By now most of us have seen the promos for the new movie, the sports spoof, “The Comebacks” starring David Koechner who is best known as “Champ Kind” from “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy”. One of the previews they show may possibly be painful to long time Red Sox fans. They have a skit in the movie where Koechner and another actor are dressed as Red Sox coaches doing a crossword puzzle in the dugout during Game 6 of the 1986 World Series against the New York Mets.
Koechner (as a Sox coach) yells out “Hey Buckner, what’s a six letter word for a tropical fruit”?
Then the Bill Buckner character says, “Hey it’s the World Series”
Coach: “What about banana? It could be papaya”.
And just then Mookie Wilson hits the ball through Buckner’s legs.
What I did not know until tonight is that is actually Bill Buckner playing himself. He took the part in order to help his daughter with her acting career. He negotiated a role for her after he was asked to be in the movie and she even ended up with a second role in another movie.
It’s good to know that Buckner, who lives in Montana, has moved on from the one play he will be remembered for despite a better than average career with the Red Sox, Dodgers and other teams.