As the saying goes, “There is no crying in baseball,” but fans of the film “A Team Under the Sea” and children in Ontario have every reason to shed a tear.
The baseball field where Tom Hanks' character's coach Jimmy Dugan said that line to a crying outfielder burned overnight Thursday, the Ontario Fire Department said.
The Ontario Fire Department said a fire broke out at Jay Littleton Ball Park, located at Grove Avenue and 4th Street, around 11:30 p.m. Thursday, according to news reports.
A burned baseball lies among the remains of the historic wooden grandstand and dugouts after a late Thursday morning fire destroyed the historic filming location at Jay Littleton Ball Park in Ontario on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024. A beloved community baseball stadium used for scenes in the 1992 film “A League of Their Own” and other Hollywood movies was damaged in a fire Thursday night in Ontario, Calif. Flames tore through the wooden grandstand and other parts of historic Jay Littleton Ball Park, a decades-old baseball gem that currently hosts Little League and amateur league games. Witnesses said they heard an explosion around 11:30 p.m. Thursday.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
When firefighters arrived, the fire had spread from the dugout and into the stands, authorities said. No injuries were reported and investigators were still trying to determine the cause of the blaze Friday.
The ballpark is owned by the City of Ontario and was designated a historic landmark in 2003.
In addition to “A League of Their Own,” an episode of “The X-Files,” “Eight Men Out” and “The Babe,” which portrays the story of Babe Ruth, were filmed there.
