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"Casey at the Bat", subtitled "A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888", is a baseball poem written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer. Baseball is a Bat-and-ball Sport played between two teams of nine players each Ernest Lawrence Thayer ( August 14, 1863 - August 21, 1940) was an American writer and poet who wrote " Casey at the Bat First published in the San Francisco Examiner on June 3, 1888, it was later popularized by DeWolf Hopper in many vaudeville performances. The San Francisco Examiner is a US daily Newspaper. It has been published continuously in San Francisco, California, since Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman Emperor, entering Year 1888 ( MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a De Wolf Hopper ( March 30, 1858 – September 23, 1935) was an American Actor, Singer, Comedian, Vaudeville was a Genre of variety entertainment prevalent on the stage in the United States and Canada, from the early 1880s

In the poem, a baseball team from the fictional town of Mudville (implied to be the home team) is losing by two runs with two outs in their last at bats, but they think they can win "if only" they could somehow get "mighty Casey" up to bat. Two weak hitters manage to get on base, and Casey comes to bat with the tying run in scoring position. The beloved Casey, Mudville's star player, is so confident in his abilities that he doesn't swing at the first two pitches, both strikes. On the last pitch, the overconfident Casey strikes out, ending the game and sending the crowd home unhappy.

Heyy!as it was in 1888, which in many ways is not far removed from today's version. As a work, the poem encapsulates much of the appeal of baseball, including the involvement of the crowd. It also has a fair amount of baseball jargon that can pose challenges for translators.

Contents

Text

This is the complete poem as it originally appeared in the San Francisco Examiner. After publication, multiple versions with minor changes were produced. The text without commentary is available at the Wikisource link elsewhere in this article.

The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville Nine that day;
The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play,
And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game.
The "Mudville Nine" echoes a common synonym for any baseball team. It also reflects a time when substitutions were not allowed except in cases of injury.
"One inning more to play" in standard baseball jargon means that the home team has one set of at-bats remaining: the poem is set just before the start of Mudville's final turn (of a regulation game), in the ninth inning.
A player "dying" at a base of course means he was put out. There are only three outs per team in an inning in baseball, so one more out would end the game (with Mudville losing).
A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest
Clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast;
They thought, if only Casey could get but a whack at that -
We'd put up even money, now, with Casey at the bat.
The second line above was rephrased in The Sporting News in the early 1960s, which characterized the atmosphere of pre-season training as "Spring Hopes Eternal". Sporting News (previously The Sporting News, and known colloquially as TSN) is an American -based Sports
The last line above reflects the period's casual attitude towards betting and baseball.
But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake,
And the former was a lulu and the latter was a cake;
So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat,
For there seemed but little chance of Casey's getting to the bat.
The players' names are all Anglo-Saxon or Celtic, as was the case then with major league baseball in general. Early major league rosters contained many Irish names.
Gardner asserts that "lulu" (as in "humdinger") is being used ironically in this case. The original version of the poem used "lulu" and "cake" to describe Flynn and Blake. However, many different words such as "hoodoo" and "fake" have been used as substitutes in later versions of the poem. "Cake" was taken to mean someone who was vain and not particularly "manly".
But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,
And Blake, the much despis-ed, tore the cover off the ball;
And when the dust had lifted, and the men saw what had occurred,
There was Johnnie safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third.
Tearing the cover off the ball was actually possible in those days, since, if possible, a single ball was used for the entire game (as also used to be the case in the game of cricket). Cricket is a bat-and-ball team Sport that originated in England and is now played in more than 100 countries As Gardner points out, that metaphor would find literal expression in the Bernard Malamud novel (later made into a film) The Natural. The Natural is a 1952 novel about Baseball written by Bernard Malamud.
Although the term "men" is often used generically in English, in those days baseball was largely attended by men. If women attended, they were often isolated to a section away from the men, supposedly to distance them from any vulgarities that the male spectators (or players) might speak. However, the phrase "the men" breaks the meter of the line, and later versions simply say "they".
Also, in the original version, a printer's error said "Johnnie" was safe at second. Later versions corrected it to "Jimmy".
Then from 5,000 throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
It knocked upon the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,
For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.
The team's worst batters have managed to get on base, and the Mudville fans cheer as the star batter is now up to bat.
There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place;
There was pride in Casey's bearing and a smile on Casey's face.
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Casey at the bat.
That Casey "lightly doffed his hat" suggests gentlemanly behavior among men who might otherwise be considered ruffians. . .
Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;
Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt.
Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,
Defiance gleamed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip.
. . . but the picture of the gentleman is undermined when Casey rubs excess dirt on his shirt as he tries to get a better grip on his bat.
And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air,
And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.
Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped-
"That ain't my style," said Casey. "Strike one," the umpire said.
From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar,
Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore.
"Kill him! Kill the umpire!" shouted someone on the stand;
And it's likely they'd a-killed him had not Casey raised his hand.
Casey's relationship with the crowd is typically heroic.
Gardner argues that the line about the distant shore is paraphrased from Felicia Dorothea Hemans's "The Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers": "The breaking waves dashed high / On a stern and rockbound coast. Felicia Hemans ( September 25, 1793 - May 16 1835) was an English poet "
With a smile of Christian charity great Casey's visage shown;
He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on;
He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the spheroid flew;
But Casey still ignored it, and the umpire said, "Strike two. "
"Fraud!" cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered fraud;
But one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed.
They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,
And they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball go by again.
The sneer is gone from Casey's lip, his teeth are clenched in hate;
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate.
And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow.
The author teases the reader, using the penultimate stanza to mislead the reader somewhat about the game's actual outcome. Although the poem is not so well known in its entirety, the last verse has attained something of the status of a classic:
Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville— mighty Casey has struck out.
The ambiance of cheering and expectation, the (unfair) prejudice towards any player who is not the obvious star of the day, and the final anticlimactic disappointment are very modern and certainly contributed largely to the perennial appeal of the poem throughout the live-ball era. The live-ball era, also referred to as the lively ball era, is the period in Major League Baseball beginning in, following the Dead-ball era.
Casey can be compared to the hare in the Aesop fable "The Tortoise and the Hare": a highly gifted and talented individual who fails due to self-infatuated nonchalance. Aesop (also spelled Æsop, from the Greek Αἴσωπος — Aisōpos) (620-560 BC) known only for the genre of Fables The Tortoise and the Hare is a Fable attributed to Aesop. French poet Jean de La Fontaine adapted into the poem "le lièvre et la

Impact on Popular Culture

For a relatively short poem apparently dashed off quickly (and denied by its author for years—see below), "Casey at the Bat" has had a profound effect on American popular culture. It has been recited, re-enacted, adapted, dissected, parodied, and just about any other treatment one could imagine. "Casey at the Bat", subtitled "A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888" is a Baseball Poem written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer. "Casey at the Bat", subtitled "A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888" is a Baseball Poem written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer. [1]

The poem was originally published anonymously (under the pen name "Phin"). A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a Pseudonym adopted by an Author or their publishers to conceal their identity Thayer was so embarrassed by what he considered to be doggerel that he kept his identity secret for years. Doggerel is a derogatory term for Poetry considered of little literary value It was only after others claimed to have written the poem that he finally came forth, although he remained embarrassed by its success in the face of what he considered to be its low merit.

Performances

DeWolf Hopper gave the poem's first stage recitation on August 14, 1888, at New York's Wallack Theatre as part of the comic opera Prince Methusalem in the presence of the Chicago and New York baseball teams, the White Stockings and the Giants; August 14, 1888, was also Thayer's 25th birthday. De Wolf Hopper ( March 30, 1858 – September 23, 1935) was an American Actor, Singer, Comedian, Events 1183 - Taira no Munemori and the Taira clan take the young Emperor Antoku and the three sacred treasures Year 1888 ( MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The City of New York Comic opera, or light opera, denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature usually with a happy ending The Chicago Cubs are a Professional Baseball franchise based in Chicago, Illinois. The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in, that currently play in the National League West Division. Events 1183 - Taira no Munemori and the Taira clan take the young Emperor Antoku and the three sacred treasures Year 1888 ( MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Hopper became known as an orator of the poem, and recited it more than 10,000 times (by his count—some tabulations are as much as four times higher) before his death. [2] The first recorded version of "Casey at the Bat", as sung by Russell Hunting, hit the music charts in 1893; Hopper's more famous version was not released until October 1906. Russell Hunting (b 1865 was a North American entertainer, pioneer sound recordist, and an influential figure in the early years of the recorded music

The magic/comedy team Penn & Teller performed a version of "Casey at the Bat" with Teller (the "silent" partner) struggling to escape a straitjacket while suspended upside-down over a platform of sharp steel spikes. Penn & Teller ( Penn Fraser Jillette and Teller) are Las Vegas headliners whose act is an amalgam of illusion and Comedy. A straitjacket is a Garment shaped like a Jacket with overlong Sleeves The ends of these can be tied to the back of the wearer so that the arms are kept If Penn Jillette reached the end of the poem before Teller's escape, he would leap off of his chair, releasing the rope which supported Teller, and sending his partner to a gruesome death. Penn Fraser Jillette (born March 5, 1955) is an American Comedian, Illusionist, juggler and Writer known Teller (born Raymond Joseph Teller February 14, 1948) is an American illusionist, Comedian and Writer best The drama of the performance was taken up a notch after the third or fourth stanza, when Penn Jillette would read out the rest of the poem much faster than the opening stanzas, greatly reducing the time that Teller had left.

Mudville

A rivalry of sorts has developed between the two cities claiming to be the Mudville described in the poem.

Holliston, MA - Mudville Village, Statue and Plaque Dedicated to "Casey" of "Casey at the Bat"
Holliston, MA - Mudville Village, Statue and Plaque Dedicated to "Casey" of "Casey at the Bat"
Holliston, MA - Mudville Village, Welcome Gate
Holliston, MA - Mudville Village, Welcome Gate
Holliston, MA - Mudville Village, Welcome Sign
Holliston, MA - Mudville Village, Welcome Sign

Residents of Holliston, Massachusetts, where there is a neighborhood called Mudville, claim it as the Mudville described in the poem. Holliston is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States in the Greater Boston area Thayer grew up in nearby Worcester, Massachusetts, where he wrote the poem in 1888; his family owned a woolen mill less than a mile from Mudville's baseball field. Worcester (ˈwʊstɚ is a City in the state of Massachusetts in the United States of America.

However, residents of Stockton, California--which was known for a time as Mudville prior to incorporation in 1850--also lay claim to being the inspiration for the poem. Stockton is a City in California and the seat of San Joaquin County (the fifth largest agricultural county in the United States In 1887, Thayer covered baseball for the San Francisco Examiner--owned by his Harvard classmate William Randolph Hearst--and is said to have covered the local California League team, the Stockton Ports. The San Francisco Examiner is a US daily Newspaper. It has been published continuously in San Francisco, California, since For other people named William Randolph Hearst see William Randolph Hearst (disambiguation William Randolph Hearst I (April 29 1863 &ndash The California League is a Class A Advanced Minor league baseball league which operates throughout the state of California. The Stockton Ports are a Baseball team in Stockton California, USA. (For the 1902 season, after the poem became popular, Stockton's team was renamed the Mudville Nine. Champions Major League Baseball American League: Philadelphia Athletics National League: Pittsburgh Pirates The team reverted to the Mudville Nine monicker for the 2000 and 2001 seasons [3])

Despite the towns' rival claims, Thayer himself told the Syracuse Post-Standard that "the poem has no basis in fact. The Post-Standard is the major daily Newspaper servicing the greater Syracuse New York metro area "

Other versions

A month after the poem was published, it was reprinted as "Kelly at the Bat" in the Sporting Times. Aside from leaving off the first five stanzas, the only changes from the original are substitutions of Kelly for Casey, and Boston for Mudville. Mike "King" Kelly, then of the Boston Beaneaters, was one of baseball's two biggest stars at the time (along with Cap Anson). For the unrelated fictitious baseball character King Kelly see It Happens Every Spring. Adrian Constantine Anson ( April 17 1852 &ndash April 14 1922) known by the nicknames "Cap" (for "Captain" and

In 1897, Current Literature noted the two versions and said, "The locality, as originally given, is Mudville, not Boston; the latter was substituted to give the poem local color. "

Sequels

Several poems have been written as sequels to the original. "Casey's Revenge", by Grantland Rice (1906), gives Casey another chance against the pitcher who had struck him out in the original story. Grantland Rice ( November 1, 1880 &ndash July 13, 1954) was an early 20th century American sports-writer. (The Official Encyclopedia of Baseball by Turkin and Thompson attributes this verson to James Wilson, not Rice. ) In this version, Rice cites the nickname "Strike-Out Casey", hence the influence on Casey Stengel's name. Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel ( July 30, 1890 - September 29, 1975) nicknamed "The Old Professor" was an American Casey's team is down three runs by the last of the ninth, and once again Casey is down to two strikes--with the bases full this time. However, he connects, hits the ball so far that it is never found, and the final stanza reads:

Oh! somewhere in this favored land dark clouds may hide the sun;
And somewhere bands no longer play and children have no fun;
And somewhere over blighted loves there hangs a heavy pall;
But Mudville hearts are happy now--for Casey hit the ball.

In 1988, on the 100th anniversary of the poem, Sports Illustrated writer Frank Deford constructed a fanciful story (later expanded to book form) which posited Katie Casey, the subject of the song "Take Me Out to the Ball Game", as being the daughter of the famous slugger from the poem. Sports Illustrated is an American Sports Magazine owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Frank Deford (born December 16, 1938, in Baltimore Maryland) is a senior contributing writer for Sports Illustrated, Author " Take Me Out to the Ball Game " is an early-20th century Tin Pan Alley song which became the unofficial anthem of Baseball although neither of its authors

Foster Brooks ("the Lovable Lush") wrote "Riley on the Mound", which recounts the story from the pitcher's perspective. Foster Brooks ( May 11 1912 – December 20, 2001) was an American Actor and Comedian most famous for his Garrison Keillor's version also replays the same events from the perspective of the opposing team, although Mudville is clearly the visiting team in that version. Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (born August 7, 1942) is an American Author, Storyteller, Humorist,

Parodies

Adaptations

There was a 1927 movie Casey at the Bat starring Wallace Beery as Casey. Casey at the Bat is a 1927 Silent film starring Wallace Beery, Ford Sterling, Zasu Pitts, and Sterling Holloway Wallace Beery ( April 1, 1885 – April 15, 1949) was an American Academy Award -winning actor arguably best known

Based on Thayer's original, there have been two animated films by Walt Disney: "Casey at the Bat" (1946), which is a direct adaptation narrated by Jerry Colonna, and a sequel "Casey Bats Again" (1954), in which his nine daughters redeem his reputation. The bouncing ball animation (below consists of these 6 frames Walter Elias Disney (December 5 1901 – December 15 1966 was a multiple Academy Award -winning American Film producer, director, Screenwriter Make Mine Music is an animated feature produced by Walt Disney and released to theatres by RKO Radio Pictures on August 15 1946 The year 1946 in film involved some significant events Events Top grossing films (U Jerry Colonna may refer to Jerry Colonna (entertainer, American comedy writer and performer Jerry Colonna (financier, New York City The year 1954 in film involved some significant events Events May 12 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx

"Casey at the Bat" was adapted into a 1953 opera by American composer William Schuman. Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto William Howard Schuman ( August 4, 1910 – February 15, 1992) was an American Allen Feinstein composed an adaptation for orchestra with a narrator. An orchestral adaptation by composer Frank Proto has been recorded by the Cincinnati Pops orchestra conducted by Erich Kunzel with baseball star Pete Rose narrating. The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra is a Pops orchestra based in Cincinnati Ohio, United States, founded in 1977 Erich Kunzel Jr (b March 21 1935, New York City) is an American conductor

Jackie Gleason in his "Reginald Van Gleason III" persona (in full Mudville baseball uniform) performed a recitation of the poem on his television show. Herbert Walton Gleason Jr, baptized John Herbert "Jackie" Gleason ( February 26, 1916 – June 24, 1987) was an

Wallace Tripp illustrated a popular 1978 book of the poem. Wallace Tripp is a popular American illustrator and author He is perhaps best known for his illustrations of the Amelia Bedelia series of children's stories Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar)

In 1986, Elliot Gould starred as "Casey" in the Shelley Duvall's Tall Tales and Legends adaptation of the story, which also starred Carol Kane, Howard Cosell, Bob Uecker, Bill Macy and Rae Dawn Chong. Elliott Gould (born August 29, 1938) is an Academy Award -nominated American actor Shelley Alexis Duvall (born July 7, 1949) is an award-winning American Film and Television actress. Carolyn Laurie Kane (born June 18 1952) is an Emmy Award -winning and Oscar -nominated American actress, known for her work Howard William Cosell (born Howard William Cohen; March 25 1918 - April 23 1995 was an American sports journalist Robert George "Bob" Uecker (ˈˈjǀõkeǀur(born January 26, 1935 in Milwaukee Wisconsin) is an American former Major League Bill Macy - born Wolf Marvin Garber on May 18 1922 in Revere Massachusetts to Michael Garber a manufacturer and his wife Mollie ( née Rae Dawn Chong (born February 28, 1961) is a Canadian -born American actress The screenplay, adapted from the poem, was written by Andy Borowitz and the production was directed by David Steinberg. Andy Borowitz (born January 4, 1958) is a Comedian and satirist who won the first-ever National Press Club award for humor See also David A Steinberg, David H Steinberg David Steinberg (born August 9, 1942) is a Canadian comedian actor director

Translation

The only known translation of the poem in a foreign language is in French. It was written in 2007 by French Canadian linguist Paul Laurendeau and the title is Casey au bâton. Paul Laurendeau is a Canadian novelist linguist and language philosopher

Other references

Well I spent some time in the Mudville Nine, watching it from the bench. John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American rock singer Songwriter, and Guitarist, best known for his Centerfield is an Album by musician John Fogerty, released in 1985
You know I took some lumps when the mighty Case struck out.
Was it Casey Jones or Casey at the Bat
Who died out of pride and got famous for that?
Killed by a swerve, laid low by a the curve
Do you ever think they ever thought they got what they deserved?

References

  1. ^ Martin Gardner, "Casey at the bat". The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Singer-songwriter is a term that refers to Performers who write, compose and sing their own material including Lyrics Josh Ritter (born October 21 1976 is an American Singer-songwriter. The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter is the fifth full-length album by American Singer-songwriter Josh Ritter. John Luther "Casey" Jones ( March 14, 1863 &ndash April 30, 1900) was an American Railroad engineer from American Heritage 18:6, October, 1967.
  2. ^ Martin Gardner, "Casey at the bat". American Heritage 18:6, October, 1967.
  3. ^ baseball-reference.com, Accessed June 7, 2008
  4. ^ [1], AEP Books and Media

External links

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