The Old Ballgame

The Play Forever Project

Founded and chaired by cast members from The Sandlot, The Play Forever Project works to reduce obstacles and break down barriers for young athletes and kids who want to pursue a career in sports. 

Play Forever works to address socio-economic, food insecurity, health and wellness, educational, gender inequity, and field and environmental issues, amongst others that prevent kids from participating.

For more on Play Forever, its mission and team, visit playforever.org.

Your days of playing pick-up games your best friends might be over, but you can relive all the summertime fun with a free showing of “The Sandlot.”

To mark the 30th anniversary of this beloved classic baseball film, The Banks is showing the movie on Thursday, Aug.17, at 8:30 p.m. on the video board outside Great American Ball Park for free.

The 1993 baseball comedy tells the story of a group of young players in the summer of 1962 who welcome the new kid in town, Scotty Smalls, to the San Fernando Valley. To make friends, Smalls joins the boys on their sandlot baseball team and, unknowingly, gets them into the biggest pickle of their lives. The film has become a cult classic and is regarded as one of the greatest baseball movies of all time.

Original cast members Grant Gelt (“Bertram”), Victor DiMattia (“Timmy Timmons”), and Shane Obedzinski (“Tommy ‘Repeat’ Timmons”) will be at the screening to benefit The Play Forever Project, their new youth sports non-profit organization, and will be in attendance for the screening.

They will be working as celebrity bartenders at Moerlein Lager House on Aug. 17, 6–8 p.m., before the screening. The Lager House will donate $1 from every Moerlein beer and speciality Sandlot cocktail to Play Forever.

To celebrate 30 years of The Sandlot, Play Forever has launched the “30 for the 30th” fundraising initiative with a goal to raise enough money to impact 30 communities through a combination of equipment donations, grant writing, strategic alignments, field improvements, educational support, and more.

Food and beverages will be available at all Banks restaurants for the family-friendly movie. Bring your own lawn chairs to set up in front of the Great American Ball Park screen.