“The Hill”: Where Sports Mixes Well With Faith

There aren’t too many recently released movies that we would let our children watch without making sure we preview them first. “The Hill,” starring Dennis Quaid, was one exception.

The story is based on the real-life Rickey Hill who played minor league baseball despite a debilitating spine disease and walking with a leg brace for most of his life. He was a phenomenal hitter though, and would be able to swing the bat and connect the ball almost every time he hit. He never let his physical incapacities tone down his desire for playing baseball and to pursue his dreams of the major leagues.

The story moves on and follows him through young adulthood where he continues to prove his worth on the field … and in his father’s eyes. Quaid plays Pastor Hill, a Baptist preacher assigned to some of the poorest congregations in Texas. He doesn’t believe Rickey (played by Jesse Berry and Colin Ford) could ever be a baseball player and believes the Lord is calling him for something else. As such, he never supported his son’s playing and never went to any of his games. Quaid, who plays an older, stressed out character, is someone who’s proud and prone to give in to his tempers at the beginning of the movie, but undergoes a character change towards the end, which helps him better deal with what life throws at him.

The Hill family receives bad news about Rickey’s bones, in “The Hill.” (Briarcliff Entertainment)

Mom Helen Hill is played by Joelle Carter, who delivers in her supporting role, not just to Dennis Quaid’s pastor character, but also as a mother who never stopped believing that her child is “special” and should be allowed to pursue his love for baseball. The same goes for Rickey’s siblings, especially his brother Robert (Mason Gillett and Ryan Dinning), who always looked out for his younger brother from bullies and would take the blame when they got in trouble with their dad. He’d make sure to pitch a stone here and there letting his brother hit with his stick, and, as they grew older, he helped Rickey get ready for tryouts.

Gracie Shanz (Mila Harris), Rickey’s childhood sweetheart, comes back into Rickey’s life older and wiser and continues to support Rickey, picking up where they left off, as if the years spent apart never happened.

No Guts, No Glory

It is a feel-good story of perseverance, faith, and guts—if Rickey never stood up to the scouts and pretty much forced their hand to show them what he can do, he would never get this far … and he did! Though it may seem impossible or fantastical, the fact that Rickey Hill had been a minor league player for the Montreal Expos for four seasons says it can and it could happen.

The movie doesn’t cover what happens next, although a quick online search will reveal that Rickey’s spine disorder finally caught up to him, and he had to retire from playing ball after a few short years. With his determination and grit, he reinvented himself and is now a golf instructor in his home state of Texas. Using his story, he is also a motivational speaker and just an inspiration to everyone who hears his story.

With everything that was laid out in the film, viewers may be wondering how much of it is true-to-life and how much of it was Hollywood-ized. With the Hill brothers themselves heavily invested in making sure the details are factually accurate, it is almost 100% based on real life happenings.

It is touted as a family drama and, best of all, for families with baseball-crazy children, they can watch this show as it is bereft of violence, sexual content, and foul language (in one scene, Robert almost says the “s” word but quickly utters the PG version of “shoot” instead). All in all, a sports underdog movie mixed with Bible scriptures is a recipe for this movie’s success (at least for viewers who share the same values).

Movie poster for “The Hill.” (Briarcliff Entertainment)