The White Shadow
The Hitter
TV Flash files “The Hitter” as hour 36 of 54 in the TV Flash guide — The White Shadow (1978–1981) on CBS, season 2, episode 21, aired 1980-03-04, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S02E21: listed hour 36 of 54 in the The White Shadow guide, hour 21 of 24 in season 2. It aired 1980-03-04 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “The Russians Are Coming” (S02E20). Next is “The Death of Me Yet” (S02E22).
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Hitter sit in the The White Shadow guide?
S02E21 is listed hour 36 of 54 — hour 21 of 24 in season 2, season 2 episode 21.
When did The White Shadow S02E21 air?
The Hitter aired 1980-03-04 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Is it a basketball show or a social drama?
Sports ensemble that treats race, class, and teenagers with unusual honesty. The gym is a classroom; the buzzer still ends the hour.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Ken Howard's white ex-pro coaches a mostly Black Los Angeles high-school team, and the gym becomes a social-drama classroom. Bruce Paltrow's shop lets race, class, and teenage ego into the locker room without after-school-special frosting. Sports television that actually talks, then hits the buzzer.
Picture a network night that still thought a gym could be civic furniture. CBS, 1978–1981: Ken Howard's Ken Reeves, white ex-pro, walks into a mostly Black Los Angeles high-school locker room and Bruce Paltrow's shop declines to frost it. The White Shadow is sports television that actually talks, then hits the buzzer. Jason Bernard, Byron Stewart, and Timothy Van Patten among the young ensemble. Race, class, and teenage ego in the paint. On the palate: gym varnish, a whistle, and a three-act clock that treats the…
Filed against
- Ken Howard as Coach Ken Reeves
Ken Howard's Coach Ken Reeves made The White Shadow a gym that talked — a white ex-pro coaching a mostly Black Los Angeles high-school team, Bruce Paltrow's shop letting race, class, and teenage ego into the locker room. TV Flash files…
- Jason Bernard as Jim Willis
Jason Bernard’s Jim Willis put The White Shadow’s gym in conversation with a grown-up — Ken Howard’s white ex-pro coaching a mostly Black Los Angeles high-school team, Bruce Paltrow’s shop letting race and class into the locker room.…
- Byron Stewart as Warren Coolidge
Byron Stewart played Warren Coolidge on The White Shadow — Ken Howard's white ex-pro coaching a mostly Black Los Angeles high-school team, the gym as a social-drama classroom. Bruce Paltrow's shop let race, class, and teenage ego into the…
- Timothy Van Patten as Mario 'Salami' Pettrino
Timothy Van Patten suited up The White Shadow as Mario 'Salami' Pettrino — white ex-pro coaching a mostly Black Los Angeles high-school team, gym as social-drama classroom, race and class in the locker room without after-school-special…