League Stadium to be used for docudrama highlighting unknown baseball great

League Stadium will be the backdrop for a docudrama about Oscar Charleston, a Negro Leagues star that baseball historian Bill James has ranked as the fourth-greatest player of all time.

Gerald Harkness, a documentary producer from Indianapolis with 30 years in the industry, presented the project to the Huntingburg Park Board. His credits include work for ESPN, VH1, A&E, PBS, Paramount, CBS Sports and Tubi. In explaining his project to the board, Harkness said he was drawn to Charleston’s story because of his successful career and relatively unknown status, despite being considered one of the top players in history.

“I really love to tell uplifting, inspirational stories,” he said. “We’re living in very polarized times right now, and I’m a corny romantic that thinks that uplifting stories can actually bring people together.”

Charleston, born and raised in Indianapolis, played from roughly 1915 into the 1940s. Harkness referred to the modern analytics applied by Bill James, which placed Charleston among the top four in the sport’s full history, alongside Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner and Willie Mays.

The reenactment approach is a matter of necessity as much as style. Harkness said his research turned up less than an hour of surviving stock footage from the Negro Leagues, leaving reenactment as the only way to visually tell Charleston’s story.

He explained that he was drawn to League Stadium while scouting potential filming locations. During the conversation with the board, Harkness recalled visiting the stadium roughly 30 years ago during production of the HBO film “Soul of the Game,” when he met actors Blair Underwood, Delroy Lindo and Mykelti Williamson — the latter known for playing Bubba in “Forrest Gump.” It was his second time on the set of a film.

“So somehow, some way, I’ve survived in this crazy business, and to come back to that is an honor and a dream of mine,” he told the board.

The board’s vote was unanimous, a detail Harkness said stood out to him after three decades of pitching projects to city boards and commissions. “I don’t remember I’ve ever had a unanimous vote before,” he said, prompting a warm exchange with board members who welcomed his production to town.

Filming is scheduled for September 17 through 19. The first day would cover documentary interviews inside the stadium, with September 18 and 19 set aside for reenactments. Harkness estimated a cast and crew of 20 to 25 people across the three days, with participants traveling in from Georgia, Florida and California.

“We will treat your home like our home,” Harkness said.