It was perhaps one of the best kept secrets in local sports, and considering Ed Lucas and the way he loves to tell a story, the fact that it was still a secret after four years is thoroughly amazing.
It was learned last week that famed actor Stanley Tucci is heavily involved in the production of bringing the life of Jersey City native Lucas, the famed blind sportswriter and broadcaster, to the silver screen in the near future.
For those who don’t know Lucas’ story, he was blinded when he was struck in the side of the head with a baseball when he was a youngster. In fact, the accident that caused Lucas to lose his sight happened 59 years ago to the day on Sunday.
On Oct. 3, 1951, the New York baseball Giants faced the Brooklyn Dodgers in the final playoff game to determine the National League championship. The Dodgers held a three-run lead going into the last inning, until Bobby Thomson hit a three-run homer off Ralph Branca to give the Giants a thrilling 5-4 victory. It’s perhaps the most famous home run ever hit in baseball history, a commonly referred to as “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World.”
After listening to that game on the radio, a 12-year-old Ed Lucas went outside his Jersey City home to play baseball. His accident that day caused Lucas his sight, changing his life forever, but never diminishing his love for the game.
Lucas was educated at the St. Joseph School for the Blind, a place that has been part of his life since that fateful day nearly 60 years ago. He remains at the school as the director of development and public education.
Ironically, Thomson – who just died in August at the age of 86 – became good friends with Ed Lucas later in life, appearing almost every year at the St. Joseph School for the Blind golf outing.
Lucas went on to Seton Hall University, commuting to South Orange daily with the help of a seeing-eye dog from his home at the time in Weehawken. He was the first blind student in Seton Hall history, paving the way for other blind students to attend the school.
Lucas also went on to become a successful sportswriter and broadcaster, working mostly in baseball, despite not having the benefit of sight. He currently does regular features on the YES Network and on the YES Network’s website.
Lucas was also embroiled in a tough custody suit with his first wife over his two sons, Eddie and Chris, both of whom were eventually awarded to their father, who raised them.
Needless to say, Lucas’ story is truly a remarkable one and one that Tucci took a liking to.
“Stanley did this all on his own,” Lucas said last week in a phone interview. “He went out and pushed for this project. He is committed to it. And he really wants to play me.”
Lucas said that the idea for a movie about his life stemmed from producer Elliott Abbott, who heard about Lucas about four years ago, after Lucas’ wedding at home plate at Yankee Stadium to current wife Allison was documented on NBC’s “Today” show.
“Elliott saw the story about getting married in Yankee Stadium, and he said it was fascinating enough to make it a movie,” Lucas said.
Later that summer, Lucas flew to California to meet with famous screenwriters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. The writing team has worked together penning scripts for shows like “The Odd Couple,” “Happy Days,” and “Laverne and Shirley,” and wrote such successful movies as “Splash,” “City Slickers,” “Parenthood,” and “A League of Their Own.”
“I went to California with Allison and my boys, and we spent about four hours just talking with them,” Lucas said. “I basically just told them my story, and they then agreed to write it. But it took a while.”
So Lucas had to bite his tongue and tell no one of the project, not even his closest friends.
“Someone told me that the key to making a movie is patience,” Lucas said. “You have to have patience. I knew it wasn’t going to happen right away. Someone had to come along and like the script and get the ball rolling.”
That person was Tucci, the actor/director who won Golden Globe awards for his portrayal of Walter Winchell in “Winchell” and as Adolph Eichmann in “Conspiracy”. He has also been nominated for an Academy Award for his work in “The Lovely Bones,” and is known for his roles in “The Devil Wears Prada,” “The Road to Perdition,” and “Julie and Julia.”
Tucci is currently directing “Lend Me a Tenor” on Broadway and is set to direct “Mommy & Me,” starring Meryl Streep and Tina Fey as a mother and daughter.
Tucci met with Lucas earlier this year at Citifield at a Mets game and told Lucas that he planned to do the project.
“He said that the script was sent to him by Lowell and Babaloo and he loved it,” Lucas said. “He said when he read it, he wanted to play Ed Lucas. I really didn’t know how committed he was until I met him. He said he loved the story and wanted to do it.”
Lucas said that he didn’t know anything about the project until Tucci told a Los Angeles Times reporter about it last week. That let the proverbial cat out of the bag.
“I didn’t know how the process works,” Lucas said. “I didn’t want to say anything about it. But Stanley did it on his own and told the L.A. Times. I’m very flattered by it all and really overwhelmed. Stanley is certain that a studio will pick it up, so I guess it’s going to happen.”
So the story of a kid from Jersey City who lost his sight playing baseball, yet remained committed to the game, is headed to the silver screen.
“It’s really amazing,” Lucas said. “I don’t know what else I can say.”
Lucas said that he was certain he would be asked to serve as a consultant in the movie and hopes that it will be filmed in his hometown as well.
“I guess we’ll see what happens,” Lucas said.
There is certainly one positive and inspiring trait about Ed Lucas. He might not be able to see, but he certainly has sight. He has a lot of foresight, a ton of regular sight that people with the ability to see don’t possess.
And now, coming to a theater near you in the near future, millions of Americans will get to see what Ed Lucas is all about as well.
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.