The Great Unstoppable Mighty Mites Take the Field (Again)

by Claire Wittman

In 1948, aspiring thirteen-year-old football star Joe rejoices when Miller Park gets its very own official sandlot football team for kids fourteen and under. Though they’re tiny, they’re mighty...but can a ragtag team of blue-collar kids really prove unstoppable when facing off against big city wealthy and advantage?

In 1948, aspiring thirteen-year-old football star Joe rejoices when Miller Park gets its very own official sandlot football team for kids fourteen and under. Though they’re tiny, they’re mighty...but can a ragtag team of blue-collar kids really prove unstoppable when facing off against big city wealthy and advantage?

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The Great Unstoppable Mighty Mites Take the Field (Again)

Character Information

The real life Mighty Mites were all white boys between the ages of 11 and 15, so the team members in this play use he/him pronouns and are correspondingly referred to as “boys”, “gentleman”, “fellas”, and so on, but your cast of this play should reflect the citizens of your own community. That means actors of all ages, races, genders, and abilities belong on this team! I especially encourage age-creative casting: this play could be performed by exclusively children, or performers age fifty and up only, or a delightful mix of generations playing all the different roles. No attempt need be made to disguise who the performers are in real life: modern hair colors and styles, marks of age, accessibility devices, and all the other unique qualities of your cast only uplift the timeless universality of an underdog story.
  • RK
    quarterback, the smallest kid on the team but the true leader of the bunch
  • Patches
    wide receiver, the youngest kid on the team who can take and make a joke
  • The Greek
    kicker, a philosophical fellow always sitting in “The Thinker” pose
  • Jimmy
    tailback, an expert point scorer but not the brightest bulb
  • Cook
    fullback, the emotionally intelligent heart of the team
  • Arnold
    right guard, a reformed bully
  • Barnaby
    running back, the nicest kid in town
  • Franklin
    right tackle, a well-mannered miniature gentleman, brother to Howard
  • Howard
    left tackle, looks unassuming and unathletic but plays like a champ, brother to Franklin
  • Ben
    left guard, a quiet but pugnacious kid with a difficult home life
  • Joe
    the center on the team and of the story, our narrator
  • Ensemble
    At least five performers to play:

    - The Great Unstoppable Skeeter Fields, Joe’s local football hero
    - Cheerleaders, a Greek Chorus of sorts
    - Coach Happy, from the Park
    - Coach Pappy, from the College
    - Joe’s Family: mother, father, older sister, baby brother, grandmother, great aunt
    - Mr. Bowtie, a young and enthusiastic sports commentator
    - Ol’ Glasses, an old as the hills sports commentator
    - The St. Purvis Little Emperors, a priggish team of private school students
    - The Shoeless Wonders, a tough team of sneering ruffians from the Presbyterian Parish
    - The Philadelphia Froghoppers, a well-off, but also very kind, team from The Big City
    - Stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, appearing in a daydream
    - The Miller Park Community: the kids’ friends and family members, local residents, spectators, workers at the Shoe Factory

Development History

  • Commission, Masterworx Theatre, 2024