Movie Role For Buckner

By now most of us have seen the promos for the new movie, the sports spoof, “The Comebacks” starring David Champ KindKoechner 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”.

...behind the bag!!!....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.