The photographer took pictures of the umpires, some players, and the ballpark, which Rockwell used for reference in painting a Post cover image that he completed in California that winter.

[16] The painting features five people, standing from left to right, who each posed for reference photographs;[17] Three Pittsburgh fielders are visible in the distance.

[4] Ultimately, the painting is open to interpretation as "a fictional creation intended to do nothing other than elicit emotions of the moment, leaving the viewer to extrapolate various scenarios.

This upset Rockwell, who complained that the Post "had the piece of sky added when I still feel it was better as I conceived and painted it"[24] in a letter to their art editor.

The painting has been widely reproduced on numerous souvenir items,[4] and was featured on a postage stamp issued by the Turks and Caicos Islands in 1982.

[25] In 2008, the image was shown on the television series The Bronx Is Burning, allegedly without permission, which resulted in a lawsuit against ESPN.