The Film

The Inspiration

Fittingly, baseball’s unique emotional resonance across generations inspired Marq Evans to pursue the Diamond King project. In our Significance of Wealth episode, Evans reveals that his son developed a keen passion for baseball in 2022; as is often the case, that passion produced a budding interest in card collecting. Before long, father and son were revisiting Evans’ own binders of cards, evoking childhood nostalgia, particularly at the sight of Dick Perez’s Diamond Kings.

Always in search of the overlooked and resonant story, Evans quickly realized that he had never devoted much thought to the artist behind those iconic cards. With his curiosity piqued, he did more research on Perez and soon reached out to explore the possibility of developing a film that could tell the story of baseball through the work and experiences of this incredible artist. 

What started with a casual phone call soon became an interview shoot and later a film, bringing this rich and unique account of baseball’s history to life. 

The Story

The Diamond King is a feature-length documentary about the history of baseball as told through the life and works of baseball’s Picasso, Dick Perez. 

Why Perez? 

Dick Perez is internationally recognized for his extensive and prolific portfolio of paintings portraying the icons of the sport of baseball. He has served as the official artist of the Philadelphia Phillies since 1972, and his talents were also perfectly at home in Cooperstown; the Baseball Hall of Fame bestowed Perez with the immense honor of acting as its official artist for more than 20 years. His paintings scatter the collections of prominent art and sports memorabilia collectors worldwide, and his works’ renown extends beyond the canvas. 

Perez was the artist of the Donruss Diamond King baseball cards in the 1980s and 1990s, cementing his work in the nostalgia-laden memories of young collectors, now adults, just like Evans. 

His experiences throughout a colorful career and life, shaped by a deep admiration for America’s pastime, tell a story not just about baseball, not just about art, but about immigration and legacy.

Perez has painted the history of baseball, one work at a time, capturing the permanent and immortal heroism of the game’s icons while also illustrating the constantly evolving nature of the game’s composition, from the diversity of its players to its uniforms, crowds, and signage. In the process, he’s cultivated the eternal legacy of his art, forever intertwined with baseball itself and commemorated in the film. 

For so many, that legacy has reignited a passion for the game. Destiny Family Office Founder and CEO Tom Ruggie, an executive producer on the film and keen collector of Perez’s work, notes that Perez “not only brought art back to baseball, [he] brought artists back to baseball,” serving as a source of inspiration to artists, collectors, historians, and countless others in rediscovering their love for the sport.

The Diamond King weaves legacies together in a warm reminisce on baseball, art, and the heroes who make them eternal. As baseball historian John Thorn notes in the film, “One of the great secrets of baseball is that it has a beginning, a middle, and no end.”

The Details

The Diamond King screened via “sneak peek” showings at select, special venues in 2024, including the National Sports Collectors Convention, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Now, the film is set to release to the public on April 25th via Video on Demand on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google TV, and Kinema. 

THE DIAMOND KING – Official Trailer

Those who purchase or rent the film during the opening week (April 25th to May 2nd) can send proof to proof@thediamondkingmovie.com to receive a link to download a complete collection of Dick Perez Diamond Kings in jpg format. The art, scanned from Dick’s collection, includes 405 Diamond Kings created from 1982-1996.

Those who purchase (rather than rent) the film will also be automatically entered into giveaways for limited edition prints of Dick Perez’s art and complete boxed sets of jumbo cards featuring 35 Hall of Famers, portrayed in typically striking paintings by Dick Perez. 

Find the full release and giveaway details here.