Jack Norworth, author of the song, had never attended a baseball game when he wrote the lyrics for “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”
It is a warm summer night, the top of the seventh inning has just concluded, and the organ rings throughout the stadium — it’s time to sing one of America’s most iconic tunes.
During an era when baseball fandom was overwhelmingly male-dominated, the character Katie stands out as an unusual creation. Yet few baseball fans, let alone Americans at large, know the true history behind this 118-year-old symbol of our country’s pastime.
To get to its origins, we must travel back to 1908 — a year that saw the debut of the Ford Model T in the automobile market; New York City drop the first New Year’s Eve ball in Times Square; and the Grand Canyon declared a national monument.
The story goes that Jack Norworth was riding a New York subway train when he was inspired by a sign reading “Baseball Today — Polo Grounds.” He quickly developed the lyrics to the song, with Albert Von Tilzer composing the music.
