​Editor’s note: This story originally appeared in the Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer, part of the USA TODAY Network.Ron Shelton walked into Thom Mount’s Canon Drive office in Beverly Hills in 1986 with little more than an idea.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWhat he did have was a five word pitch – “Lysistrata in the minor leagues” – a nod to the ancient Greek play by Aristophanes about women who withhold sexual favors to end a war.What he did not have was a story.Mount, a veteran Hollywood producer, Durham native and part-owner of the minor league Durham Bulls, liked the idea.But he had one question: “Who are the characters?”“Well, there’s a pitcher and a catcher and a woman, and she’s sleeping with the wrong one of them.” Shelton replied, making it up as he went. “And the woman’s telling the story.”A former minor league player himself who spent five years in the Baltimore Orioles’ farm system, Shelton wanted to tell an authentic story about the world he knew best – and tell it the right way.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBaseball movies had struggled for decades, either with critics, audiences or both. Films such as “The Slugger’s Wife” (1985) and “Blue Skies Again” (1983) failed to gain traction, continuing a trend that stretched back to “The Babe Ruth Story” (1948).Shelton had previously run into roadblocks with Mount, who had told him years prior that his script “A Player to Be Named Later,” which contained the seeds of what would become “Bull Durham,” was underwritten.“He was right,” Shelton told the Fayetteville Observer. “It was way underwritten.”This time, though, was different.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement”That’s great, go do it,” Mount said.What followed was the creation of one of the most beloved sports movies ever made, helping to turn a scrappy minor league team in a tobacco town into something much bigger than baseball. “Bull Durham” resonates 40 years after Shelton made his pitch, and its impact can still be seen and felt around Durham.The Durham Bulls franchise was established in 1902, originally as the Durham Tobacconists, a nod to the city’s booming tobacco industry. It did not become the Bulls until 1913, and spent the better part of the next seven decades bouncing between existence and obscurity before folding in 1972.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThat was until Miles Wolff purchased the club in 1979.Wolff, who had about 10 years of experience working in the minors, bought the club for nearly $2,500. But he needed to raise capital to revive the franchise.So Wolff made some calls, formed a corporation and started selling stock. One of his calls was to a friend on the West Coast named Van Schley, which is how he met Mount. Van Schley and Mount, who both owned other minor league clubs, each agreed to invest $5,000.Mount and Wolff did not meet until that winter, when Mount returned to Durham and visited Wolff at Durham Athletic Park.“He said, ‘Miles, some