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Huxley College (The Marx Brothers)

Huxley College (The Marx Brothers)
Huxley College - The Marx Brothers
As you have seen with the Athlete and Contributor section, we very rarely separate candidates, but even though the roles on the field were so different, how can we possibly separate the legendary Marx Brothers? You can’t and here we have Horse Feathers, where Groucho plays the President of fictional Huxley College and he begins recruiting for the football program (two of them being Harpo and Chico). Through turns of events that can only happen with the Marx Brothers, all four of them wind up on the gridiron where they score the winning touchdown on the back of a horse drawn wagon. Maybe they should try that in the Canadian Football League?



The Bullet Points:
Movie Appeared:
Horse Feathers (1932)

Actors:
Groucho Marx (Professor Quincy Adams Wagstaff)
Harpo Marx (Pinky)
Chico Marx (Baravelli)
Zeppo Marx (Frank Wagstaff)

Roles Portrayed:
Administrator/Players on Huxley College

Why You Should Vote For Them:
There is a lot of Football in this movie and the ending game might be one of the funniest things in fictional sport cinema.

Why You Should Not Vote For Them:
It is such a farce (as per the Marx Brothers) there is nothing remotely believable.



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Harold Lamb

Harold Lamb
Harold Lamb
We are going way back for this one. In the 1925 silent movie, The Freshman, we have a “Rudyesque” story where nebbish Harold Lamb joins the College Football team in hope of landing the girl. We guess that College Football was not that competitive back then as not only did he make the team (initially as a tackling dummy) but would lead them to a victory.



The Bullet Points:
Movie Appeared:
The Freshman (1925)

Actor:
Harold Lloyd

Role Portrayed:
College Football Player for Tate University

Why You Should Vote For Him:
He won the game and got the girl. Doesn’t that happen in most sports movies?

Why You Should Not Vote For Him:
It’s a bit cheesy, even for a silent movie.



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Guy Haines

Guy Haines
Guy Haines
When you think of Alfred Hitchcock, you think of suspense and not athletics, however in his 1951 film, Strangers on a Train, we have a tennis player involved in a murder plot in what we can only describe as “Hitchcockian”. As good a movie as this was, was the sport of tennis really relevant to this film?



The Bullet Points:
Movie Appeared:
Strangers on a Train (1951)

Actor:
Farley Granger

Role Portrayed:
Tennis Player

Why You Should Vote For Him:
We can’t say that we are exactly tennis fans, but we have a very interesting character here.

Why You Should Not Vote For Him:
The sport of tennis, which although was seen had limited relevance to the plot.



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Guffy McGovern

Guffy McGovern
Guffy McGovern
In the original (and vastly superior) Angels in the Outfield, the Pittsburgh Pirates were mired in the midst of a major slump, and foul mouthed Manager, Guffy McGovern gets help through the help of well, as the title would expect angels. As opposed to the remake, this film focuses more on the redemption of the Manager, and without going into too many plot details, the movie is solid, and more fun than many of the biopic films that were normally made about Baseball at the time. Baseball, at its core has always been a magical sport, and this is one of those films that remind us of that.

The Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame is pleased to welcome Guffy McGovern into the Class of 2017.


The Bullet Points:
Movie Appeared:
Angels in the Outfield (1951)

Actor:
Paul Douglas

Role Portrayed:
Manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates

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Greta Muller

Greta Muller
Greta Muller
Sonja Henie was a three time Olympic Gold Medalist in Ladies Figure Skating, and arguably the Norwegian was the most known female athlete in the world. How do you parlay that success? Well in Hollywood of course! Henie would embark on a successful second career, which began in “One in a Million”, where she played…a figure skater that competes at the Olympics. Good thing they already had the footage.



The Bullet Points:
Movie Appeared:
One in a Million (1936)

Actor:
Sonja Henie

Role Portrayed:
Olympic Figure Skater.

Why You Should Vote For Her:
This may baffle today’s generation, but this lady was a major and bankable star.

Why You Should Not Vote For Her:
This was no stretch in terms of a performance for Henie, and this was a generic story at best.

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Frank Machin

Frank Machin
Frank Machin
We never cared who Richard Harris played, as we loved him in almost everything he did (except for when he sang MacArthur Park). In 1963, he was cast as Frank Machin, a coal miner consumed with anger, which was perfectly transferred to the rugby field where he became a local star. However, this was not a case where channeled rage into sports was therapeutic, as Machin showcased far deeper issues, and Rugby was more of a backdrop to what was really going on inside.

Ironically, though this featured Rugby, which is big in the U.K., and not in the United States, did better and was more critically received on the west side of the pond.



The Bullet Points:
Movie Appeared:
This Sporting Life (1963)

Actor:
Richard Harris

Role Portrayed:
Loose Forward for a local Rugby team in Yorkshire

Why You Should Vote For Him:
We don’t have a higher profile Rugby nominee.

Why You Should Not Vote For Him:
As good as Machin was as a Rugby player, the film was more about his issues with anger as opposed to athleticism.  



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Frank Capua

Frank Capua
Frank Capua
We may not have been all that interested in the sub-plot love triangle with Joanne Woodward and Robert Wagner, but Paul Newman, an avid race fan himself was brilliant as Frank Capua, an automobile racer who is competing at the Indianapolis 500. There are very few American actors who could tell such a compelling story with just his eyes, and with riveting race scenes, cameos by legitimate drivers, we have what we think could be a solid candidate for the Veterans Category for the Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame.



The Bullet Points:
Movie Appeared:
Winning (1969)

Actor:
Paul Newman

Role Portrayed:
Auto Racer

Why You Should Vote For Him:
Newman gave us multiple performances in the regular athlete category that are worth a look. He might have been even better here.

Why You Should Not Vote For Him:
It never seems to matter how many racing pictures there are; somehow it never feels like a sports film.



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Elmer Kane

Elmer Kane
Elmer Kane
Comedian, Joe E. Brown gives us a great morality tale about a cocky young Chicago Cubs star that needs to be taught a lesson in humility off the field so that he could become a team player on it. This is the most known of Brown’s three Baseball flicks, so we thought it best to use this one as the nominee. You can tell us if it is in fact the best one.



The Bullet Points:
Movie Appeared:
Elmer, the Great (1933)

Actor:
Joe E. Brown

Role Portrayed:
Chicago Cubs star

Why You Should Vote For Him:
Baseball was magical in those days, and a way we learned lessons. Why not this?

Why You Should Not Vote For Him:
When you think of 1930’s Hollywood stars, you don’t think of Joe E. Brown.



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Eddie Quaid/Packy Glennon

Eddie Quaid/Packy Glennon
Eddie Quaid-Packy Glennon
The second (and much better) boxing film starring Tony Curtis, sees him as Eddie Quaid, a Middleweight boxing contender. He is the son of an alcoholic, and former contender named Packy Glennon, and out of respect that is the name he takes on.

Rather than go into to much detail, he becomes the Middleweight Champion of the World and embarks on a three match series with Al Gorski, leading to some of the most brutal fights ever shown on the screen. Saying this, and despite his frame, there has always been something about Tony Curtis that makes us a little hard to lose our suspension of disbelief when he plays an athlete. Maybe it is just us but are we on to something with that?



The Bullet Points:
Movie Appeared:
The Square Jungle (1956)

Actor:
Tony Curtis

Role Portrayed:
Boxer

Why You Should Vote For Him:
This was a decent film, and he won the “trilogy” of fights against his greatest rival.

Why You Should Not Vote For Him:
This character was a little too arrogant for our liking.



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