Rourke Has Great Memories Of Coaching Garcia’s Baseball Team
By WENNWednesday, May 5, 2010
MICKEY ROURKE has fond memories of coaching ANDY GARCIA’s all-Cuban Little League baseball team to the Miami city championship title when he was a teenager.
Long before the two stars’ acting careers took off, Rourke was given the task of coaching Garcia and a motley crew of Cuban baseball wannabes.
He says, “I was one grade higher than Andy and to make what I called my Friday night-Saturday morning money I coached the kids that were one grade under me… I was 13 and Andy was 12.
“I wasn’t that popular in the neighbourhood, so what they did… is they said, ‘Since Rourke’s over there smoking a cigarette with tie-dye pants on and no shirt… we’re gonna give him all the Cuban guys.’ That was a big mistake because we won the city championship.”
And Rourke admits Garcia was one of his big stars: “Andy was my third baseman… He was a flawless fielder, a clutch hitter.”
