Is ‘The Hill’ based on a true story? The real-life Rickey Hill, explained

Jeff Celentano’s inspirational baseball drama The Hill hit a home run all the way to the top of Netflix’s United States charts after hitting the platform on Jan. 20, 2024.

Beloved by audiences (but not quite meeting the mark for critics) the movie tells the story of Rickey Hill, a young boy suffering from a degenerative spinal disease who dreams of becoming a baseball player. Moreso than his physical shortcomings, it’s his devout Christian father who stands in his way, not wanting his son to pursue a life as strenuous.

The poorer Reviews of The Hill on Rotten Tomatoes describe Celentano’s film as “preachy,” “hokey,” and suffering from too much “telling” and not enough “showing,” resulting in a slim 44 percent rating. Viewers, however, couldn’t disagree more. The movie is currently sporting a 97 percent audience score with comments highlighting its family friendliness and Christian message.

Does Rickey Hill in the movie The Hill really exist?

Yes. The Hill takes from Rickey Hill’s real life to write its faith-led narrative of perseverance. Jeff Celentano met Hill after his brother overheard him talk to someone on the phone about needing a film director for a script about his life.

Being a huge fan of classic sports movies, the Breaking Point director was taken by the project from the start and dedicated to getting it through the finish line. The Hill took 17 years to make. After repeatedly losing funding, it was finally shot in 2021 in Georgia as a stand-in for Hill’s home state of Texas.

Hill, who is played by Colin Ford in the film, was born with a disability, undergoing multiple surgeries in his legs between ages 1 and 4, and later being diagnosed with degenerative spine disease. He grew up with pain but never stopped doing physical activities for fun. Speaking on the Your Biggest Breakthrough podcast, Hill said he didn’t “have any money so all [he] did was hit rocks, continuously.”

In another interview with Father Edward Looney, Hill also described his Baptist minister father’s influence on his childhood, saying he was “tough,” “strict” and affiliated with the “independent fundamental Baptists.” As seen in the film he wasn’t the most supportive of dads when it came to his son’s sporting dreams, but Hill is a devout Christian to this day because of his upbringing.

Realizing he had an eye for hitting those rocks he played with, Hill decided to become a baseball batter. He trained to improve his running and made it as far as the minor leagues until his condition finally became unbearable. Hill played professional baseball for four years in teams like the Lethbridge Expos, the Rio Grande Valley Whitewings, the Texas City Stars, and the Grays Harbor Loggers.