'Field of Dreams' Actor Ray Liotta - 'Shoeless Joe' - Dead at 67

"Ty Cobb wanted to play,'' Liotta's Jackson says, before unleashing a laugh that would be part of the actor's trademark. "We told him to stick it.''

Actor Ray Liotta passed away this week at age 67, leaving behind him a legacy of iconic film roles, most notably the classic "Goodfellas.'' But in the sports world and beyond, Liotta is also to be remembered forever for his portrayal of Shoeless Joe Jackson in 1989's "Field of Dreams."

Kevin Costner's character hears the words, "If you build it, he will come." And among those who come back from the dead to play baseball and "have a game of catch'' on the baseball diamond Costner carves from a corn field in Iowa is Liotta's Shoeless Joe.

How important is "Field of Dreams" in baseball circles? It fits perfectly the tradition and nostalgia that is so key to Major League Baseball fandom, and there is even an annual MLB game that uses the film at the framework and is staged in Iowa.

Jackson's "ghost'' (you have to have seen the movie to understand, and we trust you have) arrives to the diamond by sort of "floating'' from the corn stalks in the outfield, and he takes batting practice with Costner's character, Ray Kinsella, including batting practice.

So many of the lines of dialogue from "GoodFellas'' have become legendary. The same holds true of "Field of Dreams,'' including Liotta's Jackson explaining to Costner and friends why one dead superstar of the game would not be showing up at the cornfield.

"Ty Cobb wanted to play,'' Liotta's Jackson says, before unleashing a laugh that would be part of the actor's trademark. "We told him to stick it.''