Moment #94: "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" is Born | MLB's ALL-TIME MOMENTS
This MLB offseason, we are starting a countdown of the 100 greatest moments in baseball history. These moments helped make the game what it is today. They all had an impact in the short or long term and endure to this day in the hearts and minds of baseball fans everywhere. We continue with #94: the writing of one of America's most recognizable pieces of literature, the classic song, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."
Imagine scribbling down some lyrics on a piece of paper during a train ride and having them be known by most of the country in less than a year. That's exactly what vaudeville performer Jack Norworth did on a fateful train ride back in 1908. According to Norworth, it took him just 15 minutes to write the lyrics that eventually turned into what we now know as "Take Me Out to the Ball Game".
Norworth had connections in the music world and brought his pieces of paper to composer Albert Von Tilzer, who wrote the accompaniment for the now-famous song. The pair brought the song toYork Music Company, who smartly published the song and helped make it famous throughout the country. The first version of the song contains what we recognize as the song that is sung during the Seventh Inning Stretch, but there are other verses you've probably never heard before.
1908 Version:
"Katie Casey was base ball mad.
Had the fever and had it bad;
Just to root for the home town crew,
Ev'ry sou Katie blew.
On a Saturday, her young beau
Called to see if she'd like to go,
To see a show but Miss Kate said,
"No, I'll tell you what you can do."
"Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd.
Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack,
I don't care if I never get back,
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don't win it's a shame.
For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out,
At the old ball game."
Katie Casey saw all the games,
Knew the players by their first names;
Told the umpire he was wrong,
All along good and strong.
When the score was just two to two,
Katie Casey knew what to do,
Just to cheer up the boys she knew,
She made the gang sing this song:
"Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd.
Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack,
I don't care if I never get back,
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don't win it's a shame.
For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out,
At the old ball game."
Apparently, Norworth took 19 years to realize he wanted to make changes to the song. He made a second version of the tune in 1927 with slightly adjusted lyrics.
"Nelly Kelly love baseball games,
Knew the players, knew all their names,
You could see her there ev'ry day,
Shout "Hurray," when they'd play.
Her boy friend by the name of Joe
Said, "To Coney Isle, dear, let's go,"
Then Nelly started to fret and pout,
And to him I heard her shout.
"Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd.
Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack,
I don't care if I never get back,
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don't win it's a shame.
For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out,
At the old ball game."
Nelly Kelly was sure some fan,
She would root just like any man,
Told the umpire he was wrong,
All along, good and strong.
When the score was just two to two,
Nelly Kelly knew what to do,
Just to cheer up the boys she knew,
She made the gang sing this song.
"Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd.
Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack,
I don't care if I never get back,
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don't win it's a shame.
For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out,
At the old ball game."
The writing of this song had a major impact on the history of baseball as it helped contribute to the sport's reputation as America's Pastime. It is a nostalgic sounding song that has helped connect generations of baseball fans to the sport they love. It even is customizable to every big-league fan base where you say "Root, root root for the ______" and is a funny catalyst of arguments when two people fill in the blank with two different team names.
Unbelievably, Norworth didn't attend his first MLB game until 1940, 32 years after he wrote the song that changed baseball history forever. He saw the Chicago Cubs beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 5-4. He wrote far more songs than he saw baseball games. In his career, he wrote more than 2,500 tunes.
None are more important, or historically significant, though, as the one he scribbled down on a scrap sheet of paper while sitting on a train on his way to Manhattan.