[Editor’s Note: Today we have the start of a new series of entries by intern Mike Chamernik, who’s taken a deep, deep dive on an excellent topic. Enjoy. ”” PL]
By Mike Chamernik
Paul has written several times over the years about how much he loves the song in the video shown above. It’s “We Want a Hit,” an early song devoted to the New York Mets. But if you’re not a Mets fan, no problem — I have found many, many more team-specific fight songs, and over the next week or two we’re going to check out a bunch of them. With the MLB season having started last night and kicking into high gear today, we’re going to begin today with MLB fight songs. Caution: Earworms ahead.
Some quick ground rules: I ignored adopted songs, like how “Chelsea Dagger” is now a Blackhawks song and “Sweet Caroline” is an anthem for Red Sox Nation. Those songs don’t make references to those teams and were their own pieces of music before being attached to sports. I ignored team remixes to popular songs, because nearly every team has its own terrible version of Wiz Khalifa’s “Black and Yellow.” I also didn’t include fan-made songs because any yutz can make an EDM beat on his laptop and lay over some half-baked lyrics.
I also stuck to the Big Four leagues and songs that are available on YouTube. Okay, let’s get into it.
Baltimore Orioles ”“ “Orioles Magic (Feel It Happen)”
The song, made in 1979, was written by a jingle writer. The song was inspired by a Doug DeCinces walk-off home run and took an hour to write. The singer’s identity is apparently lost to history.
Notable lyric: “The thundering roar from 34” references Section 34 at Memorial Stadium, where O’s superfan Wild Bill Hagy sat.
Boston Red Sox ”“ “Tessie”
This song is originally from 1902, but the popular Dropkick Murphys version tells the backstory of the original song and adds some very early Boston Red Sox references.
Fun fact: I’ve heard this song well over 7,500 times because it’s on the soundtrack for MVP Baseball, the best baseball video game ever and a game I’ve played for 10 years now.
Chicago Cubs ”“ “Go Cubs Go”
The song was written in 1984 by Cubs fan and singer-songwriter Steve Goodman, who died of leukemia later that year. “Go Cubs Go” is now played after Cubs games and sung on weekend nights by drunk 20-somethings in Wrigleyville.
Fun fact: The song reached No. 1 on the folk music chart on iTunes in 2007, when the Cubs were making a playoff run.
Chicago White Sox ”“ “Let’s Go Go Go White Sox”
The song first appeared in 1959 when the group Captain Stubby and Buccaneers made the song for the American League pennant-bound Go-Go White Sox. It then disappeared for 45 years or so until it made a resurgence when the 2005 White Sox, also a small-ball team, won 99 games and a World Series title.
Notable lyric: “You’re always in there fighting and you do your best/ We’re glad to have you out here in the middle west.” I’ve never heard it called the “Middle West” outside of this song.
Cincinnati Reds – “Reds Hot”
It seems that a dopey rap song written by shortstop Barry Larkin helped to spur the Reds to a World Series title in 1990. “Reds Hot” by B-Lark and the Homeboys uses a standard early-90s hip hop beat and interjects play-by-play audio. It’s bad (you can tell the players are reading the lyrics) but it’s charmingly bad because it’s intentionally silly.
Notable lyric: “Say no to drugs, Say no to crack / Just hit the books and the ball with the bat / then you can win the World Series of life / Not by doing what’s wrong, just do what’s right.” The crack epidemic ended in the early 1990s. I think B-Lark and the Homeboys had a hand in that.
Cleveland Indians ”“ “Indians Baseball Song,” “Talkin’ Tribe,” and “Indian Fever”
The Indians have a few team songs but three stand out. One is the snappily named “Indians Baseball Song,” a 1960s orchestra piece that has a bossa nova feel to it. The second is “Talkin’ Tribe,” which sounds like a TV station’s theme song to an Indians studio show. The third is “Indian Fever,” kind of a standard team jingle.
Over-saturation alert: Wait, I found a different song that mentions “Indian Fever,” also about the team. What’s going on here?
Detroit Tigers – “Go Get’um Tigers,” and “Bless You Boys”
“Go Get’um Tigers” is an up-tempo, banjo-driven song with a distinctive 1960s sound. It’s still fairly well-liked in Michigan. The 1984 song “Bless You Boys,” based off of local sports anchor Al Ackerman’s catchphrase, references both Tigers manager Sparky Anderson and pop singer Boy George.
Fun fact: The popular phrase of encouragement “Go get ’em, tiger” got its origins from the Tigers’ song. Fine, I can’t prove that, but it sounds like it could be true.
Los Angeles Dodgers – “D-O-D-G-E-R-S Song”
This 1962 song, performed by comedian Danny Kaye in 1962, is different than all the other fight songs in a few ways. One, it tells a story, in this case it’s a narrative of a Dodgers game against the rival Giants. Two, the song is really an extended stream-of-consciousness riff. Three, it’s meant to be humorous. All those points are exemplified in this lyric: “Maury goes, the catcher throws / Right from the solar plexus / At the bag, he beats the tag / That mighty little waif / And umpire Conlin cries… ‘Yer out!'”
Fun fact: The song was rewritten in 1982, with updated Dodgers references, but Kaye never recorded it.
Miami Marlins – “Marlins Will Soar”
I’m breaking my own rule because this song is a remake, but I had to include it. In 2010, Florida native Scott Stapp remade his band Creed’s song “You Will Soar” (hence the nonsensical title) and turned it into a Marlins fight song. Of course, everyone really appreciated and enjoyed it.
My opinion: I get a kick out of this song. I just want to sing the lyrics “Let’s play ball, it’s game day / We watch strikeouts, base hits, double plays” in the most Scott Stapp-iest voice I can conjure up. And if I were a Marlins fan, I would absolutely taunt the living daylights out of fans of long-suffering teams. “Hey guys! We have two World Series titles and Giancarlo Stanton, and our fans barely show up for games! And Scott Stapp wrote a song about us! With arms wide opennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn…”
Milwaukee Brewers – “Keep Turning Up The Heat” and “Brewers Fever”
It delights me that the Brewers have two 1980s fight songs. The 1980 entry “Brewers Fever” is good (I like the small hint of that distinctive disco sound), but 1985’s “Keep Turning Up The Heat” is a gem. It’s got a really quick tempo. Gets me fired up.
Fun fact: During pitching changes on the team’s online radio broadcasts in spring training this year, “Keep Turning Up The Heat” was played instead of a commercial break.
Minnesota Twins – “We’re Going To Win, Twins”
This song is so distinctively 1960s. It led off Twins television broadcasts for a number of years and even got at least one stylistic reboot.
Fun fact: “We’re Going To Win, Twins” was written by Ray Charles! OK, not the Ray Charles.
New York Mets – “Meet The Mets” and “Let’s Go Mets”
Written a year before the genesis of the team, “Meet The Mets” is a peppy tune with quaint lyrics like “Because the Mets are really sockin’ the ball / knocking those home runs over the wall” and “Oh, the butcher and the baker and the people on the streets/ where did they go? To meet the Mets!” New York Times writer Leonard Koppett called the song “atonal.” “Meet The Mets” got remakes in 1975 and 1984. In 1986, the team produced “Let’s Go Mets,” a mildly cringe-tastic lip sync rock video as well.
Fun fact: “Meet The Mets” was played in a SportsCenter commercial and in episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond and Seinfeld.
New York Yankees – “Here Come The Yankees”
I was surprised to see that such a prestigious and professional organization like the Yankees had a fight song, but they did.
Notable lyric: An ad-libbed yell (“Put it over the wall!”) is included in the song.
Philadelphia Phillies – “Phillies Fever”
Produced in 1976, “Phillies Fever” has, you guessed it, a distinct disco sound, and a funky bassline, too.
Notable lyrics: “Veterans Stadium is the hippest place in town” made me laugh for some reason. Also the non-singing dialogue spliced into the song is an odd choice.
San Francisco Giants – “Bye Bye Baby”
This marching band tune was based on Giants’ announcer Russ Hodges’s home run call.
Notable lyric: “If you’re a fan of Giants baseball, sing ‘Bye-Bye Baby!’ / If you want to be in first place, call ‘Bye-Bye Baby!’ / Listen to the broadcast on KSFO / Turn up the volume, and hear ’em go.” I don’t know why, but the plug for the team’s radio affiliate worked well here. It’s a reminder of simpler times.
Toronto Blue Jays – “OK Blue Jays”
I’ll be honest, the opening lyric “You’ve got a diamond / you got nine men…” is outstandingly awful. And it’s downhill from there. But Blue Jays fans like the 1983 song and that’s all that matters. The single was certified gold in 1986 and is played during the seventh inning stretch at home games.
Notable lyric: “Is that a fly ball / Or is it a seagull? / Coming in from the lake / Just to catch the game?” brings to mind an unfortunate seagull incident at Exhibiton Stadium.
Do you know of more MLB team fight songs? Post links in today’s comments. I’ll be back soon with additional fight song entries for the NFL, NBA, and NHL.
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Collector’s Corner
By Brinke Guthrie
It’s Opening Day, so Collector’s Corner is all MLB today (don’t worry, my eternal fascination with 1970s NFL returns next week). To honor the defending World Series Champions, we start off with this nice 1960s Willie Mays bobblehead. Say Hey!
Here are the rest of this week’s MLB/eBay picks:
• Learn how to play baseball like The Mick with this 1950s board game. Authentic, suspenseful, and exciting!
• Here’s a great-looking set of 1960s team pins from Crane Potato Chips.
• Is it just me, or does Yogi look like Bobby Valentine in this 1960s Mets/Volpe thermal cup?
• One of my favorite logos ever: the early-1970s Texas Rangers logo, adorning this plaque.
• Get tips on pitching from Dick Stigman of the Twins, on this flexi-disc record.
• This 1960s Phillies bobble is in great shape!
• Anyone remember these? National League team can banks from 1984. American League versions can be found here.
• Here’s a set of 14 vintage team pennants, including one for MLB and one for the NL.
• Also, a 1970s set of 20 MLB stickers from Kellogg’s.
And finally, here’s a set of two Brewers “Barrelman” glasses sponsored by WTMJ TV.
Follow Brinke on Twitter: @brinkeguthrie
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PermaRec update: The snapshot, typewritten note, and empty birth control pill blister pack shown above are part of a large cache of materials found in an old briefcase purchased at a German estate sale. The materials all document a long-ago affair between a German businessman and his secretary. Get the full scoop over on Permanent Record.
Also: There’s an additional new PermaRec entry, this one based on two vintage tea towels, with their original price tags still attached, that I bought over the weekend at a flea market:
Those two price tags led me down a fun little rabbit hole involving old department stores in Pennsylvania. Details here.
Play ball! Okay, so the Cubs and Cardinals played last night, and a bunch of other teams will be playing early this afternoon. But as far as I’m concerned, the baseball season doesn’t really start until the Reds play, and today that won’t happen until 4pm Eastern. With that in mind, reader Mike Powers sent along his favorite Opening Day photo (shown at right), which is just too perfect for words.
Four o’clock is also when my favorite team, the Mets, will begin their first game. Can’t wait! Here’s to a great season for one and all.
Baseball News: Here’s a good view of the Tigers’ stars/stripes shield patch from 1945. Many teams wore this patch to support America’s involvement in WWII. … Speaking of the Tigers, Gates Brown of the 1968 championship team appears to have had his uni number written on his underwear, or jock strap, or something (from Tristan Ridgeway). … Former MLB catcher Jason Kendall wrote a book last year, and apparently he comes off like a prick. Key quote: “[Kendall says in the book] again and again just how hard he worked, how lazy today’s ballplayers are by comparison and slammed those who wear their socks high: ‘In my mind, that’s a college thing'” (from Chris Weber). ”¦ Tennessee and Mississippi went red vs. orange on Saturday. ”¦ A Bowling Green softball catcher is mixing Nike with Adidas. ”¦ Here’s the latest article about how the baseball cap has become our culture’s all-purpose headwear. ”¦ Here’s a great little clip of the 1970s A’s in their beautiful solid-gold vested unis. Good screen grabs and commentary here. ”¦ Roger Krafve recently acquired an old late-1950s batting helmet with earflaps added on as an aftermarket attachment. Never seen anything like that. If you look at this photo of helmets being tested, it looks like the white one hanging on the wall may have a similar attachment, and possibly also the dark helmet above and to the left of the white one. Interesting! ”¦ Pink-lettered jerseys tomorrow for Chapel Hill High School in North Carolina. ”¦ Lots of promo jerseys on tap this season for the Bowling Green Hot Rods. ”¦ New uniforms for Niagara Community College (from Cort McMurray). ”¦ The Nats marked the cherry blossom festival in DC by creating a logo showing a cherry blossom with baseball stitching for Saturday’s exhibition game against the Yankees (from Jorge Cruz). ”¦ A shop in Pittsburgh is mixing Pirates and Zombies (from Gordon Blau). ”¦ The Chiba Lotte Marines are wearing light blue alternates for eight home games in April (from Yusuke Toyoda). ”¦ Word on the street is that the Nats will officially be named as the 2018 MLB All-Star Game hosts at some point today. ”¦ Speaking of the Nats, here’s a good slideshow of their racing presidents. ”¦ With construction and renovations at Wrigley Field resulting super-long bathroom lines during last night’s season opener, some fans resorted to peeing in cups.
NFL News: Someone on Twitter posted what’s purported to be a glimpse of the Browns’ new style guide. Several readers have pointed out things that supposedly give it away as a fake (no swoosh on the orange pants, e.g.). Whatever — we’ll all find out for sure on April 14. ”¦ A former Saints player is looking to sell his helmet and 2009 Super Bowl ring. ”¦ The Bills’ “charging buffalo” logo was introduced 41 years ago yesterday (thanks, Brinke).
Hockey News: Good spot by Jarred Hufford, who notes that the Flyers’ 1968-69 team portrait shows two players with a white “A” patch and one player with a black one. ”¦ Phil had a shot of Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist’s Back to the Future-themed mask in yesterday’s Ticker, but Alan Kreit explains that it’s part of a larger story: “It’s a charitable promotion where he had masks designed by Michael J. Fox, Mario Batali, Jeff Gordon, and some DJ. He wears each mask for one game and they will be auctioned for charity. A show on MSG, called The Mask, details each design.” ”¦ Longtime NHL ref Paul Devorski worked his final game yesterday, and the members of his officiating crew — including Devorski himself — marked the occasion by wearing a chest patch with his uniform number (from Mike Engle). ”¦ Interesting article on AHL arenas.
NBA News: Here’s a weird one: John Wall’s personal logo, which debuted last year, actually appeared in an April 2013 episode of The Office (from @Tyeezus417).
College Hoops News: At first it looked like a Duke player had a black power logo on his warm-up jacket the other night, but then Travis Ruda came up with a more likely explanation.
Soccer News: Bizarre prouct-endorsement story from Yusuke Toyoda, who writes: “Wesley Sneijder of Galatasaray found himself in hot water when he tweeted about the launch of his club-colored knife set (!) days before the 15th anniversary of the stabbing death of two Leeds United supporters the night before Leeds played at Galatasaray.”
Grab Bag: Light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson and challenger Sakio Bika both wore gold trunks for Saturday night’s title bout. ”¦ In a reversal of policy, Iran is now allowing women to attend most sporting events. Key quote: [An official said] women and their families would be allowed to attend most athletic events, except for those of ‘masculine’ sports, like wrestling or swimming, during which male athletes wear uniforms or suits that cover little of their bodies.” ”¦ Here’s a 1987 article about a then-new study showing that black uniforms made athletes more aggressive. ”¦ Today is Tartan Day in Scotland, so lots of people are wearing tartan.
What Paul did last night Friday night: Friday night was so awesome. Why can’t every night be like this?
First stop was Kikkerland, the Danish design shop on Sixth Ave. that sells all sorts of playful little trinkets and gizmos, including a kit that lets you build your own cardboard Brooklyn-style water tower. Kikkerland recently gave these kits to 50 NYC artists and invited them to paint, decorate, modify, or otherwise get creative with the water tanks. The results are now being exhibited at the shop, and on Friday evening my friend Vicky and I checked out the opening reception, which was so much fun! A Uni Watch reader (whose name I no longer recall, sorry) recognized me and said hi, which was a nice bonus.
There are good photos of the towers here and here. Here’s a photo I took myself, of the tower I liked best (click to enlarge):
Afterward, Vicky, her fella, and I went and got eats and drinks at a nearby Spanish bar, and then we headed down to Cake Shop for the night’s main event: the awesome Columbus band Connections, making their long-overdue NYC debut. And holy fuck was it worth the wait — just an epic, epic show. My friend Bela, who puts out the band’s records and came in from Columbus for the show, took this shot of me and vocalist Kevin Elliott during the set:
I took some pics of my own, where you can see here:
Epic show last night by Connections, making their long-overdue NYC debut. Worth the wait.
Posted by Paul Lukas on Saturday, April 4, 2015
If you haven’t heard Connections yet, you need to get on the stick, boychick. Dig their tremendous sound here:
This was such a great time — bumped into lots of friends, many of whom I hadn’t seen in years, and made some new friends too. Lots of joy, lots of love. It’s actually a bit sad that a simple indie-rock show, which used to be a staple of my life, now qualifies as a Major Event, but the music scene has changed a lot over the years, and most NYC “music” clubs now seem more interested in hosting stand-up comedy, quiz shows, TV parties, and bake-offs (don’t get me started), so the good rock shows are now rare. This one was special.
Notorious NY windbag Phil Mushnick whines in his last paragraph this morning about the Blue Jackets 3rd jersey being black… you would think someone who writes about sports on TV would have HD, or at least a color TV? link
“Longtime NHL ref Paul Devorksi” misspells Devorski’s name. (The second reference is correct.) And the College Hoops News item has no link.
Both fixed.
“The song was written in 1984 by a Cubs fan who died of leukemia later that year.”
This is somewhat misleading. Steve Goodman was a professional musician who was a huge Cubs fan, not a random fan who happened to write the song.
Yeah, Steve Goodman not only wrote “City of New Orleans” that Arlo Guthrie made famous, but this David Allan Coe classic that features this classic set of verses:
Well a friend of mine named Steve Goodman wrote that song
And he told me it was the perfect country and western song
I wrote him back a letter and I told him it was not the
Perfect country and western song because he hadn’t said
Anything at all about momma or trains or trucks or prison or gettin’ drunk
Well he sat down and wrote another verse to this song
And he sent it to me and
After reading it I realized that my friend had written the
Perfect country and western song
And I felt obliged to include it on this album
The last verse goes like this here
Well I was drunk the day my mom got out of prison
And I went to pick her up in the rain
But before I could get to the station in the pick-up truck
She got runned over by a damned old train
As performed here:
link
He also wrote “My Old Man” and wrote or co-write several Jimmy Buffet standards, such as “Banana Republics,” “Frank and Lola,” “Door Number Three,” and “Woman Going Crazy on Caroline Street.”
If only we could find a sports fight song written by Don Schlitz.
Ah yes, I knew he was a professional musician. Bad wording on my part. I’ll fix it.
Thanks, Mike. We should also mention “A Dying Cubs Fan’s Last Request” here somewhere.
And as I go further down the page, I see Danny the Fraud and a couple of other posters already cited “Last Request”.
The Cubs also had the song “Hey Hey Holy Mackerel” that was played a lot during the mid 80’s, if memory serves. I think it was also used by WGN during broadcasts.
Yes – I was hoping for this song but just shows I am old
link
Curious to hear these songs and I still think Here comes the Hawks was the best team theme song ever produced.
The Gates Brown link needs to be fixed.
And, as I post that, it ends up being fixed.
About half a dozen links were wonky due to a coding typo. All now fixed.
About the Indians:
“The second is “Talkin’ Tribe,” which sounds like a TV station’s theme song to an Indians studio show”
That’s exactly right, but for the radio broadcast. I think it was from the mid-late 90’s
Talkin Tribe was also used for Channel 43 TV broadcasts during the 1990s as well, albeit in a modified version which included the station name. I still have a VHS tape around somewhere with the jingle.
The Indianapolis Indians have a song they play right as the gates are opening before every home game that mentions all kinds of players that have came through Indy(can’t find it on youtube though boo)
The Talkin Tribe song was a song that got played in the 90’s during the radio broadcast of games.
In 99/00 the Indians released a CD as a giveaway at a game and it had a bunch of radio calls from through the years and Talkin Tribe was the intro song to the CD. Man I wish I still had that CD.
NFL Fight Songs:
In 1990 the Washington NFL team played an exhibition game vs the Atlanta Falcons in Chapel Hill, NC as part of the Carolina ownership group’s process of being awarded an NFL franchise. I participated in the band put together for the event and was given “Hail to the Redskins” sheet music. I was shocked, at the time, that it included “Dixie” as a whole subsection, not just a few bars. We declined to play that part. I don’t know if this is common knowledge, but it certainly wasn’t to me at the time and I don’t think I’ve heard it mentioned since. Maybe you’ll find it on YouTube.
I thought it was common knowledge that it was pretty recently the line was changed from “fight for old Dixie” to “fight for old DC”.
I’m not talking about the lyrics, I’m talking about the melody “Dixie”-“Oh I wish I was in the land of cotton, Old times there…” etc and so forth and so on.
President Lincoln claimed that “Dixie” was a favorite song of his. The night of his last public speech, he concluded by telling the Marine band to play “Dixie.” Lyrics aside, it is a terrific little tune.
Soccer clubs would be the perfect subject for an article like this. There are so many songs created for each club by the fans. Obviously Liverpool would be the club to feature since they have the best fans in the game and have the best songs.
Rodgers and Hammerstein would be happy you like their work.
Cherry Red Records puts out collections of songs for various teams. Some of it was good and a lot of it only a fan could love.
Now someone please explain why so many teams use the theme from The Z-Cars.
Which clubs other than Everton run out to the Z Cars theme?
Here’s one theory on why Everton use Z Cars: link
About the closest thing the St. Louis Cardinals had was the old Budweiser commercial song. The crowd would stand up and clap the beat for it. I can even recall old Mr. August Busch riding around on the Clydesdale wagon while the song played.
If it’s the one I’m thinking of, it’s “Here Comes the King”
link
Around 1976-77, the Cardinals had an awful song called “We Can Do It,” that I suffered through before every game I attended that year. If it’s not on youtube, all the better, but I can assure you it existed and that it was hideously bad.
This one was created in 1960, I think and was re-popularized for years after any time the Pirates sniffed a pennant race.
link
Not surprised by the Pirates-zombie mash-up shirt. Western Pennsylvania has a long history with George Romero’s “Living Dead” series. Wnen I was out that way last summer with my cousin I even had a chance to visit a museum dedicated to the franchise in Evans City, the location of the original movie.
The Duke player with the fist logo was a football player singing the national anthem, so I don’t buy the quote explanation. The photo here, link, shows the patch goes where the Nike logo would be.
I don’t believe Duke would cover up the Nike logo, do you?
Yep. five individuals standing together on a football team would leave six other guys off doing their own things. It could be that, like a lot of college kids, he’s interested in social issues and nobody thought to vet his tracksuit for contraband logos.
“Five Individuals Standing Together” would work if he were an offensive lineman, though :p
Touché.
Though the OL coach would be yelling at them to get lower.
The Duke “player” with a possible black power logo was not a player. He was a Duke student who sang the national anthem. The only player who sang the national anthem was Vitto Brown from Wisconsin.
Well, they were all ‘players’, just one was from one of the teams participating, the others were from different sports at their respective schools.
Also a Baltimore Orioles favorite – Why Not?
link
I picked up this LP at a yard sale in the early-70s, it had a catchy title track as well:
link
I love the whole Tessie / Boston story, and it’s a sweet little tune that must have sounded terrific when sung by ten thousand lubricated Beantowners… But I just can’t handle the Dropkick Murphys. I’m a Pogues man, a Shane fanatic, and the DMs are just so damn unoriginal and clumsy.
Any Tessie-intrigued biped can go to iTunes check out Ray Miller’s instrumental version and the era-appropriate vocal edition by the lovely Lil Hawthorne.
Astros theme song from way back.
link
Not to mention “It Makes a Fellow Proud to be an Astro”…
Connections-one of my recent discoveries too, great stuff, hope they come to Minneapolis soon!
Team theme songs: “Go Go You Pilots” for the one-year wonder 1969 Seattle Pilots.
Reds Hot is never played and its not a fight song. And when the 1990 championship team appears they play U Can’t Touch this.
I woke up this morning thinking how sweet it would be if we could have a color-vs-color matchup for the tournament championship game tonight, especially now that we don’t have to worry about Kentucky/Duke. A guy can dream, right?
The Pirates have been playing Let’s Go Bucs at the stadium. I think they still play it after wins. link
Go Go You Pilots.
link
Mike, nice piece of research, although it seems YouTube did a lot of it for you. I’d suggest another criteria added to whether a song is a team’s fight song or not – that the team actually plays it at the stadium, or on commercials, or for some events, or it’s heard somewhat regularly.
But thanks for the long ago memory. As a Phillies fan living in the Delaware Valley, it was amusing to hear again a tune I hadn’t heard in almost 40 years.
Back in the 1950’s there was a jazzy tune promoting the Philadelphia MLB team:
link
There was even a ‘Mummers’ cover version:
link
If we’re gonna include a Steve Goodman song about the Cubbies, then a far better (and perhaps more appropriate) choice would be “Dying Cubs Fan’s Last Request.”
link
“Dying Cubs Fan’s Last Request” is a song about a Cubs fan. It is not a fight/team song.
link, written by
And speaking of the Senators, they had a fight song that link.
“Ya Gotta Have Heart” has sort of been the unofficial Washington baseball fight song since Damn Yankees came out:
link
Most seasons, “A Little Brains, A Little Talent” would have been more appropriate, though.
“California Angels: A-OK”
link
Typo in Baseball News: Bowling Gren (should be Green, obviously).
Fixed.
I’ve always loved “D-O-D-G-E-R-S” since discovering it back in the early 90s. Back then I played it for many other fellow Dodgers fans, none of which had ever heard it before. Great stuff, especially knowing about the early Dodgers/Giants rivalry carrying over to CA and the fact that so many actual players on both teams from that era were used.
Apropos of nothing, I’m a sucker for pre-match locker room shots in soccer like link and link and link and link and link and link.
One thing I noticed is that the jerseys are almost always arranged in order of jersey number, which seemed weird to me. But then, how else would you do it?
As mentioned above, Steve Goodman was a fantastic singer/songwriter, not just some random Cub fan. I might also add that “Go Cubs Go” was not his best Cubs song by a long shot. That would be “A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request,” performed here:
link
Three things:
“You Will Soar” is a Scott Stapp song, not a Creed song.
The Colorado Rockies have a theme song, it’s called “Take The Field” by Charles Denler. It’s super over the top dramatic, which I suppose is irony considering how shit the Rockies are.
And finally, no “Dodgertown” by Ozomatli? I mean, the song is pretty dumb, and I’d much rather hear “This is LA” by The Briggs, but still…
You missed the Astros Fight Song, which is still played. Go Go Astros! by Mark Hayes
link
link
Jason Kendall is right: Only chumps wear high socks.
link
link
link
link
Chumps.
I can understand a player who prefers pajama pants for himself. But lashing out like that at other people’s choices? To quote the great American philosopher, “What a maroon!”
Not to mention Jason Kendall’s own father, former MLBer Fred Kenadall:
link
The Reds released an entire CD a few years ago called “Cincinnati Clutch Hits,’ around the time they moved into GABP. It was… weird. link
The Cubs have a few others, too. Steve Goodman has a song called ‘A Dying Cubs Fan’s Last Request.’ link
And Eddie Vedder’s got one called ‘All The Way.’
link
Both surprisingly good.
I remember “Bob Uecker’s Wacky World Of Sports” would usually play a video of some team song every week. And a lot of them were cringe-worthy, like the LA Rams “Ram It” and the Patriots had a song to counter the Bears’ “Super Bowl Shuffle” which was too feel-good and sappy. (No wonder they lost.)
Opening Day and Tartan Day together–the perfect excuse to wear your kilt with stirrup socks to work today.
I don’t know if I buy the Coach K five-fingers explanation for that jacket patch, given that this exact logo is used by a number of black organizations, including By Any Means Necessary. It’s all over the place.
Do we know who the home team is in tonight’s Nat’l Champ game?
Wisconsin, by virtue of defeating the tourney’s overall #1 seed.
That’s not how it works. Duke is the tournament’s overall #2 seed, Wisconsin the overall #4. Duke is therefore the home team
The Yankees’ fight song (or at least a modernized, re-recorded version of it) is played as the cold-open and closing theme song for radio broadcasts, and it’s been that way for as long as I can remember. No lyrics, though. (At least not since the mid-1990’s, or so.)
Right, it was that way from the early 1970s, when I started watching baseball, through the end of 1996, when I stopped. And that “ding!” sound after the first three notes is so wonderful.
Love that Nats “Blossoms & Baseball” logo. I roughed up a version with a navy blue outline to get both of the actual team colors into it:
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Assuming that concept was executed by a design professional, I think I might prefer it to the actual team logo. Certainly, if any MLB team could pull off pink accents, it’d be the one with cherry trees blossoming in the outfield.
Less sucky version:
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That all-time masterpiece of fight songstry, “We’re Going to Win, Twins!” was still in regular use for Twins radio broadcasts up to the very late 1990s. Though sometime in the 1980s they (or then-radio partners WCCO) made an updated version. Same tune, tempo, and lyrics, but cleaner-sounding instrumentation and voices.
Might still be in use on the air; I just haven’t lived in Twins Territory since 1998.
An update prior to or other than the horrible Smooth Jazz version linked in the article, I mean.
I went to a Twins game in 2012 and I thought I heard the song you’re describing! I couldn’t find audio or video of it.
A few years ago, I was asked to participate in a video for a new Nationals fight song. It hasn’t ever really caught on, but this is the result.
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Go, Go Astros: Early 80s
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That’s actually the Spanish version. Here is the English version.
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You’re missing the Roger Clyne and the Peacemaker’s “link.”
Not on Youtube, but the A’s had “Billy Ball” – to the tune of “Charlie Brown” back in 80/81. with Billy Martin doing the vocal about getting ejected of “why’s everybody always picking on me”
I totally remember this.
Good additions everyone. I have a more comprehensive list for the NFL and NBA, and I’m still compiling songs for them and the NHL.
Re: Fight Songs.
The Reds never really used “Reds Hot” as a fight song. It was a one-off. I’ve never heard it played before a Reds game, broadcast or Hot Stove program. It belongs to the 1990 team and is not part of the Reds’ culture.
This song was big a couple of years ago for the Reds;
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Did anyone else find the new live strike zone graphic on ESPN as much of a distraction as I did? Horrible and unnecessary.
Yes.
I found it a little distracting during the setup. And then, at the very moment the ball is crossing the plate, there’s suddenly a CIRCLE AND CROSSHAIRS moving around while you’re trying to see if contact is made / how the ball’s been hit.
Its a cool device for commentary between batters, showing umpires are calling the strike zone, but NOT ON EVERY PITCH.
I’m calling it the Fox Glow Puck 2.0
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I’ve got your Oakland A’s fight song, right here …
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They’re the Oakland A’s, by The Baseball Project
MLB fight songs and no mention of Les Expos Sont La (albeit in the “Dearly Departed” category)?
I was wondering the exact same thing…
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If those are the browns new unis I love them!!
The Nationals actually DO have a theme song, but it was moth balled about as quickly as it arrived:
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If anyone knows any more about it, I’d love to hear/know!
I posted a link above, but the link, the Washington Senators/Nationals PA announcer, back when the team had an identity crisis (hence “crazy about the Senators/nuts about the Nats”), and was apparently written in 2004, before the Expos became the Nationals.
Royals Fans unfortunately have had the pleasure ofknowing Kendall was a Grade A ass.
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“Get Metsmerized, get Metsmerized!” Best baseball song ever! How’d that not get mentioned?
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I’m no Cubs fan, but I love Go Cubs Go too. Nothing like a summer day at Wrigley Field.
That Browns style guide looks similar to a picture Phil retweeted this weekend (can’t link, twitter is blocked at work) from someone who claims it was taken at a Dick’s warehouse. The picture only had the orange jersey, but both had “Cleveland” on the front with what seems to be the same striping location and number font.
Also the picture of the jersey was a Haden jersey. On second thought though someone could’ve made a style guide based off of that picture. Also don’t remember any reference to the Brownie the Elf logo when the new logos were unveiled.
Red sox also play dirty water by the standells after home win link
Not a baseball song, not written for the team, doesn’t count.
I’m all for teams using songs by homegrown artists to strengthen the bond between the franchise and the city. Say, “New Day Rising” for the Twins, “Screaming at a Wall” for the Nats, or “Landslide” for the Diamondbacks.
Points then to the Nats for making extensive use of local boy Dave Matthews for short music interludes. Someone needs to make Fugazi’s “Shut the Door” the Nats closer walkout song.
Who thinks the A’s uniform set would be augmented by adding a pair of athletic gold knickers?
Yes. In fact, don’t just add them, replace the gray pants with them.
Did crooner Brian Evans’ “At Fenway” ever catch on with Boston’s baseball ‘Nation’?
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I read about it in the pre-internet age, never heard it. I’ll guess Terry Pluto’s “Loose Balls”, an ABA history.
Regarding the Wrigley foul-up last night, this is a quote from their spokesman from one of the articles discussing it:
“With 35,000 fans showing up in the ballpark tonight, we were simply not prepared to handle guests during peak periods,” Cubs spokesman Julian Green said. “We have high standards for service and we missed the mark tonight. We want to apologize to our fans for the inconvenience tonight.”
All I have to say is this: How are you not prepared for Opening Night? How are you not prepared for the opening home game, which is one of the biggest, if not THE biggest, draws of the year?
When I saw last night that it was the Cubs hosting the opener, I thought it was a mistake just because the incomplete bleachers would be a bad look on national TV. Could they not have switched a few weeks ago, when it was clear Wrigley would’ve still been under construction, and given the opening broadcast to, say, the Dodgers instead?
Here Come The Hawks is still played by the Blackhawks right before they come onto the ice for warm-ups.
Great footnote: Here Come the Hawks was written by a Chicagoan copy and jingle writer Dick Marx, who’s son is a pretty decent singer songwriter…
Richard Marx!
Marx played piano from childhood, and got his professional start playing in nightclubs in Chicago. In the 1950s he accompanied Helen Merrill and released several albums under his own name. From the 1960s, he worked extensively in advertising, writing some of the most popular jingles for brands such as Ken-L Ration, Doublemint, Kellogg’s Raisin Bran, Dial Soap, Arm & Hammer, and Nestle Crunch. In 1968, he composed the fight song for the Chicago Blackhawks, Here Come the Hawks, which is still used today.
Yep, I got that for the NHL edition. And good tidbit!
The Blue Jays had an earlier “fight song”. It never really caught on, I don’t think they ever played it at the game.
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Got my Jackie shirt today – AWESOME!
Glad you like, Lou!
Seeing softball tops in Opening Day games today… MAKES ME VERY ANGRY!
Seriously, guys, OPENING DAY, WHAT THE FUCK? WEAR YOUR DAMN ROAD GREYS AND HOME WHITES!
I was hoping to see “Those Phillies Thrill Me”
In 1969, the Seattle Pilots had quite the little ditty for a theme song. “Go, Go, You Pilots!”
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In 1970, the Pilots did just that. To Milwaukee.
Damn you, Bud Selig!
I added the songs you all suggested to the MLB fight song playlist I created on YouTube. Check it out, if you please.
I delved into compiling all four league’s fight songs at once, and that was fairly cumbersome, but now I see that baseball alone has dozens of team songs.
I’ve had Scott Stapp stuck in my head all day, so I guess the joke’s on me.
Diamondbacks wearing matte helmets. Wore the regular shiny helmets during spring training
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The Yankees fight song can be heard if you listen to the radio broadcast of the game with John Sterling. In the beginning and end of the broadcast they play it, usually while listing of all the sponsors.