Voting Station

Jack Norworth

Please vote to return to collections.

Songwriter

The Resume

    (January 5, 1879-September 1, 1959)
    Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    Birth name was John Godfrey Knauff
    Wrote the lyrics to 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' (music by Albert Von Tilzer) in 1908
    Other songs include 'Back to My Old Home Town,' 'Come Along, My Mandy,' 'Dear Dolly,' 'Good Evening, Caroline,' 'Holding Hands,' 'Honey Boy,' 'I'm Glad I'm a Boy/I'm Glad I'm a Girl,' 'I'm Glad I'm Married,' 'Kitty,' 'Meet Me in Apple Blossom Time,' 'Over on the Jersey Side,' 'Since My Mother Was a Girl,' 'Sing an Irish Song' and 'Smarty'

Why he might be annoying:

    Few if any of his other Tin Pan Alley hits receive wide play today.
    His authorship of 'Shine On, Harvest Moon' has been disputed.
    Despite writing the unofficial anthem of Baseball, he wouldn't witness an actual major league baseball game until 1942 (over thirty years after writing the song).
    He got the idea for the song after seeing a sign that said 'Baseball Today – Polo Grounds' while he was riding the New York subway.

Why he might not be annoying:

    'Take Me Out the the Ballgame' placed at number 8 on the National Endowment of the Arts and RIAA's 'Songs of the Century.'
    He was married to Vaudeville star Nora Bayes, who was the first to sing the song after it was written.
    He wrote the original lyrics on the back of an envelope which is now on display at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
    He was portrayed by Dennis Morgan in the 1944 musical 'Shine On, Harvest Moon.'
    He appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show to sing 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame' with the New York Yankees' Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle and Bill Skowron (April, 13, 1958). He died a little over a year later.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 70.0% Annoying