A stadium organist is a musician who plays an organ during live sporting events.
A stadium organist is a musician who plays an organ during live sporting events.
During the early part of the 20th century, organs were often found in public locations such as movie theaters, eating establishments, and shopping malls. [1] Before then, they had customarily only been found in churches. Music played at sporting events, if there was any, would occasionally be provided by military bands. [1]
The first organ used in a stadium in the United States was in Chicago Stadium, which opened in 1929. The organ music was used for what was called "psychological accompaniment" for events at the stadium, especially hockey matches. Other stadiums that featured hockey games began getting their own organs including Madison Square Garden in 1936, and the Boston Garden in 1939. [1]
In 1934, Hammond created their first fully electric organ. These could be connected to public address systems which had been used in baseball stadiums since 1929. Wrigley Field debuted their organ on April 26, 1941, played by Roy Nelson. However, his performance had to be wrapped up before the broadcast of the baseball game began because of copyright concerns; the organ was removed from Wrigley Field after two games and did not reappear until 1967. [1] [2]
Ebbets Field installed an organ for the 1942 season, and Gladys Goodding, an organ player for silent films as well as some sporting events at Madison Square Garden, was the first professional baseball organist. She continued to play at Dodgers games until the team moved to Los Angeles in 1957. The New York Times described her role as "adjusting her music to the flitting, evanescent temper of the Dodger fan, of consoling, of stirring to added effort, of soothing the public and of protecting the umpire against rebellion." [3] This responsiveness to the action of the game and the emotions of the fans is an aspect of stadium organist work to this day. Shay Torrent was the original organist for both the White Sox (1960–1966) and the California Angels (1967–1985).
Another early stadium organist, John Kiley, got his start playing for silent films at the Criterion Theater in Roxbury at the age of 15. He went on to play for the Red Sox, the Boston Bruins, and the Boston Celtics. Unlike Goodding, Kiley primarily played before the game and during breaks, often opting for nostalgic music and avoiding more modern rock music, a method also shared by Eddie Layton who played for the New York Yankees. Kiley's day job was working for local radio station WMEX, where he was the music director from 1934 to 1956. [1]
Many stadium organists who started in the 1950s and 1960s were more likely to come from television and radio backgrounds such as Jane Jarvis, a jazz pianist and organist, who worked as the organist for the Milwaukee Braves beginning in 1955. [4] Jarvis had to learn about baseball on the job. She eventually relocated to New York, worked as a music arranger at ABC-TV and Muzak, and also played organ for the New York Mets. After her retirement, fans clamored to have another live organist play at Mets home games.
There are no age requirements for being a stadium organist and sometimes the job has been held by teenagers, including Donna Parker, in 1972, Dieter Ruehle in 1983, Carolyn King in 1988, and Hudson DiTomaso in 2021. [5] [6] [7]
In some stadiums such as Petco Park and the KeyBank Center, the organist is placed in a public area where spectators can talk to them; in others, such as TD Garden, the organist is six stories above the stands and communicates with the public primarily over social media. [8] [9]
While each organist has their own style and particular specialties, some aspects of the work are fairly consistent from musician to musician.
By 2005 the tradition of live organists playing in stadiums was waning after longtime organists retired and were replaced with pre-recorded music. [12] [13] Many claim the popularity of video scoreboards, which began being used in the 1980s, was employed instead to capture fans' interest. Games with live organists began to be called "throwback" days. [12]
However, the tradition has been making a comeback. Tabitha Barattini of the Miami Marlins was a recent hire in 2014. [14] Barratini is a classically trained pianist who was advised by a professor to also learn the organ because there were more employment opportunities. [14] Dustin Tatro began working as an organist for the Texas Rangers in 2020 after they had not had a live organist since 2001. [15] The Detroit Red Wings brought back a live organist in 2009 after not having one since the mid-1980s. [16]
Many college sports teams now use live organ music—either directly played through an organ or a portable keyboard with organ function—to entertain fans before and after the game, and during lulls in game play such as during pitching changes. [17]
Stadium organists are considered part of the sports team's "family" and when the team wins a championship, many organists such as Josh Kantor, Ron Poster, and Eddie Layton have been given championship rings. [18] [19]
In baseball in the United States and Canada, the seventh-inning stretch is a long-standing tradition that takes place between the halves of the seventh inning of a game. Fans generally stand up and stretch out their arms and legs and sometimes walk around. It is a popular time to get a late-game snack or an alcoholic beverage, as alcohol sales often cease after the last out of the seventh inning. The stretch also serves as a short break for the players.
In rare cases, baseball games are forfeited, usually when a team is no longer able to play. Although not uncommon in baseball's early days, forfeits are now rare. There have been only five forfeits in Major League Baseball (MLB) since 1954; the last forfeit was in 1995, and prior to that, 1979. Since 1914, there has only been one incident where a team deliberately made a decision to forfeit a game, by the 1977 Baltimore Orioles.
Edward M. Layton was an American stadium organist who played at old Yankee Stadium for nearly 40 years, earning him membership in the New York Sports Hall of Fame.
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The use of music at sporting events is a practice that is thousands of years old, but has recently had a resurgence as a noted phenomenon. Some sports have specific traditions with respect to pieces of music played at particular intervals. Others have made the presentation of music very specific to the team—even to particular players. Music may be used to build the energy of the fans, and music may also be introduced in ways that are less directly connected with the action in a sporting event.
Nancy Faust is an American former stadium organist for Major League Baseball's Chicago White Sox.
Lambert James Bartak was an American organist, best known for playing at the College World Series.
Jack Russell Memorial Stadium is a baseball field in Clearwater, Florida. It opened as Jack Russell Stadium in 1955. It was the spring training home of the Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball team from 1955 through 2003. Since 2017, it has been home to the Clearwater High School and St. Petersburg College baseball teams.
Boston, Massachusetts, is home to several major professional sports franchises. They include the Red Sox (baseball), the Celtics, and the Bruins. The New England Patriots and the New England Revolution play at Gillette Stadium in nearby Foxborough, Massachusetts.
The 2008 Major League Baseball season began on March 25, 2008, in Tokyo, Japan with the 2007 World Series champion Boston Red Sox defeating the Oakland Athletics at the Tokyo Dome 6–5 in the first game of a two-game series, and ended on September 30 with the host Chicago White Sox defeating the Minnesota Twins in a one-game playoff to win the AL Central. The Civil Rights Game, an exhibition, in Memphis, Tennessee, took place March 29 when the New York Mets beat the Chicago White Sox, 3–2.
Charles Schwab Field Omaha is a baseball park in Omaha, Nebraska. Opened in 2011, the stadium serves as a replacement for historic Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium.
Joshua Kantor is the organist for Boston Red Sox home games at Fenway Park and plays keyboards and organ for the bands Jim's Big Ego, the Split Squad, and the Baseball Project.
Gary Pressy is an American organist. He played organ for the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. On Saturday, May 25, 2019, Pressy reached his 2,633-consecutive played game; never having missed a day in 33 years. He retired at the end of the 2019 season.
Matthew Kaminski is the organist for the Atlanta Braves baseball team. He is known internationally for his use of Twitter to interact with fans to select walk-on music for members of the opposing teams. The BBC News featured Kaminski's use of social media to crowdsource ideas for amusing or pointed walkup songs, and Sports Illustrated accused him of "expertly trolling" with his musical choices.
Dieter Ruehle is an American musician who is the stadium organist for Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers and National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings. As of October 2020, Ruehle has played for three championship teams in three different sports: Dodgers in 2020; Lakers in 2002, 2009 and 2010; and Kings in 2012 and 2014.
Paul Cartier is the stadium organist for Major League Baseball's New York Yankees and the National Hockey League's New York Islanders.
Dustin Tatro is an American musician who is the stadium organist for Major League Baseball's Texas Rangers.
Lindsay Imber is an American musician who is the stadium organist for the National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks.
Ron Poster is an American musician known for being the official organist for the Boston Bruins, a position he has held since 2001. Poster also played organ for all Boston Celtics home games from 2011-2013. As a stadium organist, Poster prides himself on being able to play the right song at the right time in a fast-moving game, and being knowledgeable about current popular music. Like other stadium organists, Poster uses social media to interact with fans in real time.