By Jimmy Keenan  

In 2003, Paul Sekulich, CEO of Cinemagic Productions, LLC was approached by Stephen Johnson who had an idea of a doing a movie about the International League Baltimore Orioles. Paul later came up with the title “The Forgotten Birds.” Stephen went on to put out numerous requests in the media. He was asking people to contact him who had International League Oriole memorabilia, had done any research on the IL Orioles or were related to anyone on the team. Because I fit all of the criteria, I contacted Stephen and agreed to contribute my research and write the movie. I was named writer and baseball historian for the Forgotten Birds documentary by Paul and Stephen at this time (08/19/2004).  

Stephen deserves credit for laying the initial groundwork for the Forgotten Birds by sending out these numerous requests for research. He also contacted several media outlets over the years to promote the movie. 

Any person, who made any type of contribution to the Forgotten Birds, during the six years it took to assemble the material for the documentary, was listed in the credits. Regardless of whether it was used in my scripts or shown in the movie, these people were acknowledged for their contributions. 

Stephen, along with several individuals, was acknowledged in the movie for their early efforts in garnering photographs and other research materials that contributed to the making of the film. Stephen also mailed some material to my home that assisted me in my researching of this movie. Stephen was named Associate Producer for his work, and he and his family, who were also investors in the film, were acknowledged in the credits for their contributions as well. 

The documentary was put together over the course of many years of painstakingly hard work. Our goal was to mention as many of the old time Orioles as we could. The premise of the movie is to acknowledge the players and teams that seem to have been forgotten for so many years. Baseball is a game of statistics and these figures are the yardstick that measures a player’s talent. Every ball player is judged by his accomplishments on the field. This is the criteria that separates superstars from average players. 

In the movie, we incorporated baseball statistics along with personal anecdotes and other biographical information in our attempt to tell the complete story. This is a fifty-year documentation of a baseball franchise and we deemed every year important and gave seasonal recaps in our effort to include every team. The reason we made the film was to shine the spotlight on all of the teams, not just a select few, and to include as many individuals as possible that stood out during those years. 

To our knowledge, there is no film footage of any International League Oriole games. A great deal of the Oriole’s archives and memorabilia were lost in the fire at Oriole Park on July 4, 1944. We were required to come up with photographs and other visual aids to tell this worthwhile story without the assistance of live footage from any baseball games.

The Forgotten Birds chronicles the entire fifty-year history of the team and we used every item at our disposal to make it happen. We showed images of every type of baseball ephemera that were available to us. In addition, we included numerous interviews with players, fans and historians in our effort to tell the story, along with noting historical timelines to show what was happening in the United States during this time.  

We were fortunate that as time progressed, families of former ballplayers contacted us with additional information and photographs. We came across the 1921 Tip Top Bread Cards in the final hours of production and in a true case of serendipity; we were able to include them in the documentary.     

The time and effort that Cinemagic Productions’ Director, Executive Producer and Narrator Paul Sekulich put into the making of this film was incredible in every sense of the word.  Paul placed every photograph strategically in order, along with vetting thousands of images, editing transitions, clips and interviews an effort to tell the story in its purest form. 

Paul and I spent many enjoyable hours working together going over pictures and editing the movie.  

Paul’s narrative work in this film is amazing. He tells the story of the Forgotten Birds with sincere reverence and respect for the ballplayers. One can only imagine the time it takes to narrate a four-hour plus documentary. In addition to all of his other cinematic duties that he tackled with vim and vigor, Paul designed the DVD cover, which in my opinion is a true collector’s item. I know that Paul worked many long hours with me, as well as burning the midnight oil on numerous late nights in front of the Cinemagic’s computers. In addition, he put got up early and put in enormous amounts of time before going to work at his full time job. Paul’s tireless, heartfelt efforts come forth in this finished work. He was truly a great Director/ Executive Producer to work with on this project. Paul’s production company manufactured high quality DVD’s and his overall work on this project was more than outstanding. 

We should also thank Paul’s wife Joyce who gave her full encouragement to this endeavor. Her unwavering support allowed Paul to put in the many long hours it took to complete this project.     

We would also like to acknowledge Bruce and Warren Tuckey for their expertise in the computer field. Their vast technical talents were instrumental to the success of this film. 

We made many road trips during the course of the making of this film. Paul, Warren, Bruce and I traveled north to Elkton, Maryland and as far south as Galesville, Maryland. Paul gladly gave up his vacation time to interview Ernie Salamone and Mike Kardash on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Delaware. Paul also traveled all over Baltimore doing interviews. On a few Saturday afternoons, he and I rode through Baltimore City taking photographs of Simon Nicholls’ actual home and other baseball landmarks in the city.

I must also thank my Mom, Nancy Keenan and my late Shih Tzu Sunshine, who drove with me from PA to Baltimore, to take photographs of the Diamond Bar on Howard Street, (one block up from the actual site which has been torn down), and modern day Pratt Street. My Mom also deserves acknowledgement for her dedication to this project. Her Dad Jimmy Lyston was a member of the 1921 Orioles and she was a loyal supporter and backer of mine during the years it took to complete this project.       

Stephen Johnson also traveled during this time, driving to Lonaconing, Maryland, the UMBC and College Park libraries along with the Maryland Historical Society and Cooperstown, New York in his committed effort to track down photographs and research for the project. 

We would like to give special acknowledgement to Butch Maisel (Fritz Maisel’s Grandson) and Blair Jett of Cottage Antiques in Ellicott City, MD, as their photographic collections were the backbone of much of this movie. 

In regard to my role as writer and baseball historian, I dedicated five years of my life to this project. I spent countless hours going through old newspapers online and at the library. In addition, I delved into numerous other sources in my attempt to include new and insightful research into the fabric of my scripts. My final script count was over one hundred pages. 

I worked in direct concert with Paul in our effort to bring my written scripts to life on the silver screen. For years, I drove from my home in PA. to Paul’s house in Maryland on  Saturdays and I can honestly say that it was always fun. I enjoyed every second of working with Paul on this project.   

In conclusion we are all truly happy to bring the International League Orioles back in the spotlight once again. Everyone involved can enjoy a true sense of accomplishment, knowing they helped give long overdue recognition to these old time ballplayers. Although many of the names in this movie are rarely mentioned in modern baseball circles, they were the stars of their of their respective era’s and in our eyes they are no longer the Forgotten Birds.      

I would also like to thank Larry Serra for his diligent work as the Forgotten Birds Correspondence Secretary.

                Thank you very much to all who contributed to this documentary.