‘It Brings Me Closer to Jesus’: Rickey Hill Says Movie About Miraculous Baseball Career Was ‘Ordained’ by God

Published

2 years ago

August 24, 2023

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August 23, 2023

Tethered by the weight of the braces binding his legs, Rickey Hill grew up hitting rocks with sticks, dreaming of one day hearing the crack of his bat against a fly ball headed for the outfield.

That dream, he was told, couldn’t be a reality. The odds against him and the near-countless exploratory surgeries he’d undergone were just stacked too high.

“I had no disk in my spine,” Hill told CBN’s Faithwire. “People didn’t realize, I was born with no disk. My grandmother and my great-grandmother were in wheelchairs; I’d never seen them any different, and I was headed in the same direction.”

The son of a Baptist preacher, Hill grew up trusting God’s plan and his prognosis were at odds.

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Hill, whose life story is the subject of the new movie, “The Hill,” starring Dennis Quaid and Colin Ford, was a tenacious kid undeterred by the physical limitations that grounded him. So, at just eight years old, he walked out of the clunky supports that straightened his legs, which were twisted around one another at birth, and picked up a baseball bat.

“One day, at eight years old, I busted those braces off,” he said. “I never put ’em back on.”

The boldness and reckless courage it took Hill to walk away from the physical limitations dictating his future “came straight from God Himself,” the unlikely athlete reflected.

And his tenacious spirit certainly paid off.

Between his impressive batting skills and gritty determination, Hill scored a tryout at 19 years old with the Montreal Expos, a Major League Baseball franchise. Although he was signed and ultimately released from the team, Hill went on to play four seasons in minor league baseball.

The man who discovered Hill, baseball scout Red Murff, described the young player as “the best pure hitting prospect hes ever seen,” according to USA Today. Hill only bowed out of the sport when his health prevented him from continuing.

That didn’t matter, though: Hill had already achieved his dream and his father’s, albeit unconventionally.

“I knew one day that I would make it, somehow, someway,” Hill said. “It didn’t matter the pain. I weathered the pain, because it was very painful, but I weathered that storm through the pain and I just had it built in. My father had it; I had it.”

Hill’s father, portrayed by Quaid in the movie, was apprehensive about the idea of a career in baseball, fearing for his son’s health. Instead, he was hoping Hill would choose his dream: a life dedicated to ministry.

Teary eyed, Hill, depicted by Ford in the film, reflected on accomplishing both dreams in his life.

“I was probably the only baseball player ever that never said a curse word,” he said with a laugh. “I would get on the buses and I’d start preaching to the guys on the bus, the guys that would listen, and singing Gospel songs, leading Gospel songs while we were on the road traveling. That carried on through my baseball career.”

Even in moments when he didn’t understand God’s plan like when he was paralyzed on the field Hill said he never abandoned hope or trust in God’s sovereignty.

“That one I didn’t understand,” he said. “But I never gave up hope and faith and I went through major surgeries that restored my legs. … I’ve got nine screws in my spine, I have six cages, and a 14-inch rod that holds me together. And today, I’m very thankful.”

His preternatural success has continued today. In mid-August, Hill threw the ceremonial first pitch before a baseball game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Texas Rangers.

Seeing his life’s journey turned into a film is yet another confirmation of God’s faithfulness.

In the late 1970s, Hill’s brother recorded the baseball player’s harrowing story in a small book intended just for the family. At the time, someone in their church got a hold of it, and sent it to Hollywood, where a studio expressed interest in turning the book into a movie. The timing, though, wasn’t right.

Both of Hill’s parents became seriously ill at the same time, and his father passed away.

All these years later, the story was picked up again and written by the same screenwriter behind the iconic sports films “Hoosiers” and “Rudy.”

“Even this movie has brought me just closer just closer to God,” Hill said through tears. “Because of what I went through, it brings me closer to Jesus Christ, because I know that this story was ordained before I was even in my mother’s womb.”

To learn more about “The Hill,” which debuts in theaters Friday, click here.

***As the number of voices facing big-tech censorship continues to grow, please sign up for Faithwires daily newsletter and download the CBN News app, developed by our parent company, to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***

Politics

Why Boris’s best mate is off to Reform

Published

1 hour ago

July 10, 2025

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Former Conservative chairman and friend of Boris Johnson – Sir Jake Berry – is defecting to Reform UK, causing more problems for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.

On today’s episode, Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy discuss if his defection will divide parts of Reform policy.

Elsewhere, the Anglo-French summit gets under way, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hoping to announce a migration deal with French President Emmanuel Macron to deter small boat crossings.

Plus, chatter around Whitehall that No10 are considering a pre-summer reshuffle, but will it have any value?

US

Donald Trump praises Liberian president’s English – the country’s official language

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1 hour ago

July 10, 2025

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Donald Trump praises Liberian president's English - the country's official language

Donald Trump has praised the Liberian president’s command of English – the West African country’s official language.

The US president reacted with visible surprise to Joseph Boakai’s English-speaking skills during a White House meeting with leaders from the region on Wednesday.

After the Liberian president finished his brief remarks, Mr Trump told him he speaks “such good English” and asked: “Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?”

Mr Trump seemed surprised when Mr Boakai laughed and responded he learned in Liberia.

The US president said: “It’s beautiful English.

“I have people at this table who can’t speak nearly as well.”

Mr Boakai did not tell Mr Trump that English is the official language of Liberia.

The country was founded in 1822 with the aim of relocating freed African slaves and freeborn black citizens from the US.

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Mr Trump promised the leaders of Liberia, Senegal, Gabon, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau a pivot from aid to trade at the surprise meeting.

He described the countries as “all very vibrant places with very valuable land, great minerals, and great oil deposits, and wonderful people”.

Later asked by a reporter if he’ll visit the continent, Mr Trump said, “At some point, I would like to go to Africa.”

But he added that he’d “have to see what the schedule looks like”.

Trump’s predecessor, President Joe Biden, promised to go to Africa in 2023, but only fulfilled the commitment by visiting Angola in December 2024, just weeks before he left office.

US

Gaza permanent ceasefire ‘questionable’, says Israeli government

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1 hour ago

July 10, 2025

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Gaza permanent ceasefire 'questionable', says Israeli government

The Israeli government believes the chances of achieving a permanent ceasefire in Gaza are “questionable”.

The pessimistic assessment, in a top-level Israeli government briefing given to Sky News, comes as the Israeli Prime Minister prepares to leave Washington DC after a four-day visit which had begun with the expectation of a ceasefire announcement.

Benjamin Netanyahu will leave the US later today with the prospect of even a temporary 60-day ceasefire looking extremely unlikely this week.

Within “a week, two weeks – not a day” is how it was framed in the background briefing late on Wednesday.

Crucially, though, on the chances of the ceasefire lasting beyond 60 days, the framing from the briefing was even less optimistic: “We will begin negotiations on a permanent settlement. But we achieve it? It’s questionable, but Hamas will not be there.”

Sky News has spoken to several Israeli officials at the top level of the government. None will be drawn on any of the details of the negotiations over concerns that public disclosure could jeopardise their chances of success.

But I have been given a very clear understanding of Mr Netanyahu’s thinking.

The Israeli position is that a permanent ceasefire (beyond the initial 60 days, which itself is yet to be agreed) is only possible if Hamas lays down its arms. “If they don’t, we’ll proceed [with the war],” said a source.

The major sticking point in the talks between Hamas and Israel is the status of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) inside Gaza during the 60-day ceasefire and beyond, should it last longer.

The latest Israeli proposal, passed to Hamas last week, included a map showing the proposed IDF presence inside Gaza during the ceasefire.

This was rejected by Hamas and by Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, who reportedly told the Israelis that the redeployment map “looks like a Smotrich plan”, a reference to the extreme-right Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich.

My briefing of Mr Netanyahu’s position is that he has not shifted in terms of Israel’s central stated war aims. The return of the hostages and eliminating Hamas are the key objectives.

But in a hint of how hard it will be to reconcile the differences, it was clear from my briefing that no permanent ceasefire is possible in the Israeli government’s view without the complete removal of Hamas as a political and military entity.

Hamas is not likely to negotiate its way to oblivion.

On the status of the Israeli military inside Gaza, a senior Israeli official told Sky News: “We would want IDF in every square metre of Gaza, and then hand it over to someone.”

It was clear to me that Mr Netanyahu wants his stated position to be that his government has no territorial ambition for Gaza.

One quote to come from my briefing, which I am only able to attribute to a senior Israeli official, says: “[We] don’t want to govern Gaza… don’t want to govern, but the first thing is, you have to defeat Hamas.”

Another clear indication of Mr Netanyahu’s position – a quote from the briefing, attributable only to a senior Israeli official: “You cannot have victory if you don’t clear out all the fighting forces.

“You have to go into every square inch unless you are not serious about victory. I am. We are going to defeat them. Those who do not disarm will die. Those who disarm will have a life.”

On the future of Gaza, it’s clear from my briefings that Mr Netanyahu continues to rule out the possibility of a two-state solution “for the foreseeable future”.

The Israeli government assessment is that the Palestinians are not going to have a state “as long as they cling to that idea of destroying our state”.

On the most controversial aspect of the Gaza conflict – the movement of the population – the briefing revealed that Mr Netanyahu’s view is that 60% of Palestinians would “choose to leave” but that Israel would allow them to return once Hamas had been eliminated.

“It’s not forcible eviction, it’s not permanent eviction,” a senior Israeli official said.

Critics of Israel’s war in Gaza say that any removal of Palestinians from Gaza, even if given the appearance of being “voluntary”, is in fact anything but, because the strip has been so comprehensively flattened.

Reacting to Israeli Defence Minister Katz’s recent statement revealing a plan to move Palestinians into a “humanitarian city” in southern Gaza, and not let them out of that area, the official wouldn’t be drawn, except to say: “As a permanent arrangement? Of course not.”