THE FINAL SEASON is the story of that last year of Norway Baseball, a season in which both Coach Stock and the Norway Tigers would have to dig down deep and find strength in themselves and faith in each other, in order to bring their winning tradition to life one last time.

Norway, Iowa is a small town. 586 people small.


But a tiny population hasn’t kept it from doing huge things in the past – especially on the baseball diamond. In the space of only twenty-four years, from 1967 to 1990, Norway’s High School baseball team captured nineteen State Championships, beating schools many times its size. In short, the team was a dynasty, and after winning State Championship #19 at the end of the 1990 season, Norway fans might have wondered how many more titles were on the horizon for legendary Coach Jim Van Scoyoc and his boys.

Then the unthinkable happened. Like so many other small schools across America, Norway High fell victim to budgetary constraints and was scheduled to close.
Its students and its team would merge with a larger, neighboring high school. And with that one decision, a decision made by big-city bureaucrats from Des Moines,
the community of Norway would lose its identity. Norway’s beloved baseball team was given one last year to play. As the final season approached Coach Van Scoyoc
was forced out of his job and replaced by his assistant, Kent Stock, a man with only 1 year of baseball coaching experience.


Opening FRIDAY OCT. 12th, starring Sean Astin, Powers Boothe, Rachael Leigh Cook, and Michael Angarano,
THE FINAL SEASON is a true story of a coach who inspired a broken team and brought hope to a town when they needed it most.



NORWAY, IOWA


Small-town Norway, Iowa (population 586) lies 17 miles southwest of Cedar Rapids on a piece of land no bigger than a half square mile. The town was founded by Norwegian immigrant, Osman Tuttle, in 1863 when he gave land to the Union Pacific Railroad. At least 70 to 80 trains still charge across the town's southern border on a daily basis, steaming loudly beside another familiar American icon: Norway's treasured baseball diamond.

While the town may only be a tiny stop along the transcontinental railroad, in the baseball world,
Norway can be considered Grand Central Station. Since the 1960s, this tiny town has been known to produce some of the finest baseball players in the country.
With natives like legendary major-leaguers Hal Trosky and Mike Boddicker, Norway became a farming community that was known to grow ball players "like corn." 


The history, traditions, and legends of Norway, Iowa center around that magical baseball diamond.
Take a look through Norway and see for yourself how this small Iowa town went from an anonymous railroad stop to the baseball capital of the midwest.



THE 1991 STORY


Kent Stock had some big cleats to fill when he stepped in for Jim Van Scoyoc, head coach of the Norway Tigers, the most formidable high school baseball team
in the history of Iowa. A school with only 100 students in a town of 586 people, the beloved Tigers won 19 State Championships in 24 years as well as the admiration of the entire town.
Claiming that Norway grew ballplayers “like corn,” Coach Van Scoyoc picked a winning team of 14 boys year after year, young men who grew up watching their older brothers, family
and friends win state titles before them. Like a lucky glove passed down through generations, the coveted championship trophy was theirs to win.
But in 1991 the Norway School Board decided it was going to merge Norway with a nearby high school in Madison, thereby shutting down Norway High School forever and crushing the
town’s hope of keeping their baseball tradition alive. Turning a deaf ear on the community’s cries of protest, town officials refused to renew Coach Van Scoyoc’s contract, and
hired Kent Stock, a former girls volleyball coach, to lead the team in their final season.
Suddenly apathy instead of cheers met the Norway Tigers and their coach. Rumor had it that a Tee Ball player had a better chance of hitting a Nolan Ryan fastball than the
Norway Tigers had of taking their 20th State Championship. Even the boys on the team had given up, fumbling grounders and dropping flies that they could have once fielded in their sleep.
But the rookie coach wasn’t about to let the Tigers or the town give up. Like the champion he expected each one of them to be, Stock challenged the boys with words to live by:
“Ask yourself one question,” he said. “How do you want to be remembered?” Their collective answer made the Tigers start acting like the accomplished ballplayers they knew how to be.
And as the team rallied, so did the town. The players, Coach Stock and the rest of Norway began to believe that the Tigers had one more victory in them before the school closed forever.



THE NORWAY LEGENDS


“I count myself one of the luckiest people on the face of the earth," says Jim Van Scoyoc, legendary head coach of Norway’s baseball team.
"I didn’t have to do any selling on why it was good to be good. It was already there. You’re never going to get anywhere [when] there's just no believers.”

Van Scoyoc had a win-lose record of 854 – 254 in the 19 years he was head baseball coach at Norway High School. He was a three-time state Coach of the Year,
National Coach of the Year and went on to become a pitching coach for the Detroit Tigers minor league team. He won 12 state championships with the Norway Tigers
and also set a record winning four championships in a row from 1981-1984.
Norway Baseball itself has been written about in newspapers across the country, including USA Today, Baseball Weekly, The Saturday Evening Post and Sports Illustrated.
Considered a mecca for professional scouts, the high school produced 14 young men who went on to play in some level of professional baseball. In fact, about a third of all
Norway High school players also played in college. For a town of less than 600 people, these numbers defy statistical odds.
Hal Trosky was the first of the Norway baseball Legends. As a strapping farm kid, he collected 228 homeruns for the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox during an 11-year career in the 1930s and 40s. As legend has it, he will forever be remembered in Norway lore for hitting a baseball over 600 feet in a town team game, the longest home run in the town’s history.
In 1969, the Detroit Tigers drafted Bruce Kimm as a senior out of Norway High School. He also played for the Cubs and White Sox and has been coaching in the major
leagues since 1982, and was named head coach of the Chicago Cubs for the second half of the 2002 season. Kimm's teammate Dick McVay was 69-3 as a high school pitcher,
loosing his first two games as a freshman and only one other.


Mike Boddicker’s 1983 pitching performance in the World Series was the best by a rookie in 60 years,
striking out Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and Mike Schmidt. Boddicker went on to establish himself as one of the most consistent
right-handers of the 1980s and was named the "Sporting News Rookie of the Year." Earning an All-Star Game selection and being a Gold Glove Winner,
Boddicker took the time out to help with making The Final Season. In fact, he literally lent his arm by providing many of the throws off-camera during the baseball scenes.



THE NORWAY BASEBALL TRADITION


“Amateur baseball in the Midwest is Norway," stated Bill Clark, a scout for the Atlanta Braves in the 80s and 90s.
"They’re an average-looking bunch, but when the chips are down, they can play better than anyone in the state. It goes
beyond fundamentals; it’s instinct. It goes deeper than coaching, coaching refines it.”
Anyone who has anything to do with Norway baseball – the former fans, the old coaches now far away, the former stars now
retired from the major leagues — they all care deeply about what happens to the team. But no one cares more than Coach Van Scoyoc. He owned the vision long before the film “Field of Dreams” made it popular. When he wasn’t manicuring the diamond, raking the pitcher’s mound, mowing the outfield grass, or chalking the baselines, Van Scoyoc liked to sit on the ledge beneath the Norway scoreboard and stare into the fields beyond the ballpark. “I still think that if I sat there long enough somebody would come out of the cornfield or somebody’s house who was going to be a ballplayer,” he says. “Back then, I always knew it was going to happen, but I just wondered who it was going to be next.”
And true enough, year after year, as predictable as the harvest, Van Scoyoc produced a bumper crop of kids who clawed their way to the
state tournament. But in truth, Norway meant more than great players and state trophies. It was a style of play, a way of winning, an attitude.
No bench jockeying. No flinging of helmets after a called third strike. No razzing of younger players. It meant great pitching, stellar defense, amazing
rallies and incredible upsets – all of it coming from the heart.
In 1967, the team upset Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson, Iowa’s undisputed baseball king, 1-0, in the state tournament. In 1982, the team swept Davenport
Assumption when both were ranked first in their class. In 1983, the team scored six runs in the final inning to capture the fall tournament. And the victories kept coming until the school was shut down after the Final Season in 1991.
While Norway baseball remained championship contenders year after year, the town struggled with change. All over Iowa, farms were growing and small towns were shrinking.
Schools in Amana, Newhall, and Atkins, Norway’s old rivals consolidated. But Norway always resisted. When six schools formed Benton Community in the 1960s, Norway wouldn’t join.
The people showed the same stubbornness as their Tigers, believing it’s never too late to rally and standing together.
As a kid, Kent Stock heard a lot about Norway baseball. But never imagined he’d get the opportunity to be a part of it. In 1990, he was lucky enough to become the assistant coach
under Jim Van Scoyoc. “It was the best summer of my life," remembers Stock, now a school principal in Marion, Iowa. "Those kids all wanted to be the next Mike Boddicker,
Hal Trosky or Bruce Kimm that goes on to the Big Leagues. They wanted to be the next great player from Norway, but truly they were all great players."
He didn’t know it at the time, but Kent Stock’s assistant coaching experience with Coach Van Scoyoc would come in handy. In 1990, the Iowa school board decided to close down
Norway High and merge its students with a neighboring school, forcing Van Scoyoc out and Kent Stock in as Norway’s final head baseball coach. With only one year’s experience, but a
tremendous amount of heart, Coach Stock would eventually help the Norway Tigers to be remembered in the most victorious of ways.


ABOUT THE FILMMAKER


DAVID MICKEY EVANS (Director) was born in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania and grew up in Pacoima, California. A passionate lover of movies since childhood, it was his 14th viewing of Star Wars during its initial release that sealed his fate to become a film maker. Encouraged by his Cinema teacher in High School, he applied to and was accepted into the Film Department at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. After graduating with both a BA and MA, he lived the life of a starving artist for three years. His original screenplay Radio Flyer is generally accepted as having started the spec script sales frenzy of the early 1990s. His film The Sandlot has become a beloved classic that continues to be re-discovered by each new generation.
Mr. Evans lives outside Los Angeles, Ca with his wife and four children.



ABOUT THE CAST


SEAN ASTIN (Kent Stock) is one of Hollywood's most respected young actors with a distinctive list of projects and credits.
Adding to his seemingly boundless list of occupations, Astin released his acting memoir entitled "There and Back Again: An Actor's Tale." The book opened at #1 on the New York Times Best-seller list, putting him on the map as a true literary story-teller as well as the unabashed screen actor audiences fall in love with again and again. Published by St. Martin's Press and co-written with Joe Layden, the book is a very personal exploration of Astin's prestigious career, from his first big role as Mikey in Warner Bros. classic "The Goonies" through the 18 month arduous challenge of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy shoot.
Last year, Astin finished a very successful run as Lynn McGill in the new season of Fox's hit series "24." His character met a heroic demise, sacrificing his own life to save the rest of his unit from a nerve gas attack. He followed that with the Steven Spielberg produced mini-series "Into the West," about the white man's expansion into western America.
He was seen in NBC's four-hour miniseries "Hercules," from Hallmark Entertainment. Astin played Linus, Hercules' music teacher, starring alongside Leelee Sobieski, Timothy Dalton, and British new-comer Paul Tefler in the title role. Last spring, Astin also starred alongside his mother, Patty Duke, in the romantic comedy "Bigger Than the Sky."
Astin starred as beloved Sam Gamgee in the Acadamy Award winning "The Lord of the Rings Trilogy." The three films have grossed over $3 billion world-wide and have entered the history books of classic cinema. Astin will next be seen in Lion's Gate’s "Borderland" about a human-sacrifice cult in a Mexican border town.
Even with the busy schedule that his film career demands, Astin makes special time for his passion as a very involved public servant.
He was invited to Washington, D.C. where his mother Patty Duke, presented him with the Creative Coalition's prestigious Spotlight Award for his contributions to their cause.
The Coalition focuses on bridging the gap between Hollywood and Washington, with members meeting White House staffers to raise money for art programs in schools and promote
art awareness in children around the country. He is also an adamant animal rights advocate. He attended the Genesis Awards in Beverly Hills, presenting an award to the Genesis
Guest of Honor, Virginia McKenna, star of "Born Free" and an active animal rights advocate.


Since 1995, he has been the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army. He is also an active supporter of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and The Wildlife Waystation.
He recently took an oath of office with the White House Chief of Staff to serve on The President's Council on Service and Civic Participation, working alongside such prominent
public figures as Senator Bob Dole and Astronaut John Glen. The mission of the council is to recognize and encourage outstanding volunteer service and civic participation by
individuals, schools, and organizations thereby encouraging more such activity, especially on the part of America's youth. Last Fall, Astin partnered with Verizon as the Verizon Literacy Champion benefiting the National Center for Family Literacy. In this position, he assists the NCFL in speaking out for family literacy issues across the country but closer to home, he greatly appreciates the importance, enormous benefit, and simple joy that comes from teaching his own children to read. Astin is also a promising director. He directed a short film called "The Long and Short of It" which was featured at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. This short was shot on the set of "Lord of the Rings" and features cast and crew from the film.
In 1994, he received an Academy Award nomination and won a Jury Prize at the Texas Film Festival for his short film "Kangaroo Court," which he co- produced with his wife Christine.
In addition to this short film, Astin has also directed an episode of the television hit "Angel," and an episode for the HBO anthology "Perversions of Science."
Astin is well known for playing the title role in the critically acclaimed "Rudy" and for his feature debut in "The Goonies." His other film credits include “What Love Is,”
"Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School," which received critical praise at last year's Sundance Film Festival, “Click,” "Fifty First Dates," "Bulworth," "Smile," "Courage Under Fire," "Memphis Belle," "Encino Man," "Like Father Like Son," "Where the Day Takes You," "Staying Together," "War of the Roses" and "Safe Passage." He has also been seen in several independent movies: "Deterrence," "Kimberly," "The Last Producer" and "Boy Meets Girl."
He made his professional debut with his mother Patty Duke in the television After School Special "Please Don't Hit Me Mom." He received Best Actor honors for his performance in
"Low Life" at the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival.
Astin has earned a degree in History/American Literature and Culture from UCLA. He resides in Los Angeles with his wife and their three daughters.



Veteran actor POWERS BOOTHE’S (Jim Van Scoyoc) long and enviable career is filled with powerful performances on the silver screen, television and theatre.
Recently, Boothe starred in “Sin City”, directed by Robert Rodriguez. His extensive list of other film credits include “Frailty” directed by Bill Paxton, “Men of Honor”, “U-Turn” and “Nixon” both directed by Oliver Stone; “Blue Sky”, “Tombstone”, “Sudden Death”, “Rapid Fire”, “Extreme Prejudice”, “The Emerald Forest” directed by John Boorman, “Red Dawn”, “Southern Comfort”, “Cruising” and “The Goodbye Girl” to name a few.
On the small screen, he was last seen as the Vice President of the United States on the 6th season of the Emmy Award winning drama “24” and also starred as ‘Cy Tolliver’ in HBO’s critically lauded drama “Deadwood”. Boothe was recently recognized as part of the cast of “Deadwood” with a SAG Award nomination for “Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.” He won an Emmy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of ‘Reverend Jim Jones’ in the television movie “Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones”. He has also starred in various television mini-series including “Atilla The Hun”, “Joan of Arc” and “True Women” opposite Dana Delaney and Angelina Jolie. He played the lead in the television movie “By Dawn’s Early Light” with James Earl Jones and Rebecca DeMornay and starred as ‘Phillip Marlowe’ in the HBO series “Phillip Marlowe, Private Eye”. Other television credits include, “Second Nature”, Showtime’s “The Spree”, “Web of Deception”, “Marked for Murder”, “Wild Card” and HBO’s “Into the Homeland”.
Boothe’s career began in the theatre after he received his MFA from Southern Methodist University and became a resident actor at the Oregon Shakespeare Company.
Shortly thereafter he made his New York stage debut in the Lincoln Center production of “Richard III” and later went on to star on Broadway as the lead in James
McClure’s critically acclaimed one-act comedy, “Lone Star”.


RACHAEL LEIGH COOK (Polly Hudson) posses beauty and versatility, which combine to establish her as one of the most talented young actresses in Hollywood. She most recently starred in Warner Bros. feature film “Nancy Drew” in which her character, Jane Brighton, is the subject of Nancy Drew’s most pressing case. In addition, to “The Final Season”, Cook recently completed filming the feature “All Hat” which centers around the world of Canadian horse-racing and is based on the novel by Brad Smith. She stars as the rough and tough horse jockey, Chrissie. Also to come is Cook’s performance as Haley in Sony Pictures feature film “Blonde Ambition”, starring opposite Jessica Simpson and Luke Wilson.
Cook's memorable and riveting performance in a 1998 anti-heroin kitchen smashing public service announcement (This is your brain...) led to her first starring role in Miramax’s breakout hit “She’s All That”, an enchanting teen comedy costarring Freddie Prinze Jr. Cook next put her comedic ability to work in the title role of aspiring rock star Josie McCoy in Universal’s “Josie and the Pussycats”, alongside Parker Posey and Rosario Dawson.
Continuing to lend her talent to notable films, Cook starred with Hilary Swank and Colin Hanks in New Line’s dark comedy “11:14”, and alongside Sylvester Stallone in “Get Carter”. She also starred in “The Big Empty” opposite John Favreau, and the romantic comedy “Blow Dry” with Josh Hartnett. “In Living Out Loud” with Danny De Vito, Cook played the younger version of Holly Hunter’s character, and in the “House of Yes” she portrayed a younger version of Parker Posey’s character Jackie-O.
Cook’s other starring roles include the film “The Hi-Line”, which was featured in competition at the Sundance Film Festival, and the drama “Stateside” as a schizophrenic actress Dori Lawrence, opposite Jonathan Tucker. Early on, Cook impressed a younger crowd with her role in “The Baby-Sitter’s Club” and as Becky Thatcher alongside Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Brad Renfro in “Tom and Huck”.
On the small screen, Cook also dazzled in the role of Clara Wheeler for Steven Spielberg and TNT‚s award-winning miniseries, “Into the West”.
Cook currently resides in Los Angeles, CA with husband, actor Daniel Gillies, their two dogs and two cats.

MICHAEL ANGARANO (Mitch Ackers) is one of the most gifted actors of his generation, making his mark in Hollywood with a diversity of roles that define him as one of the industry’s
most respected and sought after young actors.
Angarano will next be seen in David Gordon Green's “Snow Angels” opposite Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale.  The dramatic film interweaves the life of a teenager (Angarano), with
his old baby sitter (Beckinsale), her estranged husband (Rockwell), and their daughter.  “Snow Angels” premiered in competition at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and will be released by
Warner Independent on March 7th, 2008.  Gene Seymour from NEWSDAY wrote of Angarano's performance "Angarano shows the kind of shambling charisma that gave the late Walter Matthau a long
and lucrative career. Finding such small gems in unlikely settings is what one really comes to Sundance for."
Angarano will also be seen in Rob Minkoff's "The Forbidden Kingdom" opposite Jackie Chan and Jet Li.  Angarano stars as a troubled 17-year-old wannabe kung fu warrior,
who after a humiliating defeat at the hands of a street gang, is sent back in time to ancient China on an impossible mission to set free the imprisoned Monkey King (Li)