News

The Lefty O’Doul documentary project had an exceptional 2025!
Thanks to the generosity of our crowdfunders and Patreon patrons, we filmed in San Francisco, Tempe, Cooperstown, and Tokyo and made significant progress toward the finish line.

2025 project highlights

  • Interviewed baseball historian Bill Staples Jr. in Tempe, Arizona
  • Helped secure funding to restore Lefty’s gravesite monument near San Francisco
  • Co-produced a “Hometown Hero Celebration” honoring Lefty in August
  • Partnered with the City of San Francisco to film the raising of the Lefty O’Doul Bridge
  • Interviewed an all-star lineup of scholars and historians at the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in Tokyo
  • Filmed the new “Yakyu/Baseball” exhibit at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, including interviews with:
    Rob Fitts, Bobby Valentine, Hall of Fame President Josh Rawitch, Tom O’Doul, and lead curator R.J. Lara

Click the link below to view our filming of the raising of the Lefty O’Doul Bridge in San Francisco:

http://bit.ly/4alTqPi

The Lefty O’Doul documentary now enters year six with a full slate of milestones ahead.

Looking ahead: 2026

This year, we move into post-production on the feature-length film. With more than 20 interviews completed with leading scholars, experts, authors, and historians, we are well-positioned to begin shaping the story in the edit bay.

A major goal will be editing a 20-minute submission cut for the Ken Burns Prize for Film, which we plan to submit in late spring.

We will also:

  • Hire voice actors for Lefty and other key figures
  • Develop animated sequences to illustrate milestone moments in Lefty’s life

These creative approaches will distinguish our film from standard historical documentaries. Instead of only talking-head interviews and archival media, we’re bringing Lefty back to life on screen to help tell his own story.

In March 2026, I will be a featured speaker at the NINE Spring Training Conference, presenting on Lefty and the project. The San Francisco Giants have also invited me to present the project to their season ticket holders.

Filmmaker Jon Leonoudakis with Tadao Kunishi and Tom O’Doul in Petaluma, CA. Photo by Karl Mondon
Filmmaker Jon Leonoudakis with author Dennis Snelling in Los Angeles, CA.
Photo by Ted Baker.
Lefty was inducted into the Irish-American Baseball Hall of Fame at Oracle Park on May 10, 2024. Photo by Karl Mondon.
Jon with SF Chronicle columnist Carl Nolte. Photo by Karl Mondon.
Tom O’Doul holds art of Lefty O’Doul by Arthur K. Miller.
Photo by Karl Mondon

Jon with beloved Bay Area radio broadcaster Marty Lurie on the interview set courtesy of the Hotel Via. Photo by Berenice Monzano.
Mike Murphy, the longtime SF Giants clubhouse man of 50+ years, with producer-director Jon Leonoudakis. Jon is wearing a NY Giants replica ring of the 1933 World Series, a gift from Murph! “Lefty” got a critical pinch-hit to win Game 2 of the ’33 Series, which the NYG won. Photo by Karl Mondon.