Museum of Lone Pine Film History: TYCOON BRINGS TWO AMERICAN TREASURES TO L.P. : JOHN WAYNE AND BASEBALL

Leo Durocher watches his wife smooching with John Wayne, then coaches the Lone Pine Eagles.

Durocher was suspended for the entire 1947 season as manager of the Dodgers because of his "association with known gamblers." When he got bored watching his wife make a movie, he volunteered to coach the baseball team of the high school near the movie set.

Durocher's suspension denied him a spotlight in baseball's most important historical event. He managed the Dodgers in 1946 and came back in 1948 after his suspension. He did not manage in 1947, when a kid named Jackie Robinson first took the field!