Stalking The Big Cat of Georgia: A New Look At Baseball Hall-of-Famer Johnny Mize

Overview

STALKING THE BIG CAT OF GEORGIA: A New Look at Baseball Hall-of-Famer Johnny Mize

(USA, documentary, 55 min., unrated)

Directed by Hal Jacobs

6:30pm – Complimentary happy hour & hors d'oeuvres

7:30pm – Screening

Post-screening – Q & A with director Hal Jacobs and Mize biographer Jerry Grillo

Summary - Johnny “Big Cat” Mize from North Georgia was one of Major League Baseball’s top sluggers during its Golden Age. A 2024 biography by Jerry Grillo reveals a Southerner who played with and against some of the best Black players of this segregated era.

One of the celebrated hitters in baseball’s Golden Age (1920s-1950s), Mize was born and raised in tiny Demorest, Georgia, in the Appalachian foothills, where he returned to live out his later years.

Mize spent 15 seasons slugging for the Cardinals, New York Giants, and finally with the New York Yankees, who won a record five straight World Series (1949-1953) with Mize as their ace in the hole—the best pinch hitter in the American League.

Hal Jacobs is the director/producer of four full-length documentaries that have been featured on Georgia public television.

Quote
“This is a baseball documentary that goes beyond the game to look at community, family, history, and those individuals in our communities who balance all three.” – Director/writer/co-producer Hal Jacobs.