Eddie Layton

Although aficionados of space age pop held Hammond organ virtuoso Eddie Layton in high esteem, visitors to the House That Ruth Built showed even greater affection for the performer who filled the role of official organist at Yankee Stadium for nearly four decades. Philadelphia native Layton entered the world on October 19, 1925, and pursued childhood music lessons before choosing meteorology as his college major. His service in the U.S. Navy during World War II introduced him to the Hammond instrument at a Naval air station in Linhurst, NJ, an encounter that determined his future path. Following the war he trained with legendary theater pipe organist Jesse Crawford, performed on the theater circuit, and secured a regular position at Radio City Music Hall. Layton subsequently joined CBS, working first in radio and later in television, while maintaining a relationship with the Hammond company that spanned more than five decades and included demonstrations at over 700 music stores across five continents. He also pursued a recording career, issuing a sequence of jazzy easy listening albums on Mercury such as Organ Moods, No Blues on This Cruise, and Better Layton Than Never.

Two years after CBS acquired the New York Yankees, the team invited Layton in 1967 to become the ballpark organist. Unfamiliar with baseball and unable to provide his own transportation to the club’s 81 annual home games, he initially declined, yet the Yankees secured his acceptance by arranging daily limousine service. Once hired, he began by playing solely between innings; during one losing contest he introduced the military trumpet call “Charge!,” whose immediate popularity with fans and management earned him both a raise and a directive to perform at various moments throughout each game. Over subsequent decades he created additional standard ballpark cues, among them “The Mexican Hat Dance.” His final album, Ya Gotta Have Heart, collects many of the pieces that became Yankee Stadium staples. During the 1970s Layton also supplied accompaniment for the NBA’s Knicks and the NHL’s Rangers before restricting his commitments to the Yankees alone. He stepped away from the team in 2003 and died in New York City on December 24, 2004.