‘Faith in Jesus’ Carried Rickey Hill from Life with Leg Braces to Baseball Stardom

The man who inspired the new film about a boy who overcame a physical handicap to play professional baseball says his Christian faith gave him strength and guidance.Rickey Hill’s incredible story is the subject of the new movie The Hill (PG), which follows Hill as he grows up in rural Texas wearing leg braces due to a degenerative spinal disease but nevertheless develops an uncanny ability to hit a baseball. Hill wants to play pro ball, despite opposition from his Baptist pastor father and bullying from other kids who consider him an unathletic “robot.”Hill played professional baseball in the 1970s.