“Bull Durham” ranks among the most famous movies filmed entirely in North Carolina. Well, almost entirely. Texas grabs a few short scenes.
Ron Shelton’s 1988 classic is playing as a musical theater show, reviving interest in the original film shot around the Triangle of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, N.C.
Nearly all of the sets still exist, from the home plate where Crash Davis called an umpire a nasty name to the pool room where he busted a mirror in frustration.
Around the Triangle, those places celebrate their piece of movie history. Here’s how you can do the same.
DURHAM ATHLETIC PARK
500 W. Corporation St., Durham
The “lollygaggers” portrayed onscreen have played in the larger, flashier Durham Bulls Athletic Park since 1995. But the movie that made them famous came out in 1988, when they played a few blocks away at historic Durham Athletic Park on West Corporation Street downtown. It’s still open and available to rent.
MITCH’S TAVERN
2426 Hillsborough St., Raleigh
This longtime, well-loved, second-floor watering hole on Hillsborough Street in downtown Raleigh served as the scene where Crash, Nuke and Annie first meet, leading to a fistfight and boyfriend tryout. Movie fans will instantly recognize the bar furnishings and see that little has changed inside — except nobody dances there.