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'Root, Root, Root' For Song's 100th Birthday

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The Associated Press

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 15, 2008

CLEVELAND - Frank Sinatra and Frank Zappa each recorded it. Mike Ditka and Ozzy Osbourne each performed it.

It rises into the summer sky at ballparks across the country, and will at tonight's All-Star Game, as thousands of voices sing it as one.

"Take Me Out To The Ball Game" turns 100.

Now the third-most frequently sung song in the United States, the tune about America's favorite pastime was hastily written on a New York subway - or so the story goes.

A sign advertising a game supposedly inspired singer Jack Norworth. In about the time it takes to play an inning, Norworth jotted some lyrics about a fan named Katie Casey whose boyfriend asked if she'd like to go to a show. Her response is the chorus "Take Me Out to the Ball Game."

It was not sung at a ball field until 1934, then not during a seventh-inning stretch until 1976.

Today, according to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, the song trails only "Happy Birthday" and "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the most frequently performed songs.

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