BASEBALL ON TV — “The Flying Nun” (Featuring Don Drysdale & Willie Davis)

Episode: “The Big Game” (1969)

REVIEWED BY MARK A. LARSON
Editor & Publisher

THE SHOW:

Imagine this phone conversation:

“911. What is your emergency?”

“I want to report a UFO.”

“Can you describe it?”

“This is going to sound crazy … but well, it looks like a flying nun.”

“Oh, don’t worry, that’s just Sister Bertrille taking to the sky again.”

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Sally Field played the lead role of young Sr. Bertrille AKA “The Flying Nun.” She is assigned to the convent and orphanage San Tanco in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Due to her light weight, religious headgear and high winds at the convent, she is able to fly. Interestingly, most people just take her flying ability as no big deal and almost normal.

Looking back now, it seems like such an odd concept for a half-hour comedy. But think “Bewitched,” “I Dream of Jeannie,” “The Munsters” or “The Addams Family” from the same era.

In the first episode of the third (and final) season called “The Big Game,” Sr. Bertrille is a believer in baseball being a good “character-builder.” She coaches the orphanage team, made up of boys from about ages 6-12. It’s a basic plot – with some amusing moments along the way – that eventually focuses on Armando, the smallest member of the team.

Everyone is excited about the big, upcoming game, as they just acquired new uniforms and equipment. Armando may be the most thrilled as he’s been itching to play for the first time. He even daydreams of being in the big leagues and playing against the Dodgers – hitting a home run off Don Drysdale and then pitching and striking out Willie Davis. (In the actual game, Drysdale plays the role of umpire and Davis is the opposing team’s coach.)

However, his new, adoptive parents have arrived in San Juan, but need to get back to their home in Miami ASAP so his Dad can receive an award at the University. Happy with being adopted, but distraught that he will miss the important game, fortune smiles on Armando. His parents have car trouble before leaving the orphanage and decide they might as well stay for the game.

Armando quickly suits up and is immediately inserted into the contest as a pinch-hitter. His team is down 43-0, with two outs in the ninth inning. As can be guessed, after two strikes he hits the ball. The fielders make a series of miscues and to everyone’s delight, he scores. Although it was a wipeout in the end, Armando is elated and as Sr. Bertrille states: “It was a moral victory.”

The premise of The Flying Nun is pretty ridiculous and you certainly have to suspend your belief. But it’s just silly fun, with Drysdale and Davis adding a nice touch – including arguing with each other over balls and strikes.

THE BALLPLAYERS:

DON DRYSDALE: The big 6-foot, five-inch righthanded starting pitcher liked acting in bit parts, as this was just one of many television appearances he made during the 1960s and ’70s. His career was good enough to warrant Hall of Fame induction, as he posted a 209-166 major league record, with a 2.95 lifetime ERA. He won over 20 games twice, was a Cy Young Award winner and multi-year All-Star. Drysdale spent his entire 14-year career wearing Dodger blue.

WILLIE DAVIS: Playing 18 big league seasons, mostly for the Dodgers, he had an outstanding career. He racked up 2,561 total hits, 1,217 runs scored, 395 doubles, 138 triples, 398 stolen bases, 182 home runs, 1,053 RBIs with a .279 lifetime average. The outfielder also won three Gold Gloves for fielding and had an excellent 60.8 WAR (Wins Above Replacement). Too bad, but “Mr. October” Davis was not. At the plate, he only hit .167 in 15 World Series contests (1963, 1965 and 1966).

THE ACTRESS:

Immediately prior to “The Flying Nun,” Sally Field starred as a teenager on the ABC sitcom “Gidget.” The show’s ratings didn’t satisfy the network, as the show was canceled after just one season. However, ABC apparently didn’t want to lose Field, so they immediately offered her a gig as “The Flying Nun” (which for three seasons).

A few years after the “The Flying Nun” landed for the final time in 1970, Field again starred in a short-lived television series on NBC called “The Girl With Something Extra.” The “Extra” was her Extra Sensory Perception (ESP) abilities. It only lasted a year. … But better things were yet to come for Field on the big screen.

She co-starred with Burt Reynolds in 1977’s popular “Smokey and the Bandit”; won an Academy Award for Best Actress as a union organizer in “Norma Rae” (1979); and another Best Actress Oscar for “Places in the Heart” (1984). Field went on to appear in many other films – both dramas and comedies – in the 1980s, ’90s and beyond. She also took home three Emmy Awards for top television performances along the way, including one for “Brothers and Sisters” – a drama series which ran for 109 episode over five seasons (2006-11) on ABC.

THE CARD SET:

In 1968, Donruss stepped up the plate – so to speak – and issued a 66-card set focused on “The Flying Nun” TV series. Card fronts (as shown) were a hit as they featured scenes from the show. Card backs, unfortunately, were a miss as they were just pieces of a giant puzzle. The puzzle backs were fairly common during this era of non-sports cards. Yet, they always seemed kind of cheap, as no details about the actual show is included.

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NOTE: To find out if this show is available in your area, use a search engine and type in: “Where to watch THE FLYING NUN” … In general, know that some television programs are currently only available on DVD, so check your local library … Others may not be available at all at this time.

THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN
EXCLUSIVELY FOR BaseballCardFun.com

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