Which baseball tradition originated at Chicago’s Wrigley Field in 1941?

There are certain traditions associated with the great American pastime of baseball. Fans expect to eat hot dogs and roasted peanuts, sing ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’ during the seventh inning stretch, and hear organ music. It’s all part of the experience. Hearing an organ at the ballpark is just one of the many unique and quirky traditions that makes baseball awesome.

The tradition of playing organ music at baseball games originated at Chicago's Wrigley Field in 1941. In that year, Philip Wrigley, the owner of the Cubs whom the field is named after, installed a pipe organ just behind the grandstand - but why an organ?

In the early 20th century, organs were played in theaters to provide music for silent films. Since they were already associated with entertainment, Wrigley decided to incorporate an organ into the Cubs’ games. At the time, the organ was also the only instrument that could be heard throughout a stadium. On April 26th of that year, Chicago’s Wrigley Field became the first baseball stadium to feature an organ (they still feature a live organ, not a digital recording).

That first performance, a pre-game “concert” by Ray Nelson, delighted the fans who arrived early. (The organ was only played prior to the game, as it would have interfered with the radio microphones used at that time.)

Organ music became so popular with the crowds that it quickly became a new tradition; soon baseball fields around the country were installing organs.