Jackie Robinson West Journey Captured In New Documentary: Report

CHICAGO — More than seven years after the Jackie Robinson West Little League team became the media darlings of youth baseball and brought a national spotlight to Chicago’s South Side, the team’s rise and fall will be chronicled in a new documentary.

“One Golden Summer” looks into the team that captured America’s imagination by winning the Little League Baseball national championship and went on to face South Korea for the Little League World Series championship, Variety reported on Wednesday.

The film is directed by Chicagoan Kevin Shaw, who built the new documentary project around exclusive interviews with former JRW coach Darold Butler and former players on the team, Variety reported.

The documentary follows the rise of the Jackie Robinson West team and the celebrity that followed before the team was stripped of its U.S. title after Little League officials determined team officials had poached players from surrounding areas outside of its boundaries.

A lengthy court battle ensued by the team that was invited to the White House by former President Barack Obama and enjoyed a ticker tape parade in Chicago was never vindicated through the legal system. Variety reported that the film will strive to tell the story of what happened along the way and the fallout that came from the scandal.

In 2021, Little League International announced it had reached a settlement with the baseball players that agrees their title will not be reinstated.

"Little League International stands by its decision to disqualify the 2014 JRW team, and the JRW League now acknowledges that certain players from the 2014 Little League International Tournament team did not meet Little League's residence and school attendance player eligibility requirements, unbeknownst to the JRW Players," the league announced in an announcement last year.

Now, Shaw hopes to piece the entire story and its impact on the young players together in his new project.

“We are living in an age of trial by Twitter and the players deserve to have their true story told — the truth that lies within each of these remarkable young men,” Shaw said in a statement to Variety. “They’ll help us see what really makes a winner — not just runs on a scoreboard but the inner strength to triumph after personal, and very public setbacks. These guys are true champions.”

Shaw did not return an email from Patch seeking comment on the project. The film is scheduled to be released in 2023.