MLB Network set to air 'First Boys of Spring'

This week's Super Bowl marked the official ending of football season, which means another popular sport is right around the corner -- baseball -- and fans everywhere are patiently waiting for the first pitch of the season.

Just in time for the start of the season, the Major League Baseball Network has announced the schedule for the first two showings of "The First Boys of Spring," a one-hour documentary by University of Arkansas journalism professor Larry Foley that recounts the origin of spring training in the Arkansas resort town of Hot Springs.

The national broadcast premiere of the documentary will be at 5 p.m. Saturday, with a second showing at 8 a.m. Feb. 21, according to a news release from the university.

Focused on Hot Springs' baseball history, the film also shows a lot of current Hot Springs history as well, said Steve Arrison, CEO of Visit Hot Springs.

"It's like having an unpaid ad on millions of televisions across the United States every time it airs," he said Wednesday.

Narrated by Academy Award-winning actor and Malvern native Billy Bob Thornton, Arrison said the film is expected to train a spotlight straight onto Hot Springs, bringing positive national attention to the city.

"Anytime you get the name 'Hot Springs' out there on a national level, it's always a positive, for sure," he said. "This movie will introduce people in every part of the United States to Hot Springs."

Spring Training in Hot Springs began in 1886 and continued for parts of eight decades, the news release said. The film features tales of baseball Hall of Famers who worked out, gambled and partied in Hot Springs, including Cy Young, Satchel Paige, Honus Wagner and baseball's first superstar, Mike "King" Kelly.

"It's a documentary film but it's all about Hot Springs -- the past, and it ties into the present as well, so it's just a bonanza for our community to have this be up on a national level," Arrison said.

"I think when the movie started, we were hoping it would be on PBS nationally, which it probably will be as well, but you get it on the Major League Baseball Network -- that's a home run for sure."

The documentary was written and produced by Foley, who is also the chairman of the Walter J. Lemke Department of Journalism in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. Original footage was shot by Jim Borden, edited by journalism professor Dale Carpenter, and the original musical score was composed by U of A professor emeritus James Greeson, the release said.