“Take Me Out to the Ball Game”

Local Little League team to unveil baseball stamp

FAIRPLAY, MD — Coaches and players from the Sharpsburg Little League team will be in full swing when they unveil “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” commemorative stamp on Saturday, July 26 at Fairplay Post Office located at 8215 Sharpsburg Pike, Fairplay, MD at 10:00 a.m.  Fans will have the opportunity to purchase the new “Take me out to the Ball Game” stamp. “We are very excited to have our local Little League team be a part of the ceremony,” said Fairplay Officer-in-Charge Shannon Snyder.

On July 16, 2008, in Washington, DC, the Postal Service™ issued the 42–cent Take Me Out to the Ball Game commemorative stamp. President Bush joined the Postmaster General in unveiling the “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” stamp to celebrate the song’s 100th anniversary. The First-Day-of-Issue ceremony took place on the White House South Lawn where 51 young players representing all 50 states and Washington, DC, played in the White House All-Star Tee Ball game. The stamp was designed by Richard Sheaff of Scottsdale, Arizona.

This issuance commemorates the 100th anniversary of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” one of the most popular baseball songs of all time. For decades, the song’s catchy chorus has been part of the musical tradition at ballparks around the country, especially during the seventh–inning stretch. The song was born on a New York City train in the summer of 1908, when passenger Jack Norworth (1879–1959), an actor, singer, and songwriter who had never attended a major league ball game, saw a sign about an upcoming game at the Polo Grounds. Suddenly inspired, he took out a piece of paper and began dashing off lines about a fictional fan.

The stamp image is based on a circa-1880 “trade card” from the personal collection of art director Richard Sheaff of Scottsdale, AZ. The original card shows a baseball scene and contains words promoting a product made by a Michigan company. The stamp art shows the same scene but replaces the product-related words with “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” the stamp denomination, notes from the music, and the words “United States of America.”