writer-director John Hughes has a knack for making you like the high-school age characters better each time you hear them talk." Sheila Benson of the Los Angeles Times stated that "Vacation worked, for all its raunchiness. Sixteen Candles' mixture of the sympathetic and the synthetic, the raucous and the racist, doesn't. At least not for me ... it flails about, substituting chaos and raunchy language for any semblance of wit."

Gary Arnold of The Washington Post wrote, "Hughes isn't vigilant or deft enough to prevent the dramatic focus of attention from shifting at about the halfway point; he can't quite finesse the letdown that sets in when the engaging teen-age heroine, Samantha, delightfully embodied by Molly Ringwald, is allowed to become almost a subsidiary character in the second half of the story. Nevertheless, Sixteen Candles blends an idiosyncratic screwball imagination with a flair for updated domestic comedy and scenes of intimate, quirkily affectionate character interplay."

Criticism
A 1984 review in The New York Times criticized the character of Long Duk Dong  for being "unfunny" and a "potentially offensive stereotype" of Asian people. In 2008, Alison MacAdam of NPR wrote, "To some viewers, he represents one of the most offensive Asian stereotypes Hollywood ever gave America." Asian Americans have complained that they were taunted with quotes of his stilted-English lines. At the time of the film's release, Gedde Watanabe defended the character of Dong as being distinct from "submissive, smart" stereotypes of Asians at the time. Hughes argued that he was parodying foreign exchange students and their American host families in general rather than foreigners or Asians specifically.

In an article published in Salon, Amy Benfer considers whether the film directly condones date rape even though no sexual activity is established, consensual or otherwise. After the party scene, Jake tells Ted that his girlfriend Caroline is "in the bedroom right now, passed out cold. I could violate her ten different ways if I wanted to." He encourages Ted to drive her home saying, "She's so blitzed she won't know the difference." When Caroline and Ted wake up next to each other in the car, Caroline says she's fairly certain they had sex though neither of them remember it. Benfer writes, "The scene only works because people were stupid about date rape at the time. Even in a randy teen comedy, you would never see two sympathetic male characters conspiring to take advantage of a drunk chick these days."

Author Anthony C. Bleach has argued that one possibility for Caroline's emotional and physical ruin in the film "might be that she is unappreciative of (or unreflective about) her class position", adding that, "What happens to Caroline in the narrative, whether her sloppy drunkenness, her scalping, or the potential for sexual coercion, seems to be both a projection of Samantha's desire to acquire Jake and become his girlfriend and a project of the film's desire to somehow harm the upper class."

Awards
In December 1984, Ringwald and Hall both won Young Artist Awards as "Best Young Actress in a Motion Picture" and "Best Young Actor in a Motion Picture" for their roles in the film, respectively becoming the first and only juvenile performers in the history of the Young Artist Awards to win the Best Leading Actress and Best Leading Actor awards for the same film (a distinction the film still retains as of 2014). The movie is ranked number 8 on Entertainment Weekly's list of "The 50 Best High School Movies".

Proposed sequel
In 2003, USA Network was reportedly developing a sequel to the film produced by Buffy Shutt and Kathy Jones.

In 2005, Ringwald was said to be producing a sequel after having turned down previous offers. "I couldn't see how it would work. Now, it seems right." By 2008, Ringwald was campaigning for the sequel, but said she was uncomfortable doing the film without the involvement of Hughes who, at that point, was not interested. Hughes died in 2009.

In 2022, a project inspired by Sixteen Candles titled 15 Candles entered development for Peacock. It is executive produced by Selena Gomez along with writers/executive producers Tanya Saracho and Gabriela Revilla Lugo.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Sixteen Candles


text:
Harmony, California

Harmony is an unincorporated community located in San Luis Obispo County, California. It is home to the former Harmony Valley Creamery, a dairy cooperative that closed in 1955. It lies north of Cayucos and south of Cambria on SR 1, near the junction with SR 46.

History
The town of Harmony began as a dairy settlement in the late 19th century started by Swiss immigrants living near the Italian border.

Harmony was founded in 1869 around several dairy ranches and a creamery. The operation changed hands repeatedly because of rivalries that led to a killing. In 1907, owners and ranchers agreed to call off their feud and called the town by its present name as a symbol of their truce.

The Harmony Valley Dairy Co-op was founded in 1901. As the town grew, it soon hosted a dairy management office, dormitories for employees, a livery stable, a blacksmith, and later a gas station. A school was built, and a feed store and post office gave Harmony official status as a community. At its peak, the creamery employed 10 workers, producing high quality dairy products, including butter and cheese that gave Harmony name recognition statewide. The creamery purified butter by cooking it in the traditional Swiss way, clarifying and giving it a golden color—old-world dairymen claimed butter produced by this method never turned rancid. Tourists traveling Hwy 1 often stopped for fresh buttermilk, and famed publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst stopped often in Harmony on his way to his opulent home in San Simeon, 12 miles northwest, as did many of the Hollywood celebrities who were frequent guests of Hearst.

Increased grazing land fees and dairy industry consolidation led to the closure of Harmony's creamery around 1955. The town, which still has a part-time post office, lost population until the 1970s when it was rediscovered by California's young counter-culture population, many of whom were looking for a rural lifestyle where they could practice traditional crafts away from the pressures and technology of urban life. Many of the town's historic landmarks, including the main creamery, were restored and reopened as restaurants and shops.

In 1979 Harmony was featured by KABC in Los Angeles with a live broadcast of the Ken and Bob Company radio show. Ken Minyard and Bob Arthur were the hosts and featured artist Jehry Miller singing his hit song "Harmonizing in Harmony Population 18". Jehry Miller, along with producer Stephen G. Scott of Los Angeles, also wrote the Ken and Bob Company theme song.

Since the 1970s, Harmony has ridden cycles of prosperity and neglect. It has been home to upscale restaurants, crafts, ceramics and art. More recently, Harmony became a town in name only; a single restaurant remained, but went through several owners before closing in the late 1990s. A small cadre of artisans keeps Harmony alive, with retail shops selling art objects, locally hand blown glass, and pottery, but the town faces an uncertain future. Harmony was recently put up for sale. Helping keep the town alive is Harmony Cellars, a boutique winery and tasting room, about 1/4 mile south. The winery opened in 1989 and in 2006 produced about 6,000 cases of Central Coast varietals such as Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Harmony Headlands State Park contains the native Indian thistle (Circium brevistylum), which looks similar to the invasive bull thistle (Circium vulgare). Conyza canadensis is another native that looks similar to a weed in the same genus.

In 2014, Harmony was purchased by Alan VanderHorst and his family, who plan to restore and preserve the 2.5-acre historic town.

Layout
Harmony is one paved street off of SR 1. The main structure is a U-shaped building, the former creamery, with the open area being a small plaza. On the far side of the structure is the Harmony Pottery Shop. On the near side is the former post office and a lounge for visitors.

There was a restaurant, but it closed in 1997. The post office was in operation until April 11, 2008. There is a wedding chapel in the rear, and gardens nearby.

Harmony Glassworks now lies at the north-west end of the street. Founded in 2007 and open daily, the shop is a gallery, studio and school, which offers beginner classes in glassblowing techniques.

Climate
Harmony has a mild, maritime-influenced Mediterranean climate with rainy winters, dry summers, and little seasonal temperature variation.

Featured in media
In episode 3 of the Korean drama The Heirs produced by Seoul Broadcasting System, the main characters played by Lee Min-ho and Park Shin-hye visit the town of Harmony and the winery located there.

In the 4th episode of the HLN Kids Network's Gerbda, Harmony is mentioned on a list of tourist destinations read by Buster, a character played by Matt Walsh.

Harmony is featured as an artists' colony in the Perry Mason episode "The Case of the Absent Artist" (season 5, episode 23; 1962), under the name "Port Harmony".

title: Harmony, California


text:
Loaded Weapon 1

National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 (also known simply as  Loaded Weapon 1) is a 1993 American parody film directed and co-written by Gene Quintano, and starring Emilio Estevez, Samuel L. Jackson, Kathy Ireland, Frank McRae, Tim Curry and William Shatner. The film mainly spoofs the first three Lethal Weapon films, as well as several others including Basic Instinct, Commando, Die Hard, Dirty Harry, Rambo, The Silence of the Lambs, Wayne's World, 48 Hrs. and TV series such as CHiPs. Loaded Weapon 1 was released on February 5, 1993.

Plot
In Los Angeles, Billie York is murdered by a man known as Mr Jigsaw because she possesses a microfilm that can turn cocaine into cookies. Her former partner, Wes Luger, who is about to retire, is assigned the case by the reluctant captain Doyle, who dismisses it as a suicide but gives Luger the case. The catch is that Luger will have to be partnered with Jack Colt, a burned out cop who recently lost his dog, Claire. The two visit Harold Leacher, who tells them that Colt's former general in the Vietnam War, Mortars, is heading the operation. Meanwhile, Jigsaw and Mortars visit Mike McCraken, whom Jigsaw murders for losing the microfilm.

After finding the body, Colt and Luger go to Rick Becker, who claims that he laundered money with York (the money actually being in the laundry machine), but Rick is shot multiple times by unknown assailants, forcing Colt and Luger to go to the Wilderness Girls factory. The head, Destiny Demeanor, claims no knowledge of the operation during the trial, but she is revealed to be working for Mortars and his gang. Colt meets Luger's family, but he runs away when they try to seduce him. Destiny and Colt hang out at Colt's house, while Mortars sends a helicopter to destroy Colt's house (a trailer that is actually a mansion inside), but they accidentally destroy John McClane's house.

Due to lack of evidence, Doyle dismisses the case, but Colt still decides to stop the operation, much to the dismay of Luger. Luger is a by-the-book cop, after he took an unscheduled break from his crossing guard duties (as a child), which led to an old lady being run over by a car and killed. Colt breaks in and Destiny, now having fallen in love with Colt, attempts to stop Mortars, but Mortars shows that he was the one who kidnapped Claire, and shows him Rick and Claire chained to a wall (Rick actually having survived the incident). Mortars shoots Destiny, who clings to life long enough to confess her feelings for him. Colt manages to catch up with Mortars, but then Luger shows up, having considered what Colt said to him earlier. He shoots and kills Mortars, and Colt kills Jigsaw, but starts a fire that destroys the whole factory. Doyle shows up, and asks Luger to stay in the force. Luger agrees, but as long as Colt is his partner. In the end, Destiny, having survived, shows up with Rick and Claire, and the team dances to "Bohemian Rhapsody".

Box office
Loaded Weapon 1 opened at number 1 at the US box office and grossed almost $28 million in the United States and Canada in total. Internationally, it grossed $23.2 million for a worldwide total of $51.2 million. The movie, along with Excessive Force and Three of Hearts, was cited for its contribution to New Line's record pre sales in 1992 totaling $91.2 million.

Critical reception
The film received mostly negative reviews. Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C, comparing it negatively to the Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker films, while also noting that "the Lethal Weapon films, with their hyperbolic explosiveness, lurid repartee, and quasi-loco Mel Gibson hero, are already winking at the audience. (Last year's spoofy, ragtag Lethal Weapon 3 practically turned its own slovenliness into a running gag.) The only way to make light of them is to exaggerate the cartoon funkiness that's already at the center of their appeal. It's no wonder this Weapon ends up shooting blanks." Lawrence Cohn of Variety opened his review by saying "More an imitation than a parody, this would-be comedy is very short on laughs." Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times said the film's main failure was that the Lethal Weapon movies already contained sly spoofs of the police film genre: "The send-up doesn't feel much different than the real thing".

Clifford Terry had a more mixed review of the film; in the Chicago Tribune he remarked that "the salt-and-pepper protagonists are no-nonsense, rapid-firing cops down to their very names: Colt and Luger. Obviously, National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon I is designed as a sendup of the Lethal Weapon movies, but the benchmarks are really Police Academy and The Naked Gun. Once again, criminal activity is the game but sophomoric silliness and tastelessness call the shots."

Loaded Weapon 1 has a 21% score on the film-critic aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 34 reviews with the consensus: "Loaded Weapon 1 hits all the routine targets with soft squibs, yielding a tired parody that cycles through its laundry list of references with little comedic verve".

title: Loaded Weapon 1


text:
Jim Busby

James Franklin Busby (January 8, 1927 – July 8, 1996) was an American center fielder and coach in Major League Baseball who played with the Chicago White Sox (1950–52, 1955), Washington Senators (1952–55), Cleveland Indians (1956–57), Baltimore Orioles (1957–58, 1960–61), Boston Red Sox (1959–60) and Houston Colt .45's (1962).

Busby was born in Kenedy, Texas, and attended Texas Christian University.

He threw and batted right-handed and was listed as 6 ft tall and 175 lb.

A cousin, Steve Busby, was a starting pitcher for the Kansas City Royals between 1972–80.

Jim Busby was signed by the White Sox in 1948 and made his major league debut early during the season. He became the regular center fielder for the White Sox in. A fast runner and a good contact hitter, Busby compiled his best offensive seasons early in his career, exceeding the .280 batting mark in 1951, (when he hit a career-best .312) and 1954. He also drove in 80 or more RBI during both 1953—54. But he earned a reputation as a superb defensive outfielder who committed only 42 errors in 3,394 total chances (.988) over his lengthy career. He was an American League All-Star in 1951.

In all or parts of 13 MLB seasons, Busby batted .262, with 48 home runs, 438 runs batted in, 541 runs, 1,113 hits, 162 doubles, 35 triples, and 97 stolen bases in 1,352 games played. Defensively, he recorded a .988 fielding percentage as a center fielder.

When his career ended, in the middle of the 1962 season, he became a full-time coach with Houston (through 1967), then spent eight seasons (1968–75) on the staff of the Atlanta Braves, before returning to the American League to finish his coaching career with the White Sox (1976) and Seattle Mariners (1977–78).

As a player and coach, Busby had a 29-year MLB career.

He died in Augusta, Georgia, at 69 years of age.

title: Jim Busby


text:
Frank Wead

Frank Wilbur "Spig" Wead (24 October 1895 – 15 November 1947) was a U.S. Navy aviator who helped promote United States Naval aviation from its inception through World War II. Commander Wead was a recognized authority on early aviation. Following a crippling spinal injury in 1926, Wead was placed on the retired list. In the 1930s, he became a screenwriter, becoming involved in more than 30 movies. He also published several books, short stories and magazine articles. During World War II, he returned to active duty. He initially worked in a planning role, but later undertook sea duty in the Pacific, where he saw action against the Japanese in 1943–44 before being placed on the retired list in mid-1945.

Early life
Frank Wilbur Wead was born to Samuel De Forest Wead and Grace (Bestor) Wead on 24 October 1895, in Ward No. 5 of Peoria Township, Peoria, Illinois. Frank graduated from Peoria High School.

The Wead family had a strong background of service to the American nation. The Weads of Massachusetts were represented in one of the Committees of Safety established during the American Revolutionary War, and also as patriots in the Colonial Wars, forming part of the General Society of Colonial Wars during 1607–1763. The Connecticut Weads were also patriots of the American Revolutionary War. The Wead families were prominent in Illinois and Vermont in several fields during the 19th and 20th centuries: politics, law, education and as supporters of the Union during the American Civil War, during which one branch of the Wead lineage became actively involved with the United States Sanitary Commission.

Military career
On 16 July 1912, Frank Wilbur Wead (aged 16) was admitted into the United States Naval Academy as a member of the Class of 1916. His classmates included John D. Price, Ralph E. Davison and Calvin T. Durgin. The Class of 1916 graduated on 29 May 1916.

Following graduation from the Naval Academy and leave, Wead reported to his first sea-duty assignment, USS San Diego (ACR-6), on 28 June 1916. He was a line officer with a date of rank as an ensign of 3 June 1916 and a precedence of 17 within his group of "running mates."

Wead was next assigned to USS Pittsburgh (CA-4) on a cruise from San Francisco, departing 25 April 1917. The ship reached Rio de Janeiro where, with several other officers, he departed Pittsburgh on 21 September. Wead was granted a temporary promotion to Lieutenant on 15 October 1917. He was booked for passage to the Port of New York aboard USS Zeelandia (ID-2507), which departed Rio de Janeiro on 25 September and arrived in New York on 17 October. Wead reported to the Bureau of Navigation, Navy Department, for sea duty orders.

Wead reported aboard USS Shawmut (CM-4) to assist in preparing the vessel for war. USS Shawmut departed New York Harbor in June 1918, and for the remaining months of the war operated in the area of the North Sea Mine Barrage. Following the armistice with Germany, Wead returned stateside aboard Shawmut, arriving at the Hampton Roads Naval Operations Base (NOB), Norfolk, Virginia, on 27 December 1918.

In February 1919, a kite-balloon division of six balloons was assigned to Shawmut and other ships. The ships participated in fleet exercises and, after seven weeks, returned to the United States after demonstrating the capability to operate without land-based support. With the knowledge that the Naval Aviation Division was seeking naval officers with a strong aptitude in naval engineering, having a desire to accept projects with a certain amount of risk, and with the combat-proven ability to lead naval personnel by example, Lieutenant Wead began the process for obtaining endorsements to his application to be nominated for flight training.

Naval aviation
Wead received a permanent promotion to Lieutenant (junior grade) on 3 June 1919 (as of 1 January 1920, he remained in the temporary rank of Lieutenant). In the late summer of 1919, Wead requested naval aviation flight training at Aeronautic Station Pensacola, Florida. His request was approved and he was assigned to Class 1 (the first class of regular officers sent to Pensacola after the commencement of World War I), on 15 September 1919. Wead reported to Pensacola and was billeted in a two-man room with Lieutenant (j.g.) Ralph Eugene Davison, a classmate at the Naval Academy. Wead was assigned to a training flight team with two other officers and former classmates, Lieutenants (j.g.) Robert Morse Farrar and Calvin Thornton Durgin. In addition to basic and advanced flight and navigation, the students were trained on a catapult installed on a barge at Pensacola. Wead was designated a United States Naval Aviator on 17 April 1920; his wife, Minnie "Min" Wead, pinned his golden wings to his uniform. On Saturday, 5 June 1920, Lieutenant Wead was appointed a naval aviator, along with Lieutenants Felix Stump, Robert Morse Farrar, Homer Webb Clark, Robert Walton Fleming, Stanton Hall Wooster, Ralph Eugene Davison, John Dale Price, Calin Thornton Durgin, and Henry James White. Wead was promoted to Lieutenant on 1 July 1920.

Wead began to promote Naval Aviation after World War I through air racing, speed competitions and several naval aviation articles he submitted for publishing in the United States Naval Institute Proceedings magazine. This competition, mainly against the United States Army Air Service (and its leading racer, Jimmy Doolittle), helped push U.S. military aviation forward. These competitions would give naval aviation a much-needed spotlight in the public eye. The public attention that it generated helped push Congress to fund the advancement of military aviation. After World War I he was a test pilot for the Navy.

Sea duty
On 21 April 1921, a newly promoted Lieutenant Frank Wead reported aboard USS Aroostook (CM-3), homeported at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California. Aboard Aroostook, Wead was assigned aviation duties involving flying: Aeromarine 39-B (two-seater seaplane used as a "scout plane") and Felixstowe F5L (flying boat that carried a crew of four); reporting to Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet Air Squadrons Captain Henry Varnum Butler, USN, and Executive Aide Lieutenant Commander Patrick N. L. Bellinger, USN.

Many changes were occurring within the naval aviation community. In the summer of 1921, Lieutenant Wead took part in the round-trip, long distance flight operation involving twelve F-5-L flying boats departing from NAS North Island to the Coco Solo Canal Zone and back. Additionally, Wead took part in tests involving dummy torpedoes dropped from F-5-L aircraft. Also, in accordance with an Act of Congress, United States Secretary of the Navy Edwin Denby issued orders for the establishment of a Bureau of Aeronautics to begin operations, 1 September 1921, with newly promoted Rear Admiral William A. Moffett in charge. It was President Warren G. Harding who selected then Captain Moffett for nomination as the new Chief, Bureau of Aeronautics.

The experience gained aboard USS Aroostook involving F-5-L flying boats was instrumental in Wead being selected as commanding officer of Combat Squadron No. 3 (re-designated, Fighting Plane Squadron 3, on 17 June 1922), U.S. Pacific Fleet; he served in this capacity for over a year until the spring of 1923.

Naval aviation publicity and development
During the period of 1921–23, there was a great interest among state governors and congressional leaders to send Government aeroplanes to all parts of the country to participate in patriotic celebrations, municipal and state functions, conventions, air meets, including international air races. In an era of aeronautic cooperation and coordination with the taxpayers, the two services (United States Army Air Service headed by Major General Mason Patrick and the Bureau of Aeronautics headed by Rear Admiral Moffett) wholeheartedly approved at the 14th Annual Banquet of the Aero Club of America to compete for the Pulitzer Trophy (National Air Races), Mackay Army Trophy (Mackay Trophy), Collier Trophy, Wright Trophy, Larsen Efficiency Trophy, Curtiss Marine Trophy, Detroit Aviation Country Club Trophy, Liberty Engine Builders Trophy, Detroit News Aerial Mail Trophy, Inter-service Championship Meet, including the two foreign races – the Coupe Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe and the Coupe Jacques Schneider for seaplanes and flying boats.

In the spring of 1923, Wead was detached from the aircraft squadron battle fleet and reported to NAS Anacostia, Washington D.C., for assignment to the Flight Division of the Bureau of Aeronautics. Lieutenant Wead worked closely with the Philadelphia Naval Aircraft Factory and three contractors (Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, Wright Aeronautical, Glenn L. Martin Company) in the development of seaplane airframes and new engines, and testing the seaplanes in duration flights above the Potomac River. Based upon his experience and technical expertise, Wead submitted several articles for publication that pertained to known issues concerning aircraft design, power plant problems, and future naval aviation.

Seaplane racing and records broken
Lieutenant Frank Wead traveled to East Cowes, Isle of Wight, Great Britain, as the American team captain of a small group of U.S. naval aviators. He was also the reserve team member. With Lieutenant Wead were four naval aviators who departed New York Harbor aboard S.S. Leviathan. They were to participate in the Seventh Schneider Trophy Contest (28 September 1923). Unfortunately, on the day of the navigability tests (27 September 1923), Wead had to withdraw because of an engine problem with his TR-3A aircraft- the American reserve seaplane. The TR-3A was a double pontoon seaplane with a Wright E-4 engine of 300 H.P. However, his teammates, Lieutenants David Rittenhouse and Rutledge Irvine, flying their CR-3s finished first and second places, respectively, on 28 September 1923. Their CR-3s were earlier tested at Garden City, Port Washington, Long Island. They were an improved adaptation of the Curtiss Navy Racer- the standard racing design which led the world in performance since the first plane of this type won the Pulitzer Race in 1921.

During the period 22–23 June 1924 just off-shore of NAS Anacostia, Wead and Lieutenant John Dale Price, using a Curtiss CS-2 with a Wright T-3 Tornado engine, set new Class C seaplane records for distance (963.123 miles), duration (13 hours 23 minutes 15 seconds), and three speed records (73.41 mph for 500 kilometers, 74.27 mph for 1000 km, and 74.17 mph for 1500 km). Lieutenants Wead and Price set a newer record 11–12 July 1924, with new Class C seaplane records for distance (994.19 miles) and duration (14 hours 53 min 44 sec) using a CS-2 with a Wright Tornado engine.

San Francisco to Hawaii flight
Following his assignment at NAS Anacostia, Wead was assigned staff duty involving flying at NAS North Island where he served as Flag Lieutenant to the flight project commander at NAS North Island, Captain Stanford Elwood Moses, USN. On 28 October 1924, Wead was assigned to command VT Squadron 2. During 1924 and 1925, Wead was involved with the planning for the San Francisco to Hawaii endurance and navigation tests to comprise two Naval Aircraft Factory PN-9 flying boats, and one Boeing PB-1 flying boat.

In early April 1926, Wead received a naval message at his headquarters, NAS North Island, that he was selected for promotion to lieutenant commander; promoted ahead of his fellow naval aviators Class of 1916; and, one of the Navy's youngest squadron commanders.

In his book "All the Factors of Victory: Admiral Joseph Mason Reeves and The Origins of Carrier Airpower" (May 2003), Thomas Wildenberg provided an insight into the naval aviation tactical issues with which Reeves was involved and the part Wead played as commanding officer of VF-2 fighter squadron (comprising Vought VE-7SF "Bluebird", Boeing Model 15 naval variant FB-5, Curtiss Model 34D F6C-2 "Hawk"). Wead was preparing his squadron for the June 1926 tactical exercises aboard USS Langley (CV-1) up to his accident on 14 April 1926. Wildenberg identified Wead's replacement as Lieutenant Commander Frank Dechant Wagner, USN. Assigned to Commander, Air Squadrons, Battle Fleet, Lieutenant Commander Wagner would further improve upon the training tactics devised by Wead, including developing new dive-bombing techniques with the Battle Fleet's Curtiss F6C Hawks and FB-5s.

Medical retirement
On 14 April 1926, Wead heard his daughter Marjorie crying. Rushing to her, he accidentally tripped, falling head first down a dark stairway, and fractured his neck. The injury resulted in paralysis. Wead was immediately taken to the U.S. Naval Hospital, Balboa Park (today's Naval Medical Center San Diego) where the Commandant of the U.S. Naval Hospital, Captain Raymond Spear, Medical Corps, was briefed on Wead's condition and ordered him to be operated on.

According to an article written by a San Diego Union staff writer:

"'Lieut. Frank Wead Slips on Stairway of Coronado Home; Operated Upon. Lieut. Frank Wead, one of the best known aviators in the naval service, was operated on for a fractured neck at the naval hospital yesterday morning. Wead sustained the injury which came near costing his life when he slipped and fell from the top of the stairway of his home in Coronado late Wednesday night. The aviator had just moved into the home and was unfamiliar with the staircase. Physicians, following the operation yesterday, said that Wead will recover but it is doubtful if he will be able to fly again. Wead's outstanding exploit since entering the naval flying corps was his flight against British pilots in the international seaplane races off the Isle of Wight in 1923, when American naval fliers took all the honors.'"

On 16 July 1926, while convalescing in the hospital, Wead was promoted to lieutenant commander. At the encouragement of his fellow naval officers, he put his writing skills to work and started sending manuscripts to book and magazine companies. During spring 1927, in the hope that his recovery was imminent and with the strong recommendation from Commander Marc Mitscher, Rear Admiral Moffett submitted Wead's name to Rear Admiral Richard H. Leigh, Commander, Bureau of Naval Personnel, recommending Wead to be the new squadron commander of VF-6B (previously, VF-2) with duty aboard USS Langley. However, Wead was placed on the retired list, 28 May 1928, with a residence in the City of Los Angeles, California. He began his second career, screenplay writing, which subsequently occupied him throughout the 1930s and early 1940s.

World War II service
In the hours immediately following the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, from his personal library within his rented estate at 715 North Rexford Drive, Beverly Hills, California, Wead listened as bulletins interrupted regularly scheduled radio programs with updated details of the bombing. From his library, Wead also made a long-distance phone call to the Bureau of Aeronautics to speak with Rear Admiral John Henry Towers, requesting a recall to active duty. The phone call was followed up with a Western Union telegram to Captain Ralph Davison, USN.

It was a chance to serve his country, again. Wead flew from California and arrived at Naval Air Station Quonset Point where he worked as special aide to Captain Ralph Davison. Also, at NAS Quonset Point was Rear Admiral Calvin T. Durgin and his naval aide Captain John Madison "Johnny" Hoskins, USN. All these naval aviators communicated closely together in working out the details for the manning and training of carrier air groups for the newly commissioned aircraft carriers. With the approval from Davison, Wead was promoted to the temporary rank of commander in the US Naval Reserve, on 28 September 1942.

The story of Wead's sea-duty during World War II began in the air, flying from Port of San Francisco and landing at Honolulu Harbor aboard NC18605 Boeing 314 Clipper Dixie Clipper, arriving at Oahu Island on 21 November 1943. From the Port of Honolulu Wead reported to Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet Headquarters as head of the Plans Division for Commander, Air Force, Pacific Fleet, (now) Vice Admiral John Henry Towers. This shore-duty assignment was to await the return of USS Yorktown (CV-10). On the afternoon of 9 December 1943, Wead reported aboard Yorktown where he met with his old Naval Academy buddy Captain Joseph J. Clark, USN, skipper of Yorktown. Representing the Plans Division, Wead's orders aboard Yorktown were to monitor and report on carrier aviation combat operations, most especially obtaining first-hand knowledge in the ability of consolidated CVs in a task force to readily replace their lost/damaged aircraft with replacements from close-by CVLs.

Having completed an earlier successful operation, Yorktown (assigned to Task Group 58.1, commanded by Rear Admiral John W. Reeves, Jr., USN) departed Pearl Harbor with Wead aboard on 16 January 1944. Wead took part in the attack on Kwajalein Atoll during Operation Flintlock, an operation that involved four carrier groups. USS Yorktown then steamed to the newly established Pacific Fleet anchorage at Majuro Atoll, arriving about 4 February 1944. It was during this short eight-day anchorage period amongst the Pacific Fleet that Wead was transferred from Yorktown to a destroyer, and then to USS Essex (CV-9). The commanding officer of Essex was Captain Ralph A. Ofstie, USN. While aboard Essex, Wead saw action against Truk Island (17–18 February), now called Chuuk, and against Saipan, Tinian, and Guam (23 February).

After these operations, Essex received orders for overhaul and Wead remained aboard Essex as it steamed to San Francisco Bay. The carrier arrived at Naval Air Station Alameda on or about 16 April 1944 for a much-needed overhaul. It was at NAS Alameda, aboard Essex (pier-side), that Wead was given an official send-off from active duty just prior to his retirement. Wead was relieved of active duty on 21 July 1944, and was processed through the Personnel Department at NAS Alameda receiving his discharge papers and a train ticket for Los Angeles, California. Wead was placed on the retired list on 11 May 1945 with the rank of commander.

Death
On 1 November 1947, Wead was taken for surgery at the Santa Monica Hospital, which was located at 1250 16th Street in Santa Monica, Los Angeles County, California. He died at the hospital on 15 November. Wead was buried in the family plot at Springdale Cemetery and Mausoleum (plot: Bluff Division, Section 4, Lot 00140), Peoria, Peoria County, Illinois.

Legacy
Admiral Calvin T. Durgin later described Wead as "a great man who did a remarkable job under very difficult circumstances."

In 1957, John Wayne portrayed Wead in the John Ford directed film The Wings of Eagles.

Naval

 * "Naval Aviation Today," U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, April 1924, Vol 50, No. 4

Short fiction
Following his release from Balboa Naval Hospital, Wead moved to a small home in Santa Monica where he wrote:

Books

 * Professional questions and answers for naval officers, (Menasha, Wisconsin, George Banta Publishing Company, 1921)
 * Airplane parts and maintenance, (Scranton, Pennsylvania, International Textbook Company, 1931)
 * Wings for men, (New York, London, The Century Company, 1931)
 * Types of aircraft and materials, (Scranton, Pa., International Textbook Company, 1931)
 * History of aviation. Airplane details, with James Ross Allen (Scranton, Pennsylvania, International Textbook Company, 1935)
 * Practical flying and meteorology, with James Ross Allen (Scranton, Pennsylvania, International Textbook Company, 1935)
 * Dark Canyon, W. L. River and Frank Wead (Frederick A. Stokes Company, New York, 1935). 285 p.
 * Our greatest story-teller; the story of talking pictures, (New York, T. Nelson and Sons, 1936)
 * Gales, ice and men, a biography of the steam barkentine Bear, Frank W. Wead (New York, Dodd, Mead & Company, 1937)
 * All about motion pictures, (Cambridge, England, published for the Orthological Institute by the Basic English Publishing Company, 1938?)

Stage writing

 * Ceiling Zero

Screen writing
Frank A. Andrews's book Dirigible (New York: A. L. Burt Co. 1931), is based on the Columbia Pictures screenplay by Wead. Wead's publishers released another book in 1931. This was Wings For Men. Writing would become a second and even more important career for Wead, and a means of promoting naval aviation.

The injury to his neck left Wead with an ability to endure hours of pain sitting upright in a chair typing away on manuscripts for possible publication. Known to outsiders as being "belligerent, brave, eccentric visionary; a man of fanatical dedication...doomed to be alone", his love for his daughters and their well-being could not be matched. He sent his daughter Dorothea to attend the prestigious Smith College; she graduated with the Class of 1939. Thus, this Naval Academy grad and record-breaking naval pilot was able to succeed as a screenplay writer and to earn a comfortable income to support his daughters in their life-style and college education.

Wead's second unexpected career became far more important than his work as a pilot. His talent for writing grew during the years as a naval officer involved with the daily administrative papers, submitting detailed reports, completing flight schedules. One of his interests was reading stories and poetry written by Robert Louis Stevenson. Wead would later use the "Requiem" inscribed on Stevenson's tomb as script material for several screenplays, such as They Were Expendable, and screenplay writers Frank Fenton and William Wister Haines used the poem in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film The Wings of Eagles.

The popularity of his pulp and magazine stories led Wead to Hollywood and the eventual friendship and collaboration with director John Ford.

Military awards and certifications

 * Naval Aviator Badge.jpg Naval Aviator Badge
 * Legion of Merit ribbon.svg Legion of Merit
 * Mexican Service Medal ribbon.svg Mexican Service Medal
 * World War I Victory Medal ribbon.svg World War I Victory Medal
 * Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal ribbon.svg Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
 * World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg World War II Victory Medal

title: Frank Wead


text:
Major League (film)

Major League is a 1989 American sports comedy film produced by Chris Chesser and Irby Smith, written and directed by David S. Ward, that stars Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes, James Gammon, Bob Uecker, Rene Russo, Margaret Whitton, Dennis Haysbert, and Corbin Bernsen.

Telling the story of a single regular season of a fictionalized version of the Cleveland Indians Major League Baseball team, Major League grossed $75 million worldwide from an $11 million budget and spawned two sequels (Major League II and Major League: Back to the Minors), neither of which repeated the success of the original film.

Plot
Former Las Vegas showgirl Rachel Phelps inherits the struggling Cleveland Indians baseball team from her deceased husband. She reveals to her general manager, Charlie Donovan, that she intends to move the team to Miami by exploiting an escape clause in their contract with the city of Cleveland: if their season attendance falls below a certain number, she can terminate the lease and move the team. She plans to create the worst team in the major leagues, instructing team executives to fire the current players and replace them with rookies and veterans long past their prime. She starts by hiring Lou Brown, 30-year manager of the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens, who runs a tire store in the off season.

Spring training begins in Tuscon, Arizona, with Phelps' list of players likely to fail: Jake Taylor, a former all-star catcher with bad knees; third baseman Roger Dorn, a prima donna more concerned with his financial portfolio than playing good baseball; aging starting pitcher Eddie Harris, who has resorted to doctoring the baseball; outfielder Pedro Cerrano, a voodoo-practicing power slugger who has trouble hitting breaking balls; speedy outfielder Willie Mays Hayes, who can steal bases but can't hit; and rookie pitcher Ricky Vaughn, an ex-con who has a 100-mph fastball but no control, earning him the nickname "Wild Thing."

Early on, the players struggle to come together as a team, with a feud developing between Dorn and Vaughn, but they win a few games under Brown and Taylor's leadership. They discover Vaughn has poor eyesight, and once fitted with glasses, he becomes a dominant pitcher. Team morale and performance improve, so Phelps cancels several amenities, but they continue to build on their strengths. Meanwhile, Taylor reconnects with his old girlfriend Lynn and tries to rekindle their relationship, even though she is engaged to be married.

Nearly three-quarters of the way through the season, the team is 60-61, far exceeding expectations, and fans have begun to fill the stands. At this point, Donovan, tired of Phelps' manipulations, reveals her scheme to Brown, who informs the team that she intended them to finish last so she could fire them all, then get better players after the move to Miami. Taylor decides that the only thing left to do is "win the whole fuckin' thing," to which the team agrees.

The Indians climb in the standings until they are tied with the New York Yankees for first place in the American League East division on the final day of the season, requiring a one-game playoff to determine the division champion and a bid to the ALCS. Watching the team's celebration on television, Dorn's wife Suzanne sees him in an amorous embrace with another woman. In revenge, she sleeps with Vaughn (who is unaware of who she is) and informs Dorn just before he leaves for the ballpark the next morning. In the playoff game, the Yankees take a 2-0 lead, but the Indians tie the game. In the bottom of the ninth, Hayes scores the run that wins the Indians the division. As the team celebrates, Dorn finds Vaughn, punches him, then embraces him. Taylor sees Lynn, who no longer is wearing her engagement ring; she joins him in the celebration.

Alternate ending
The theatrical release shows Phelps in the owner's box in the final game showing dismay with the team's success, and this is the last time she is seen. An alternate final scene included on the "Wild Thing Edition" DVD shows a different characterization: Brown confronts Phelps over her plan to sabotage the team and resigns. Phelps reveals that she loves the team and invented plans to move to Miami as a ruse to motivate the players. Brown does not resign, and Phelps says that if he shares their conversation with anyone, she will fire him.

The film's producers said that while the twist ending worked as a resolution of the plot, they scrapped it because test screening audiences preferred Phelps as a villain.

Cast

 * Tom Berenger as Jake Taylor, a veteran catcher with bad knees. Taylor is playing in the Mexican League when the Indians call, and sees the season as his last chance to be successful. He takes rookies Hayes and Vaughn under his wing.
 * Charlie Sheen as Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn, a cocky young pitcher recruited out of prison. He has a powerful fastball but lacks control.
 * Corbin Bernsen as third baseman Roger Dorn. Dorn is nearing retirement and fears being injured, believing he has a future in acting, and so initially plays with little effort (despite believing himself to be a star player).
 * Margaret Whitton as Rachel Phelps, a former showgirl who inherits the team from her billionaire husband just before the film begins. She hates Cleveland and schemes to move the team to Miami.
 * James Gammon as Lou Brown, manager. Brown managed the Toledo Mud Hens for thirty years before taking over the Indians.
 * Rene Russo as Lynn Weslin, Jake Taylor's ex-girlfriend. They broke up when he left to play in Mexico, but now he wants to rekindle their romance despite her engagement to someone else.
 * Bob Uecker as Harry Doyle, the sardonic radio sports commentator for the Indians.
 * Wesley Snipes as center fielder Willie Mays Hayes. He arrives at spring training uninvited, but earns his spot on the team with his impressive speed, despite being a terrible batter.
 * Charles Cyphers as Charlie Donovan, the general manager. Rachel Phelps orders him to carry out her plan of tanking the season over his objections; eventually, he reveals her scheme to the team.
 * Chelcie Ross as Eddie Harris, a veteran pitcher who doctors the baseball to make up for his diminishing power.
 * Dennis Haysbert as Pedro Cerrano, outfielder. He defected from Cuba seeking the freedom to practice his religion of voodoo.
 * Andy Romano as first base coach Pepper Leach.
 * Steve Yeager as third base coach Duke Temple.
 * Pete Vuckovich as Haywood, Yankees' first baseman. He has previously won the Triple Crown and has a reputation for being mean.
 * Willie Mueller as Duke Simpson, the Yankees' relief pitcher, a skilled reliever with a reputation for hitting batters on purpose.
 * Stacy Carroll as Suzanne Dorn, Roger Dorn's wife, who is loving and supportive until she sees her husband on TV cavorting with another woman.
 * Keith Uchima and Kurt Uchima as Groundskeepers who routinely deride the team but who eventually come around.
 * Neil Flynn appears as a longshoreman who is initially dismissive of the new team but soon realizes their potential.

Development
Ward, who grew up in the Cleveland suburb of South Euclid, Ohio, reflected on filming a movie about a Cleveland team that had not won a pennant since his childhood. “I figured I would never see the Indians win anything unless I wrote a movie where they did. That was the real genesis behind the movie."

The film's opening montage is a series of somber blue-collar images of the Cleveland landscape synchronized to the score of Randy Newman's "Burn On", an ode to the infamous day in Cleveland when the heavily polluted Cuyahoga River caught fire in 1969.

Much of the film's spring training scenes were shot at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, Arizona, which was the spring training home for the Cleveland Indians from 1947 to 1992. The production used members of the University of Arizona Wildcats baseball team as extras.

Despite being set in Cleveland, the film was principally shot in Milwaukee because it was cheaper (Ward noted that Cleveland was a big union town) and the producers were unable to work around the schedules of the Cleveland Indians and Cleveland Browns. Milwaukee County Stadium, then the home of the Brewers (and three Green Bay Packers games per season), doubles as Cleveland Stadium for the film, although several exterior shots of Cleveland Stadium were used, including some aerial shots taken during an Indians game. In fact, the sign for the television station atop the scoreboard is for WTMJ-TV, the NBC affiliate for Milwaukee. One of the ending scenes of the movie is in West Milwaukee's legendary restaurant, 4th Base which showcases their unique horseshoe bar that is shown in the celebration scenes. Another restaurant scene, at the then Gritz's Pzazz on Milwaukee's north side, was filmed at a restaurant that is no longer open for business. County Stadium was demolished in 2001; the stadium's former playing field is now a Little League baseball field known as Helfaer Field, while the rest of the former site is now a parking lot for the Brewers' current home, American Family Field, which opened in 2001.

Originally in Ward's script, there was a twist involving Whitton's character being revealed to have wanted the team to have won all along, having personally scouted each member of the team with flaws that hid their talent. The film was shot with that ending in mind, complete with reaction shots for the final game depicted of her cheering the team on. However, this was changed due to audience test scores that apparently had grown to like seeing Whitton's character in its villainous form. As such, a small bit of re-shots and editing was done for the climax. The ending (with an introduction by the filmmakers) is included on the DVD for the film.

Casting
The film was notable for featuring several actors who would go on to stardom: Snipes and Russo were relative unknowns before the movie was released, while Haysbert remained best known as Pedro Cerrano until he portrayed U.S. President David Palmer on the television series 24 and the spokesperson for Allstate Insurance. The longshoreman who is occasionally seen commenting and is shown in the final celebration inside a bar is Neil Flynn, who later achieved fame playing the Janitor in Scrubs and then the father Mike in The Middle. This is Flynn's first credited movie role.

The film also featured former Major League players, including 1982 American League Cy Young Award winner Pete Vuckovich as Yankees' first baseman Clu Haywood, former Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Willie Mueller as the Yankees pitcher Duke Simpson, known as "The Duke", and former Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Steve Yeager as third-base coach Duke Temple. Former catcher and longtime Brewers broadcaster Bob Uecker played the Indians' broadcaster, Harry Doyle. The names of several crewmembers were also used for peripheral players.

Sheen himself was a pitcher on his high school's baseball team. At the time of filming Major League, his own fastball topped out at 88 miles per hour. In 2011, Sheen said that he had used steroids for nearly two months to improve his athletic abilities in the film.

Box office
The film debuted at number 1 at the US box office and received generally positive reviews. It grossed almost $50 million in the United States and Canada and $25 million internationally for a worldwide total of $75 million.

Critical response
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 83% based on 40 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The site's critics' consensus reads, "Major League may be predictable and formulaic, but [is] buoyed by the script's light, silly humor—not to mention the well-built sports action sequences and funny performances." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 62 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.

Year-end lists
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
 * 2008: AFI's 10 Top 10:
 * Nominated Sports Film

In popular culture
Rachel Phelps' character is loosely based on that of Georgia Frontiere, a past owner of the Los Angeles / St. Louis Rams, in the way she took over the franchise and how she was initially perceived. She took over ownership and control of the Rams upon the death of her husband in 1979, and eventually moved the team to her hometown of St. Louis, Missouri in 1995. The Rams (at the time owned by Stan Kroenke, who bought them from Frontiere's family after her own death) returned to Los Angeles in 2016.

The character of veteran junk ball pitcher Eddie Harris is based on that of Gaylord Perry and his affinity for throwing baseballs doctored with vaseline, spit, or any other substance known to illegally change the movement of a pitch.

When he joined the Cubs in 1989 (the same year the film was released), pitcher Mitch Williams' extravagant wind-up and release, and his frequent wild pitches, earned him the nickname "Wild Thing". As with Rick Vaughn's character, the Wrigley Field organist played "Wild Thing" as Williams came out of the bullpen; this was changed to the rock recording from the film after he was traded to the Phillies. A few years later, in 1993 with the Phillies, Williams, who had up to that point in his career, worn the number 28, started wearing the number 99 on his jersey, the same number that Vaughn wears in the film.

In the years since its release Major League has become a beloved film of many professional baseball players and announcers, and is often referenced during game broadcasts. For example, in 2014, for the film's 25th anniversary, Major League catcher David Ross filmed a one-man tribute to the film, with Ross playing the part (among others) of Lou Brown, Pedro Cerrano, Willie Mays Hayes, Rick Vaughn, and Roger Dorn. Additionally, as part of their 2014 "Archives" set, the trading card company Topps celebrated the film's 25th anniversary by creating baseball cards (using the same design as the company's 1989 base set) of Roger Dorn, Jake Taylor, Eddie Harris, Rachel Phelps, Rick Vaughn, and "Jobu". Harry Doyle's call of an wildly off-target Rick Vaughn pitch that was "JUST a bit outside" is so well-known, film critic Richard Roeper wrote in 2019 that the line was invoked by every sportscaster in the last 30 years. In 2011, Bleacher Report's Timothy Rapp named "JUST a bit outside" his fifth greatest sports-movie quote ever.

In 2017, the University of Arizona men's baseball team created a parody of Major League, which was filmed at UA's current home field, Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, Arizona. Hi Corbett was the spring training home for the Cleveland Indians from 1947 to 1992. The star of the short film is outfielder Matt "Mays" Frazier, who played the role of Snipes' Willie Mays Hayes character from the original film. Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn and Roger Dorn are also parodied, and Arizona head coach Jay Johnson plays the role of Indians manager Lou Brown.

Major League became an inspiration for the real Cleveland Indians and the city, given the previously long-standing Cleveland sports curse that had left Cleveland without any sporting championships in between 1964 (when the NFL's Cleveland Browns won the NFL Championship) and 2016 (when the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA Finals and secured their first title in their 46-year history). The Indians reached the 2016 World Series, but lost to the similarly cursed Cubs. Between 1995 and 2016, the team went to the World Series three times, losing each time.

The Indians changed their name to the Guardians for the 2022 season. The opening scene of the film is an image of one of the Guardians of Traffic on the Hope Memorial Bridge.

Video game
Major League was made into and released as a sports video game, developed by Lenar and published by Irem, exclusively for the Family Computer (NES) in Japan in 1989.

Jobu
Soon after the film's 25th anniversary in 2015, a company called "The Jobu Lifestyle" began producing figurines of Jobu (Pedro Cerrano's voodoo figure). The packaging is a reference to Cerrano's locker that made up Jobu's shrine.

In news coverage of the 2017 World Baseball Classic, Team Israel's outfielder Cody Decker made a comparison between Jobu and the team's mascot, "Mensch on a Bench", a five-foot-tall stuffed toy that looks a bit like a rabbi or Hasidic Jew: "He's a mascot, he's a friend, he's a teammate, he's a borderline deity to our team.... He brings a lot to the table.... Every team needs their Jobu. He was ours. He had his own locker, and we even gave him offerings: Manischewitz, gelt, and gefilte fish... He is everywhere and nowhere all at once. His actual location is irrelevant because he exists in higher metaphysical planes. But he's always near."

Sequels
Due to the success of the film, two sequels have been produced, neither of which achieved the original's success. Major League II returned most of the original stars, with the notable exception of Wesley Snipes, and focused on the following season and the players' reaction to the previous season's success. Major League: Back to the Minors again starred Corbin Bernsen, but this time, as the owner of the Minnesota Twins, attempting to turn around the Twins' AAA team, the Buzz. A possible third sequel, Major League 3 (which was to ignore Back to the Minors), was reported in 2010 to be in development by original writer and producer David S. Ward. Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, and Snipes were reported to return, with the plot revolving around Ricky Vaughn coming out of retirement to work with a young player. In 2015, Morgan Creek Productions said that the sequel was still in the works.

Reboot
In 2017, Morgan Creek announced plans to reboot their classic films from the 1980s and 1990s as television series or movies following the success of The Exorcist television series. Several films in early stages of development include film series Young Guns, Major League, and Ace Ventura.

title: Major League (film)