Field of Dreams The man who inspired the movie "Hardball." The movie Hardball starring Keanu Reaves is more than fiction. Meet the real life hero behind the film. by Jennifer Jacoby-Smith     Bob Muzikowski drops off his Little Leaguers in some of the worst housing projects on Chicago’s west side. He spots a group of youth wearing red and gold in front of a building. Outside the next they wear blue and black. They are rival gang members, “and they all have guns,” Muzikowski says.   Muzikowski is the President of Benefit Planning Inc., a insurance brokerage firm in Chicago. So what’s a successful white businessman doing in the notorious mostly black housing projects of Chicago? He lives there. More importantly, he coaches Little League baseball there.   In the recent movie Hardball, Keanu Reeves plays a Little League coach who experiences a life-altering season of baseball in the inner city. The plot is somewhat based on Muzikowski's involvement with the Near North Little League in Chicago. But, according to Muzikowski, the Little League was the result of his life changing event, not the other way around. He tells the true story behind the movie in his new book, Safe at Home (Zondervan Press).   Born in Bayonne, New Jersey, Muzikowski grew up street-smart and athletic, later attending Columbia University on a scholarship. But alcohol abuse at a young age led to drug abuse, and in college his lifestyle spiralled out of control.   At the invitation of Pastor B. J. Weber, Muzikowski began attending a weekly Bible study, which included a former South American drug dealer, a one-time heroin addict and male prostitute, an architect, and a couple of NFL football players. Muzikowski admits he enjoyed early morning coffee with “such an interesting assortment of ‘religious’ characters” but adds he didn’t think about God on a personal level. He says, “I’d always thought doing so might spoil my fun by making me feel bad.”   His lowest point in life came after a drinking binge cost him his job and caused him to miss Christmas with his family. Muzikowski vowed to change. It worked, for a time.   Soon after Muzikowski was thrown in jail following a bar fight. He was facing serious criminal charges. Pastor Weber and a couple friends bailed him out. At home, drunk and high, Muzikowski fell and tore open a wound from the brawl.   Pastor Weber met him at the hospital. Muzikowski, unsuccessful at changing his life on his own, knew that he needed help. While seated in the emergency room, Pastor Weber led Muzikowski though a prayer of repentance, asking Jesus to forgive his many sins and to come into his life.   “Lightning didn’t flash as we prayed ... but it was suddenly as if I had new eyes looking around at my fellow patients,” Muzikowski writes in his book.   After a prison stay, Muzikowski began working in the insurance industry. Although clean and sober, he confesses it was easy to strive for selfish gain. However, he met Father William Wilson, who lived with the Quechua Indians of Bolivia. Muzikowski was so impressed with Wilson’s sincere love for God and compassion for people that he opted to spend his two-week winter vacation in a dirt-floor hut, assisting the monk in the mountains of Bolivia. Several return trips over the next couple years taught Muzikowski how to be content with very little.   He and his wife later decided to move to Chicago, choosing to relocate in the projects. They dreamed of bringing Little League baseball to the neighbourhood children.   “While I had no illusions that I would change the world, I had no doubt that God wanted me to play baseball with the kids of Cabrini-Green,” an area infamous for gang activity. “They were after all, my neighbours,” says Muzikowski.   Hoping for 50 youngsters, the Near North Little League attracted over 200 kids in 1991, its first season. Muzikowski decided to recruit local businessmen to help with the cost of equipment and uniforms but he also told them, “[You] can’t just put up the money - you gotta coach it.”   Dozens of successful businessmen from the downtown district rolled up their sleeves to coach Little League Baseball in the impoverished inner city. Some got intensely involved in the lives of their Little Leaguers - finding jobs for parents, taking kids on trips, and in some cases even becoming foster parents to the kids.   Since then, Muzikowski has started two additional leagues - the Near West Little League in Chicago and the East Harlem Little League in New York.   Often playing while gunshots echo around the diamond, Muzikowski shrugs off worries about his family’s safety.   “ ‘Do not fear,’ is in the Scriptures so many times. [Jesus] doesn’t say, ‘Do not fear, unless you have 2.3 children, and then run for the hills.’ ”   The safety of his coaches became a big concern during the events of Sept. 11. Seven East Harlem Little League coaches died in the World Trade Center, bringing home the idea that today may be the last chance we have to make a difference in the lives of others.   Muzikowski’s story has some similarities to Hardball, but also many glaring differences. While faith isn’t a factor in Reeves’ transformation in the movie, Muzikowski states, “I would not do this if not for Jesus Christ. I would be at the bar - it’s almost lunch time - trying to find cocaine.”   Also, unlike Reeves’ character, Muzikowski maintains the most important thing in life is not showing up. He says, “The most important thing is your relationship with God. And then showing up.” [LLN-Online] [Adopt-a-Block] [Newsbriefs][Event Calendar] [Lifestyles] [Juke Box] [Cover to Cover] [Movieguide][Casting the Net] [Viewpoints] [General Info] [Rates & Sizes][Marketplace/Classifieds] [Volunteer Ops] [Writing Guidelines] [Contact Us] [Subscribe][Archives][Good News] [About Us][Links]