Columbia Blowfish Welcome Midlands Postal Employees for “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” Centennial Celebration

America’s Third Most Popular Tune was Written in 1908

COLUMBIA— Columbia Blowfish President Bill Shanahan and the team will welcome more than 1,000 of the Midlands’ postal employees and their families to Capital City Stadium on Thursday, July 17 for a special “Postal Employee Night at the Ball Park” and a game with the Wilson Tobs, starting at 7:05 p.m.

Postal employees from Columbia, as well as Midlands Post Offices (ZIP Codes 291 and 290), have been treated to complementary general admission tickets for two to the game. The occasion for the celebration is to mark the centennial of the classic baseball tune, which was written in 1908 by Jack Norwood and Alfred Von Tilzer. It is America’s third most popular song, after “Happy Birthday” and the National Anthem. The new commemorative stamp goes on sale nationwide July 16.

Beginning at 6:45 p.m., WIS-TV’s Joe Pinner, Columbia Postmaster Jim Antill and Blowie, the mascot, will ceremonially unveil the new stamp at home plate and lead the crowd in the song. Postmaster Antill will then throw out the first pitch. A special postmark featuring the Columbia Blowfish logo, which will be advertised nationwide in the Postal Bulletin, will be available at the stadium.

“I love the All-American traditions of baseball and the fans,” said Shanahan, “and what could be more American than a stadium full of fans who work for the U. S. Postal Service.”

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 (attached) 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.”

For more information or tickets please call 803-254-FISH or log onto: www.blowfishbaseball.com

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An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits every address in the nation — 146 million homes and businesses. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses, not tax dollars. The Postal Service has annual revenues of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.