Ask Babe: More questions for the Babe

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Chalk this one up to nobody asked me, but... In light of the 100th anniversary of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame,'' Da Babe was curious about the value of original sheet music. It's not that much. The song was a hit from the get-go with millions of copies of sheet music sold, so a copy is only worth around $100, according to several auction sources.Da Babe is more interested in history than values. With the song tied to the seventh-inning stretch, we're looking at a double dose of history -- that of the classic and that of the stretch itself.When it comes to history of the National Pastime, the best place for information is often the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. I hit the jackpot with Tim Wiles, director of research for the hall and its museum. He also happens to be co-author of a book entitled "Baseball's Greatest Hit: The story of Take Me out to the Ball Game,'' which was published this year. The book is about all songs baseball, but three chapters are devoted to the seventh-inning stretch and the song. "Well, the one thing we know is that it predates 1908, when 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' was written,'' said Wiles.There are several creation stories surrounding the seventh-inning stretch, and at best, only one of them can be true. The most unlikely is that President William Howard Taft, attending the Washington Senators' home opener in 1910, grew weary between halves of the seventh, and got up to stretch. Fans thought he was getting up to leave, and stood out of respect, and thus was a custom born. Why they would stand again at the same time the next day, and every day thereafter, and why fans in other cities would follow suit is never addressed."It's interesting to note that Taft supposedly "stretched'' on April 14, 1910, in Washington. Wiles says the first appearance in print for the phrase "seventh-inning stretch'' was in the April 17, 1910, edition of the New York Times, referring to a game from the previous day. It's doubtful that if Taft "stretched on a Thursday in Washington,'' the idea spread all the way to New York City by Saturday. Remember, there was no Internet and ESPN back then.More than likely the idea of stretching probably dates back to 1869, where folks supposed exercised themselves between halves of the seventh inning at Red Stockings games. The team, the first openly professional squad, helped to spread the idea during a national tour.The history of the stretch is of interest, but the history of the song is the stuff of legends.Jack Norworth had never been to a baseball game as he rode a New York subway back in 1908. Somewhere along the way a sign flashed by. It read "Baseball Today -- Polo Grounds.'' Norworth started scribbling on a piece of scratch paper or possibly an envelope. He penned 14 lines. Composer Albert Von Tilzer put the words to music. Voila. A classic was born.The words came from Katie Casey, who later became Nelly Kelly when the song was redone in the late 1920s.What most don't realize is that the words just about every American knows -- except for some celebrities that have embarrassed themselves at Wrigley Field -- is actually the second verse. First or second, it's hard to argue about the song.As for marrying the song to the stretch, that's actually a modern phenomenon. It dates back to the mid-1970s. That's when showman Bill Veeck purchased the White Sox for the second time. His announcer, Harry Caray, had been singing the tune mostly to himself in the press box during the stretch.One thing led to another and Veeck finally got Caray to sing to the crowd. The rest, as they say, is history. Of course history got a big boost when Caray left the ChiSox and head to Chicago's north side to become Cubs play-by-play guy in 1981. The Wrigley Field faithful loved the ritual. It didn't hurt that Cubs games were televised nationwide over WGN cable network.The symmetry of it all. A 1908 song that was given a modern boost by the folks at Wrigley Field turns 100 in the same year the team celebrates the 100 anniversary since it last won a World Series.There more to tell, but space is at a premium. Check of my blog at www.scrippsnews.com/waxpak for more including lyrics.(Send card questions to Babe Waxpak, PO Box 492397, Redding, CA 96049-2397 or e-mail babewaxpak(at)charter.net. If possible, include card number, year and brand or a photocopy. Please do not send cards. For Babe Waxpak's blog, see www.scrippsnews.com/waxpak. Babe Waxpak is a feature of The Record Searchlight in Redding, Calif.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)