- Eddie Layton
Edward M. Layton (
October 10 1925 –December 26 2004 ) played the organ atYankee Stadium for 31 seasons, earning him membership in theNew York Sports Hall of Fame .Layton was a native of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ; he graduated fromWest Chester Teachers College majoring inmeteorology with a minor in music. He began playing the organ when he was twelve years old. While serving in theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II , he learned to play theHammond organ . After the war, he began a career as a professional organist writing scores forsoap opera s onCBS .He joined the
New York Yankees franchise in 1967 when team presidentMike Burke inaugurated organ music at the stadium. When he was hired, he had never been to the stadium and knew nothing aboutbaseball , but quickly learned the ropes. He went on to play for the Yankees for over 3 decades, with a break from 1971-1977 while he pursued other musical commitments. When he retired onSeptember 28 ,2003 , his last performance was to play "Take Me Out to the Ball Game ", with fans chanting "Eddie! Eddie!".In addition to playing for the Yankees, he was the organist for the
New York Knicks and theNew York Rangers for 18 years. This made him the answer to a popular trivia question among New York sports fans: "Q: Who was the only person to play for the Yankees, Knicks, and Rangers? A: Eddie Layton." He also performed concerts in more than 200 cities for the Hammond Organ company and released 26 albums, selling over 3 million copies. In addition, Layton played the organ atRadio City Music Hall forPace University commencements held there. The student union at Pace University's New York City campus was named in his honor.He died at age 79 at his home in Queens, following a brief illness.
Controversy
One item that Layton took credit for was being the first to come up with the idea of playing
charge calls at a baseball game in 1971. [cite news |publisher=Village Voice |title= Three Kings |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0124,ryan,25520,3.html |date=June 13-19, 2001] However, Michael Silverbush claims to have made the innovation eight years prior. Silverbush brought his trumpet toShea Stadium ,Yankee Stadium andPolo Grounds stadium games from 1963-1972.Ken Burn's 1994 "Baseball", a documentary, contained some video-graphic evidence buttressing Silverbush's claim. During the sequence on the new
Mets fans in the film's 8th installment, Silverbush can briefly be seen playing a trumpet at theShea Stadium in 1969.Notes
External links
* [http://www.ultimateyankees.com/eddielaytonbiography.htm Ultimate Yankees]
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