A celebration of Baseball’s Greatest Song, Greatest Team, and Greatest Organ.

St. Malachy’s Roman Catholic Church hosts a Vaudeville-style celebration in honor of Philadelphia’s Own Jack Norworth, writer of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”

Sunday April 5th, 4 p.m. St Malachy’s Roman Catholic Church

1429 N 11th St (just 2 blocks north of Girard) Philadelphia, PA 19122 (215) 763-1305

St. Malachy’s Roman Catholic Church is proud to present an afternoon concert and variety show celebrating the opening of the baseball season, Philadelphia’s own famous baseball song, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” and the historic 140-year-old Knauff organ at St. Malachy’s.

Baseball Music 101: “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” written in 1908 by Philadelphia’s own Jack Norworth, turns 101 this year. The enduring classic tune is the third most frequently heard tune in American culture, behind only “Happy Birthday to You,” and “The Star Spangled Banner.”

(I Believe In) The Church of Baseball: St Malachy’s is proud to host this fundraising event to support restoration of its 140-year-old organ, declared “an instrument of exceptional historic merit worthy of preservation,” by the Organ Historical Society. Amazingly, the man who built St. Malachy’s organ—and many others—was Henry Knauff, the grandfather of Jack Norworth! Knauff was a master organ builder who brought fame and esteem to Philadelphia with his innovative organ designs.

Who’s On First: The concert will feature swinging jazz sax by David Demsey of William Paterson University, a rendition of “Casey at the Bat” by Tim Wiles, Director of Research at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, barbershop quartet “Born to Sing,” Seventh-grade student and classical pianist extraordinaire Marvin Brown, and the St. Malachy’s Choir. The Abbott and Costello routine “Who’s on First” will be performed by local thespians Tony Braithwaite and Joe Mallon. Special surprise guests may appear.

(Not Just A) “Pipe Dream…” Dedicated volunteers at St. Malachy’s have been working for several years to clean, repair, and restore the organ, which suffered damage in a 1997 collapse of the church ceiling. The estimated cost for materials and crafted skills to restore the organ is $300,000.

Second Hottest Ticket In Town: The World Champion Phillies will open their season later the same evening, but tickets are hard to come by. Our concert is free! (Though we will pass the hat) Stop by at 4 p.m. for an hour or two of music, followed by a reception and silent auction featuring historic baseball and music items, as well as dinner packages and vacation offerings.

Baseball’s Greatest Hit: There have been 3,455,558 hits since major league baseball began back in 1871, but baseball’s greatest hit remains “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” Author Tim Wiles will be on hand to sign copies of his book/cd combination on the song, and $5 from each sale will benefit the organ fund.

Hungry For Music: Baseball CDs from this charitable organization which provides instruments and lessons to children unable to afford them on their own will be available for sale. www.hungryformusic.org

What’s the Score? For more information, contact St. Malachy’s at (215) 763-1305 or

cecilessj@yahoo.com.