I remember the year 1991 like it was yesterday. I had a kitten named Cleo, I was a Sophomore at Princeton Community High School, and that was the year A League of Their Own was filming in Evansville.

My mom was very unconventional in many ways, like the time she let us skip school to be extras in A League of Their Own. We got up earlier than we would've if we were going to school, and headed to Bosse Field.

Next Stop, Hollywood

I was so starstruck. We went through hair, makeup, and wardrobe. Off to the stands we went to be extras, along with real actors and some cardboard cutouts. I was breathing the same air as Madonna! Let me tell you, I was pretty obsessed with her in the 80s and early 90s. I didn't care for her attitude about Evansville, but what else did we expect from her?

Tom Hanks Encounter

Between filming scenes, Tom Hanks was throwing a baseball around. It left the field and landed smack dab in the stands. Well, it landed in the roped-off Do Not Enter area. So, my brother Michael took off after it, paying no attention to the posted rules. My mom went after him. I stayed in my seat because I didn't want to get kicked out. They had a nice interaction with Tom Hanks and Rosie O'Donnell. My brother kept the signed baseball until he thought it would be a good idea to play outside with it. So, maybe there's a little bit of crying in baseball.

Evansville = Heaven

Little did I know how much Tom Hanks and his family enjoyed their time in Evansville. In 2015 he Tweeted a special birthday message to Bosse Field.

Evansville, IN in a League of its Own

In a recent interview, on The Bill Simmons Podcast, Hanks was asked to rank his top 3 Tom Hanks movies. His number 1 was A League of Their Own. Why?

"I would probably say A League of Their Own would be number 1 because all I did all summer was play baseball. I shagged [fly] balls, I ate turkey dogs, I played baseball all summer long in Evansville, IN. And I had all of my kids with me. I had all of my family with me. We lived in a house in the middle of cornfields. We went to Burger King at night and Dairy Queen in the afternoon. It was a great summer, and my family still speaks about it."

New Appreciation for Indiana

If you are new to the area, or you've lived here all of your life, hearing Tom Hanks speak so fondly of our area has to make you feel proud to be a Hoosier.

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