The Seventh Inning Stretch Trivia Quiz

Answer:

In 1908, Jack Norworth was riding a subway when, with a spark of inspiration, he wrote out the lyrics to "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" on a scrap of paper in 15 minutes. Albert von Tilzer added the melody and the song became an instant hit in 1908. The first two stanzas, which have long been forgotten, are about a woman named Katie Casey asking her boyfriend to take her to a ball game.

Chicago Cubs announcer Harry Caray used to sing the song during the 7th inning stretch. One day the Cubs' owner Bill Veeck noticed that some of the crowd were also singing. The next day Veeck had a microphone secreted in the announcers' booth. A tradition was born.

As for the "seventh inning stretch" tradition, its origins are murky at best. Theories run from President Taft (who weighed 300 lbs.) who rose in the seventh inning of a game in 1910 to stretch his legs and everyone else also rose out of respect, to giving spectators an opportunity to buy food, drink, and souvenirs. The best theory results from a letter written in 1869 by Harry Wright, manager of the Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first professional baseball team, "The spectators all arise between halves of the seventh inning, extend their legs and arms and sometimes walk about," wrote Wright. "In so doing they enjoy the relief afforded by relaxation from a long posture on hard benches."

In 1925, a Florida newspaper observed: "No nation today performs a rite so punctiliously or in such overwhelming numbers as the rite of the seventh-inning stretch, observed six months in the year in every American baseball park."

The point of the 7th inning stretch is to give a brief time-out in action to allow fans to stretch, use the bathroom, order more food and drinks, and also take a mental break from the game. The break with "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" is supposed to remind fans that this competition is only a game and supposed to be fun at the end of the day.