KCCI archives: Field of Dreams ghost players are still living their baseball dreams

Extras in a movie are normally forgotten about, but that's not the case for the ghost players from "Field of Dreams."Even today, the ghost players still suit up in their old Black Sox uniforms and emerge from the corn; but now they do it in front of thousands of visitors. "We're still old, but we still get to put a uniform on," says Hank Lucas, a "Field of Dreams" ghost player. More than three decades after filming "Field of Dreams," thousands still come to the little slice of baseball heaven in an Iowa cornfield.Even on a hot day, it still has the power to give kids – and full-grown adults – chills. People come from all over the world, even as far away as Japan to see the ghost players walk onto the field and play the game they love.But if you rewind the clock back to 1988, when the movie was filmed, the ghost players had no idea they would be a part of a timeless classic."I nearly turned them down, in fact, I did turn them down and then my mom bailed me out and said 'I'll watch the kids.'" said Frank Dardis, a "Field of Dreams" ghost player.One hundred players from the Dubuque area tried out to be in the movie. Only about 20 made the cut.The three ghost players KCCI talked with were all from different teams when they were cast. The now-friends, sharing Busch Lights and cracking jokes, were heated rivals back in 1988."We didn't really know each other, but we knew each other," said Steve Olberding. "You can say it — we didn't like each other," replied Dardis.They admit that they thought they were hot shots, starring in a baseball movie.Trying to impress the cameras on day one, a deep fly ball toward the corn was heading straight for Dardis."I'm out there on day one and I'm like here's my shot," says Dardis. "So I go back and I'm giving everything I can to get this ball and I don't think I ever touched it, but I fell off a ledge I didn't know about and knocked out five rows of corn. Everybody on this lot is screaming and I jump up and go 'I'm okay, I'm not hurt.' They go running past me like 'look what you did to the corn!'"After realizing they weren't the stars of the movie, they asked for a copy of the screenplay. They had a mixed first reaction."It was kind of disappointment, because this isn't a baseball movie," said Dardis.They also have some thoughts on the iconic line "Is this Heaven? No, It's Iowa.""I personally thought it was a little quirky at the time, but it turned out pretty good," said Olberding. In May 1988 filming began and, in April of 1989, "Field of Dreams" hit the box office. After a slow start, it took off and became the timeless classic we know today.Because of that, their lives changed forever."We've gotten to live our baseball dreams ...met every Hall of Famer we ever grew up admiring, been to events all over the world, get treated like heroes and yeah it's all because of being extras in a movie.The ghost players have sealed their spot in baseball history on the now iconic "Field of Dreams" movie site, but the prospect of Major League Baseball coming to Dyersville still felt like a dream. "It had to be about six, or seven years ago, we're sitting under the trees like we are now having a cold one and telling stories about the day and there's a survey crew working out in the middle of the field," says Dardis. "We ask Keith 'what's going on?' and he tells us 'don't tell anybody, but Major League Baseball is thinking about building a stadium out there.' We had a good laugh and thought 'yeah like we're going to tell anybody, like they would believe us.'Nonetheless, Major League Baseball did come to Dyersville and the first game had a movie-like ending, on a perfect field."We've been on diamonds all over the world and that's the prettiest surface, it's gorgeous, it's perfect," said Dardis and Olberding. Decades have passed since they filmed a little movie in Iowa. Now, this field means something to everybody who visits it.On any given day, you'll find a father and son playing catch, with dad trying to hold back tears. You'll see a grandpa in amazement with his grandson by his side and you'll see kids not knowing they're making memories they'll chat about decades later.For these ghosts of the past, this field means everything."We're going to give back to this field for the rest of our lives and we're never going to get close to repaying what it's done for us," said Dardis.More on "Field of Dreams" from the KCCI archives: