50 Fun Facts About The Bad News Bears

Who plays coach Morris Buttermaker in the 1976 film?

Matthau was paid $750,000 plus a share of theatrical rentals for the role.

Who directed the original 1976 Bad News Bears?

Ritchie had directed the satirical sports film Downhill Racer and the political satire The Candidate earlier in the decade.

The 1976 screenplay was written by the son of which Hollywood star?

Bill Lancaster's script won the Writers Guild award for Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen.

What is Buttermaker's day job in the 1976 film?

The team eventually helps him clean pools, and Timmy Lupus turns out to be able to mix him a martini.

Which opera provides the principal themes of the 1976 film's score?

Jerry Fielding adapted Bizet's music, so the Toreador Song plays under a Little League game.

Who plays Amanda Whurlizer, the Bears' star pitcher?

O'Neal was paid $350,000 plus a percentage of the profits, three years after her Oscar for Paper Moon.

How old is Amanda when Buttermaker recruits her in the 1976 film?

Her mother is Buttermaker's ex-girlfriend, and he taught her to pitch when she was younger.

Who plays motorcycle-riding troublemaker Kelly Leak?

Haley is the only child actor who appears in all three Bears films, and he later called the Japan sequel the worst movie ever made.

What brand of motorcycle does Kelly Leak ride?

Kelly is also the neighborhood's best athlete, excluded from the league in the past for delinquency.

Which actual local company sponsors the Bears' uniforms in the 1976 film?

Finding the sponsor is about the only thing Buttermaker accomplishes before the first game.

Why does Buttermaker forfeit the opening game?

The humiliation makes the whole team want to quit, which finally spurs him to actually coach.

Which team do the Bears face in the 1976 championship game?

The Yankees are coached by the aggressive Roy Turner, played by Vic Morrow.

Who plays rival coach Roy Turner in the 1976 film?

Morrow, best known for the TV series Combat!, died in a helicopter accident filming Twilight Zone: The Movie in 1982.

What does Turner do to his son Joey during the 1976 championship game?

Joey retaliates by holding a comebacker until the Bears' runner scores, then walks off the field.

Who wins the championship game at the end of the 1976 film?

Buttermaker puts in his bench-warmers so everyone plays, and the Bears nearly win anyway.

What does Buttermaker hand the team after the 1976 trophy ceremony?

The kids spray it over each other as if they had won and tell the Yankees where to put their trophy.

What kind of car does Buttermaker drive in the 1976 film?

Engelberg breaks its windshield with a baseball at the very first practice.

Which Bear is the short-tempered shortstop who fights the entire seventh grade?

Tanner initially bullies Timmy Lupus, then becomes his fiercest protector.

Which Bear plays catcher and breaks Buttermaker's windshield at the first practice?

Engelberg's feud with Yankees pitcher Joey Turner drives the climax of the championship game.

Which player is introduced by Tanner as a "booger-eating spaz"?

The shy right fielder makes a key play in the championship game that keeps the Bears alive.

Which bookworm Bear memorizes baseball statistics and helps with strategy?

Alfred W. Lutter, who plays him, is named among the principal cast alongside Matthau and O'Neal.

Which major leaguer does outfielder Ahmad Abdul-Rahim adore?

Ahmad strips off his uniform in shame after the first game's errors before Buttermaker coaxes him back.

What does nervous relief pitcher Rudi Stein get asked to do to reach base?

Rudi is a terrible hitter with glasses, so Buttermaker treats him as a walking hit-by-pitch.

Who secretly pays Buttermaker to coach the Bears in the 1976 film?

Whitewood had sued the league to force it to let less-skilled kids, including his son Toby, play.

Where was the Bears' home field for the 1976 film located?

Most of the film was shot around the San Fernando Valley, with one scene in the Los Angeles City Hall council chamber.

How much was the star paid to play Buttermaker in 1976, before his share of rentals?

On top of the fee he took more than 10% of theatrical rentals, later estimated at $1.9 million.

Which studio released The Bad News Bears in April 1976?

Paramount also released both sequels and the 2005 remake.

Matthau's BAFTA Best Actor nomination paired this film with which other performance?

BAFTA nominated him jointly for both 1975–76 films at its 30th awards.

Variety called the 1976 film the funniest adult-child comedy since which movie?

The comparison was pointed: Paper Moon had won Tatum O'Neal her Oscar in 1974.

How many stars out of four did Roger Ebert give the 1976 film?

He called it an unblinking, scathing look at competition in American society.

In what year was The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training released?

It arrived just 15 months after the original and grossed about $19 million despite mixed reviews.

In Breaking Training, the Bears travel to play in which famous stadium?

They play the Houston Toros between games of a Major League doubleheader.

Who becomes the Bears' coach in Breaking Training?

Mike Leak, played by William Devane, left Kelly and his mother nine years earlier.

Which Texas team do the Bears face in Breaking Training?

Their practice scenes were filmed on the Sharpstown Little League fields.

What chant does the Houston crowd take up in Breaking Training?

The crowd at the 2002 MLB All-Star Game revived the chant when that game was declared a tie.

Why is the Houston game nearly called halfway through in Breaking Training?

Tanner refuses to leave the field because he wants to win one for the injured Timmy Lupus, "The Looper".

Players from which MLB team cameo in Breaking Training's climax?

Bob Watson, César Cedeño, J.R. Richard and manager Bill Virdon all appear.

Which new Bears pitcher in Breaking Training keeps imitating famous pitchers?

His struggle to find his own style mirrors Kelly's struggle with his father.

Which veteran star plays promoter Marvin Lazar in The Bad News Bears Go to Japan?

Rotten Tomatoes' consensus singled out his turn as charmless; the film sits at 11%.

Which Japanese wrestler appears as himself in The Bad News Bears Go to Japan?

Inoki famously fought Muhammad Ali in a 1976 mixed-rules bout in Tokyo.

Which future talk-show host has a small role in The Bad News Bears Go to Japan?

He plays a TV man named Harry Hahn in the 1978 film.

Who plays Buttermaker in the 1979–80 CBS sitcom?

The series ran 26 episodes and was canceled three episodes into its second season.

Which future Goonies and Stand by Me actor played Regi Tower in the CBS series?

Billy Jayne and Meeno Peluce were also among the young cast.

In the CBS sitcom, the Bears' rivals coached by Roy Turner were which team?

Phillip Richard Allen took over the Turner role from Vic Morrow.

Who directed the 2005 remake, Bad News Bears?

The same writers, Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, had written Bad Santa for Billy Bob Thornton.

In the 2005 remake, which MLB team did Buttermaker once pitch for?

He was thrown out of professional baseball for attacking an umpire and now works as an exterminator.

What sponsor's logo do the Bears wear in the 2005 remake?

In 2012 a real Los Angeles-area league was bailed out by a strip club owner, and the comparisons were immediate.

What is the final score of the 2005 remake's championship game?

Garo Daragabrigadien drives in two runs but is thrown out at the plate on a close call.

What does Buttermaker give the kids after the game in the 2005 remake?

It was one of the few concessions to changed times in what critics called a too-faithful remake.

Roughly how much did the 2005 remake gross worldwide?

It opened fifth at the North American box office and was counted a box office bomb.