Are we supposed to believe that the only black kid on this California baseball team was not any good? His signature scene in the original film was when he hid himself up a tree, after failing to be a decent player like his brothers, or his idol, Hank Aaron. Still, Ahmad Abdul-Rahim gave the team a quiet cool that they may not have had otherwise, and not just because he was the “token” black kid.

For a show that most people claimed to hate, it sure had a lot of people that could name the characters. Count us among the deniers.

A five year veteran himself in the National Hockey League as a bruising Defenceman for the Chicago Blackhawks, John Mariucci entered the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder for his work in growing the game in the already hockey rich state of Minnesota. Born in Eveleth, Mariucci returned to Minnesota after his playing career ended and took over as the Head Coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Rather than recruit in Canada, he focused only on Minnesota players and challenged the state high schools to develop programs. Minnesota hockey improved greatly because of his work, and he was justifiably inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in the inaugural class.

A class act on and off the ice, Jean Ratelle was on many good teams (though never won the Stanley Cup) and was a two time recipient of the Lady Byng Trophy. He would twice top the 100 point mark and finished with a total of 1,267 career points. As good as he was at scoring and playmaking, he was also known for making very few mistakes on the ice and always putting his team in a better position to win games. Jean Ratelle may have only been named to one Post Season All Star game, but he did win the Ted Lindsay Award in 1972 which was indicative of the player deemed most valuable in the NHL by his peers. That accolade is indicative of the respect he had throughout the league. Although he did not win a Cup, he was a big part of Team Canada’s 1972 Summit Series win.