It’s Opening Day – “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”
It’s opening day of baseball! When you think baseball you think of the one song that everyone knows and loves. “Take Me Out to the Ball Game“. But did you know it was originally written on the back of an envelope.
Jack Norworth wrote “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” on the back of an envelope while riding the subway one day in 1908? It’s true!
Jack Norworth was a vaudeville performer in the early 20th century, but he had no connection to baseball whatsoever. He didn’t even know any of its rules. But all that changed one fateful day in March of 1908 when a sign on the side of a New York City subway car caught his eye. The sign read “Baseball today – Polo Grounds” and with those five words, inspiration struck. Within minutes, Jack had written down the lyrics to what would become “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” on the back of an envelope he found in his pocket.
Jack then teamed up with composer Albert Von Tilzer and took his song into Tin Pan Alley – New York City’s music publishing district – where it was quickly published and released as sheet music. Soon it was being performed by vaudeville acts all over America, making it one of the most popular songs of 1908. From there it only got more popular; within two years it had been recorded by multiple record labels and was being played at ballparks across America whenever teams took a break between innings.
Today, almost 100 years later, “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” is still going strong as both an old-time favorite and an iconic part of sports culture.
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