Good News! It looks like we’ll be releasing the remastered DVD version of “The First Voyage” in the near future. Most of you probably know about it, but for those who don’t, it was a promotional film produced by the Pilots at the end of the 1969 Season designed to get people excited for the 1970 season.
Rod Belcher (left) and Bill Sears produced "The First Voyage" back in 1969.
Of course fate stepped in. Most of the archival footage from the documentary came from “The First Voyage” but it is really fun to watch on its own. We had it transferred from an original 16mm print to HD and it looks fantastic. The image in the upper left of this page was captured from it. If you have one of the VHS tapes, you’ll want to upgrade to DVD, the difference is truly amazing. We’re working on some bonus features for the disk and we’ll keep everyone updated. It will be released on DVD first and eventually on Blu-Ray.
We’ve just created a Facebook group for The Seattle Pilots: Short Flight Into History! It’s a place to interact with other Pilots fans from around the world. There are exclusive photos and discussion threads and soon we’ll be adding film clips and other media. Check it out here: Facebook Group.
If you haven’t gotten your copy of the DVD yet, you can order it right here.
I just learned tonight that Jim Pagliaroni passed away on April 3rd. I had the good fortune to spend an hour
Jim Pagliaroni 1937 - 2010
or so with Jim last year interviewing him for the documentary. He was gracious and candid and a pleasure to talk to. His interview was fantastic and several memorable parts of it made it into the final cut of the film. He was a heck of a ballplayer and truly one of the good guys. Our condolences go out to his family.
Before finishing up the DVD we decided to add three bonus features recorded at the Pilots reunion last summer: A presentation from Mike Fuller of www.seattlepilots.com about the reasons for the team leaving Seattle, a presentation from legendary collector Charles Kapner on Pilots memorabilia and excerpts from a Q&A session with Pilots players. Don’t miss out – order your DVD today!
In the documentary The Seattle Pilots: Short Flight Into History, you will learn about Major League Baseball’s one-year team from the people who were there. Jim Bouton, Bill Schonely, Art Thiel, Jim Pagliaroni, Bob Locker, Greg Goossen and many others share their memories of that fateful year. The film includes restored movie footage of the Pilots, dozens of rare and never-before-seen images and original music from Scott McCaughey, Young Fresh Fellows and the Minus 5.
85 minutes, Color and B&W, standard definition transfer from the high definition master, widescreen format.
$19.99 per DVD. Shipping is a flat rate of $6 for 1-5 copies. If you would like to order more than five DVDs, please email us for shipping rates.
Also, if you are interested in purchasing a print of this fantastic photo composite of the Seattle Pilots on the field at Sicks’s Stadium with Mt. Rainier looming over the right field fence, email Jim Navone at jmnavone@aol.com.
Later today (February 1st) we will begin accepting pre-orders for the documentary, so check back! The DVDs will ship in mid-February.
In the documentary The Seattle Pilots: Short Flight Into History, you will learn about Major League Baseball’s one-year team from the people who were there. Jim Bouton, Bill Schonely, Art Thiel, Jim Pagliaroni, Bob Locker, Greg Goossen and many others share their memories of that fateful year. The film includes restored movie footage of the Pilots and dozens of rarely seen images.
85 minutes, Color and B&W, standard definition transfer from the high definition master, widescreen format.
The price is $19.99 per copy. Shipping is a flat rate of $6 for 1-5 copies. If you would like to order more than five copies, please email us for shipping rates.
The Seattle Pilots: Short Flight Into History is complete! It turned out very well and we are all pleased with the results. At 85 minutes, it’s a full-length film featuring interviews with former players, administrators, media personalities and others as well as newly restored Pilots footage and lots of rarely seen images. Scott McCaughey’s music is fantastic and really helps tell the story.
We will begin accepting pre-orders for the DVD starting on Monday, February 1st on this website. The cost is $19.99 plus $5 postage. We’ll ship the DVD’s as soon as they arrive (right around Feb. 10th.) We’ll post the DVD cover image in the next day or two. If you have any questions, please send Steve an email at the address on the right.
In the meantime, here’s a clip from the film. Jim Pagliaroni and Jim Bouton recall a particularly creative prank pulled on Fred Talbot.
There is very little film footage of the Seattle Pilots. They didn’t have a television contract and the news stations tended not to keep their sports highlight archives for very long because all of that film took up a lot of space. Fortunately, a promotional film about the Pilots, created by Pilots director of communications Bill Sears, survives. It’s called The First Voyage and it’s a terrific piece that shows how the Pilots were born, introduces players and shows some in-game highlights. Until recently, the film was only available on VHS, which had been duplicated from the original 1″ tape transfer. In fact, many of you own that tape. Well, Bill Sears was kind enough to entrust us with a 16mm print of The First Voyage long enough to get it transferred to high definition video by the good folks at Alpha-Cine in Seattle. I really didn’t know what to expect because I was warned that a nearly 40-year-old film might have faded out and the image compromised. But when I saw the final product I was stunned. The colors are rich and the details are sharp. Here’s a comparison:
The old standard definition version.
The new high definition version.
The top image is taken from the old VHS version (which was used for the trailer.) And the bottom image is of the same frame from the new HD version. Notice the color and detail. You can now read the word “Detroit” on the visiting player’s uniform. You can see much more of the picture because the old transfer lopped off about 20% around the edges. It’s like a totally new film and the images from it will be a key part of the documentary.
And speaking of images, if you or someone you know has film or still pictures of the Pilots and you would be willing to let us use them in the documentary, please let us know by emailing Steve using the link on the side. Full credit will be given.
We really enjoyed getting to know the Pilots players over the reunion weekend. Everyone one of them was a joy to talk to and they approached the event with exuberance and enthusiasm. We not only got a lot of satisfaction out of the success of the reunion event and the ceremony at Safeco Field, but also from seeing these men so happy to get to know each other again after such a long time. Here’s a slideshow…
Steve Cox and Jim Bouton at the Pilots reunion. Larry Haney and Steve Whitaker are in the background.
Many thanks to everyone who came to the Pilots reunion over the weekend – It was a smashing success!
The fans, players and crew had a great time and we got some great footage for the documentary. We’ll post some pictures and perhaps a video clip or two from the event very soon, so check back. And don’t forget: if you would like to be informed when the documentary is ready for purchase, click the button on the right and fill in the form.
