November 25, 2025 • 26 mins
(This episode was recorded in 2022).
We’re curating the most downloaded episodes for new listeners discovering Lost Ballparks. If you’re a longtime listener, thank you for being part of this incredible community!
From 1970-2010 Nancy Faust was the organist for the Chicago White Sox. She was a trailblazer who made music an integral part of the ballpark experience. When Harry Caray first sang "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" at Comiskey Park, Nancy was playing the organ for him. She was the first to play "Na Na Hey Hey Goodbye" as an opposing pitcher walked off the field or after a White Sox home run. She is a Chicago treasure!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Mike Koser (00:00):
I'm Mike Koser, and this is Lost Ballparks.
Annoucer (00:26):
Podcast Open.
Gladys Gooding (00:32):
Hello, this is Gladys Gooding.
For the past several years, Ihave been playing in Ebbets
Field for our beloved bums, theBrooklyn Dodgers.
Mike Koser (00:41):
In 1942, Gladys Gooding became the first
professional baseball organistplaying an electric hammond
organ for the Brooklyn Dodgersat Ebbets Field.
She stayed with the team untilthey moved to Los Angeles after
the 1957 season.
You ask someone from thatgeneration what they remember
most about attending games atEbbets Field, and they will most
certainly mention GladysGooding, right alongside Red
(01:01):
Barber, Vin Scully, the famousright field wall, Dodger legends
like Jackie Robinson, Pee-WeeReese, Sandy Koufax, Duke
Snider, Gil Hodges, and RoyCampanella.
Before Gooding and her organwere moved to a glass box high
above the crowd at Ebbets Field,she spent her first games
situated right next to theDodger dugout.
Players would come over inbetween innings and request
songs.
(01:22):
Gooding was the first.
Others followed.
Jane Jarvis, who played for theMilwaukee Braves and the New
York Mets, Eddie Leighton forthe New York Yankees, Ronnie
Dale for the Reds at CrosleyField, and then Nancy Faust for
the Chicago White Sox, whobecame so much a part of the
fabric of going to a game atComiskey Park that fans couldn't
imagine a game without her.
Nancy was the White Soxorganist from 1970 to 2010.
(01:46):
And today, she's sitting at herorgan here on
the Lost Ballparks podcast.
Nancy Faust (01:51):
Is that you, Mike?
Mike Koser (01:52):
It's me, Nancy.
How are you?
Nancy Faust (01:54):
Great, Mike.
Is it just the two of us?
Because I don't quiteunderstand the Zoom technology.
Mike Koser (01:58):
It is, yeah.
Nancy Faust (02:00):
Because when we we get behind closed doors, or I
could play just the two of us.
(organ music playing) That'sfor you and me.
Mike Koser (02:09):
That's great.
I love it.
Thanks so much for uh forjoining.
Yeah, I really appreciate it.
Nancy Faust (02:13):
Oh, I really enjoyed listening to the trailer
of your new podcast and hearingall those voices from the
beyond.
Oh, yeah.
And I know it will appeal to somany people that have great
memories and that want to knowabout the past.
Mike Koser (02:26):
41 years as the organist for the Chicago White
Sox, much of it's been atComiskey Park.
How did you get the job?
Nancy Faust (02:33):
I was playing for different kinds of functions
like banquets and dinners.
And one of the functions that Iplayed for was something that
my mother wasn't able to dobecause she was a professional
musician.
So I took her place and it wasattended by the general manager
of the White Sox.
His name was Stu Holcomb.
So he actually heard me play atthis banquet.
(02:53):
I realized that this man ofpower from the ballpark was
there.
And I had friends in school.
By the way, I was still goingto school, North Park College.
I had friends that encouragedme to follow up with a letter
and let them know that I'd beinterested should there be an
opening.
So I did.
I wrote to Stu Holcomb and likethat next year, he sent me a
letter and said, Yeah, we'd likeyour services.
(03:14):
I never auditioned or anything,but he actually did hear me
play at a luncheon.
Mike Koser (03:19):
And thank goodness that your mom wasn't able to
make it that night.
Nancy Faust (03:21):
I'll say, because she probably knew just about as
little about baseball as I did.
Although I think um I was morein tune to what were popular
songs.
My my mother played things likesongs from musicals and old
time songs, and I kept up allduring college because it was
just fun to play music that Iheard on the radio.
(03:42):
So it was just an easy fit forme.
I really knew nothing aboutbaseball, but I certainly could
play anything.
So if I got a suggestion, itwas easy to do.
And when I got my job, Stu uhgave me a list of players and he
said, maybe you could play alittle something as they
approached the batter's box.
And each song reflected thehometown of the player.
(04:02):
And there I just remember BartJohnson being from California.
So I played "California.
Here I come".
Mike Koser (04:11):
Now, when you first started in 1970, the organ was
in the center field bleachers atComiskey Park.
Is that right?
Nancy Faust (04:16):
The organ was located in the center field
bleachers.
1970 was very lowly attended,and it was a great year for me
to break in.
But the organ was placedoutside with the people, and
that was pretty umunconventional.
And that was done by BillVeeck, who hired the first
organist prior to me, whose namewas Shea Torrent.
And he was hired in 1960.
And Bill did something kind ofstrange by just placing the
(04:39):
organ right outside with thefans.
And that really worked to myadvantage because I was able to
get information that I didn'tknow about.
It was kind of a form of, Iguess, social media prior to
social media, where fans couldgive me ideas of songs and give
me ideas of what to play.
Mike Koser (04:55):
So, how would you make your way into Comiskey Park
and to the organ each night?
How would you get there?
Nancy Faust (05:00):
My goodness, that was so long ago.
But I just probably walked allaround the um, what would you
call it, the concourse, all intocenter field, up a few stairs
and into the center fieldbleachers.
And the organ was in thislittle booth and it had tarps
that came down at the side incase it should rain or be windy.
I had a radio out there with meso that I could listen to the
(05:22):
broadcast while I was trying tofigure out players' names and
things like that.
I was trying to gain someinformation about the game just
by listening to the broadcasts.
Mike Koser (05:31):
And so some folks may not realize, but long before
the Cubs, Harry Caray was theplay-by-play guy for the Chicago
White Sox.
Harry Caray (05:38):
Hello again, everybody.
Mike Koser (05:40):
So you would have been listening to him out there
in center field.
Nancy Faust (05:43):
Well, that's a good point.
Although Harry didn't startuntil my second year.
He was hired by Stu Holcomb aswell.
So I really enjoyed listeningto Harry's broadcast.
He was a very colorful.
And it was Harry that picked upon some of the songs that I
(06:16):
play.
And he'd say, Oh, listen tothat.
We should actually get thatorganist where she has a better
accessibility to the fans.
And so that I think he actuallyencouraged management to move
me in to Behind Home Plate,which was my final resting
place.
No, it was my perch.
Mike Koser (06:34):
So one night in 1977,
Annoucer (06:36):
this is W M A Q Chicago.
Mike Koser (06:38):
The Kansas City Royals are in town.
Harry Caray (06:40):
Harry Caray, Jimmy Pearsall, we go on to the bottom
of the sixth.
Mike Koser (06:44):
And you are about to make ballpark history because
as their pitcher begins tostruggle and eventually is taken
out of the game, as he makeshis way to the dugout, you
decide to play.
Nancy Faust (06:56):
Nah, nah, hey, hey, goodbye.
And, you know, that was the daywhen uh well, when Bill Veeck
owned the team and the fans werejust loose, you know, and they
responded so well.
And because we were vying forfirst place with Kansas City,
(07:17):
they just rather than clappingalong is what they normally did
when I would play that song,everybody just burst out in
songs.
And um, the effects were justphenomenal because prior to
(07:44):
that, the only thing fans wouldsing along to was take me out to
the ball game or the nationalanthem.
And so it was ratherintimidating, I'm sure, for the
pitcher.
I don't remember who thepitcher was.
Mike Koser (07:53):
Poor guy.
Nancy Faust (07:54):
Yeah.
And so, but it caught on, andthe media said, Well, what was
that?
You know, what was that youplayed afterwards?
And actually, I thought thename of the song was Shanana,
but that's close enough.
I just knew it was somethingthat was short, lent itself to
hand clapping.
And I I learned later it wasNana, hey, hey, goodbye.
Became synonymous with theteam.
And actually, then otherballparks picked it up and they
(08:15):
play it on their PA system.
The uh White Sox actually had awell, I should say Mercury
Records had a like a littlecelebration at the end of the
season, a ceremony where theypresented me with a gold record
of Nana Goodbye because theyre-released the song because it
became quite popular forsporting events and people
wanted to hear it again, Iguess.
Mike Koser (08:34):
Hearing that song played at Comiskey Park is a
vivid memory for White Sox fans.
And another one is of HarryCaray singing Take Me Out to the
Ball Game.
Now, I know a lot of folksthink of Harry Caray singing
that at Wrigley Field, but himgrabbing the microphone, the PA
microphone, and singing it alongwith the crowd actually began
at Comiskey Park with youaccompanying him uh on the
organ.
Nancy Faust (08:54):
Well, that's right.
Well, of course, I played it bymyself until Harry uh people
realized he was up in the booth,which was visible for me, which
was great.
And I could see him swingingthat mic and leading everybody.
And before you know it, I mean,he was the he was the main
attraction for at least thepeople that could see him during
Take Me Out to the Ball Game.
And I guess it was Bill Veeck'sidea to broadcast it over the
(09:17):
whole park.
You know, I mean, the storygoes that he said, Oh, well, I'm
not good enough.
And Bill Veeck would say, Well,yeah, you're you are good
enough.
In fact, you're so bad you'regood.
So then that became thetradition was for Harry to be on
the scoreboard, they'd showhim, and he'd let everybody in
take me out to the ballgame, andit just was just a highlight of
the game.
Harry Caray (09:37):
All right, everybody.
Okay, Nancy.
Mike Koser (10:30):
When you went to a game at Comiskey Park, it did
not matter what the score was.
You were going to stay untilthe seventh inning till you got
a chance to hear that.
And it was Bill Veeck's idea.
Bill Veeck, of course, was theowner of the White Sox and one
of the most colorful charactersin all of baseball history, for
sure.
Can you talk to us about theragtime promotion that he came
(10:51):
up with that had a long-lastingeffect on your life?
Nancy Faust (10:54):
Well, I certainly most certainly did because
ragtime, well, let me say thatall of Bill Veeck's promotions
involved door prizes and it keptthe fans engaged.
Everybody wanted to winsomething.
Usually it was silly things,but he had so many promotions
going.
And I think that's when heactually realized the value of
my music because I I could playmusic that reflected whatever
the promotion was.
If it was Irish, German, Greek,or whatever, or if it was
(11:16):
circus day, I'd be playingcircus music or
anti-superstition or whateverthe promotion was.
Well, it the the promotionyou're talking about involved
ragtime articles like an oldtime piano and an old time car.
And they also brought a brokendown donkey, I should say old
donkey into the center field.
And that was a door prize.
(11:36):
But the donkey was not claimed.
I happened to have a horse atthe time.
And I, when I realized that itwasn't claimed and it was still
at the field at the park beneaththe stands a couple of days
later, I asked Bill if I couldhave that donkey rather than
returning it to any let me haveit.
So that kind of created aninterest in donkeys.
And actually, after Rositapassed away, I acquired another
(11:58):
donkey, which I still have.
And right now, my donkey's nameis Mandy now.
I'm in her barn and the organcan't fit in the house.
So we're keeping the organ inthe barn, and that's where you
are with me in Mandy's barn.
Mike Koser (12:12):
So that one moment ended up changing your life
pretty dramatically.
Nancy Faust (12:15):
Yes, it did.
So here we are in a barn.
Thank you very much, Bill.
And yeah, it did.
Mike Koser (12:20):
Oh, did Billy Martin, and I'm guessing this is
probably when he was managingthe Yankees, did he actually
have the umpire call and ask youto stop playing because you
were throwing off his pitcher?
Nancy Faust (12:29):
Well, he didn't ask the umpire to do that, but the
umpire was aware that he wasvery in tune to uh the organist
at another park prior to comingto our park, and he blamed the
loss on the noise of the organ.
And because the umpire wasaware of that, when I played,
the umpire's turnaround made mestop.
And that at that time, StuHolcomb called and said, Don't
(12:50):
you're not doing anything wrong,you keep playing.
So it was the umpire that wasdoing it in in respect to Billy
Martin so that Billy Martinwouldn't get upset.
And Billy Martin actuallycalled me at the organ, I don't
know, like the next day orsomething and said, Oh, honey, I
just want you to know uh thatwasn't me.
So he was at kind ofapologetic, didn't need to be.
Everybody was catering to BillyMartin at the time, you know.
Mike Koser (13:11):
So Okay, Nancy, since we are lucky enough to
have you at the organ, I thoughtwe'd go through a few scenarios
that might come up at abaseball game at Comiskey Park,
and you could talk about what itis that you might play.
For instance, if a batter drawsa walk from a pitcher, you
might play.
Nancy Faust (13:27):
Well, you know what I did actually, so that I
wouldn't be at a loss.
What I always had with me was Iwhen I think of I would hear a
song and it was good, I'd put itin a category.
Here's some walk songs, just soI could, you know, refer to it
real quickly.
So here's a I became I'm out inArizona now and I played for
spring training.
So here's my list from a coupleof years ago.
Here's I there were things likeuh " long and winding road".
Mike Koser (13:57):
So if a pitcher was keeping his eye on a runner at
first base, you know, and keptthrowing it over there to check
on him, you might play what?
Nancy Faust (14:05):
Oh, you mean if somebody was trying to steal a
base?
Mike Koser (14:16):
All right, we have to go back here a few years for
this one, but Ozzie Guillenwalks to the plate.
Nancy Faust (14:21):
Oh, well, Ozzie Guillen.
Well, sir, the he there were alot of songs that applied to
Ozzie when um oh because hislast name looked like Gilligan,
I would play uh Gilligan'sIsland.
He probably didn't know what Iwas doing this for.
(14:45):
And to tell you the truth, inthose days I don't think players
cared much what I was playing.
I and I felt I was there forthe entertainment of the fans.
It was the fans that weresurrounding me, giving me great
ideas.
And um that I just hoped thatthey were enjoying what they
were hearing.
Mike Koser (15:00):
Omar Vizquel.
Nancy Faust (15:01):
Oh Let's well, because Vizquel sounds like
physical, I'd something likethat.
But I have to tell you, Mike, Imean, it it wasn't just playing
(15:24):
for players, and I did usuallyfind something that would be
applicable with the help offans, who also gave me some
insight about players, you know,that I may not have known.
But like there was a playerthat went out with somebody
named Lucille, and it was a bigdeal because Lucille wasn't uh
the woman that he thought shewas.
So I played.
(15:44):
Or somebody told me that umGeorge Brett had had hemorrhoid
surgery.
So I played you can't sit down.
(16:06):
Oh no, you can't sit down whenhe came back to play, of course,
or I might have played a walkright in, sit right down, or
something like that.
Mike Koser (16:13):
Or like if a cat would go across the field.
Nancy Faust (16:23):
Um, that was another thing that offered me
songs was just playing teamsfrom other towns where I could
play their play Boston.
I think Boston did that song,or I could have done something
like this.
(16:44):
Oh, there's just so manysituations.
And I once the scoreboard camealong and I was brought in and I
could see what was posted up onthe scoreboard, I was able to
play songs that reflected whatthe messaging was.
If the message, oh, if therewas a proposal to from one fan
(17:05):
to another, every once in awhile we had things like that,
or I could play Love andMarriage, or if it was welcome
the University of Wisconsin, oryou know, welcome college night,
(17:28):
then I could play all thecollege fight songs, or if the
message was uh welcome theCoca-Cola uh group, or I'd play.
Or, you know, if there was arain delay, there was also a lot
of um rain music.
So whatever the situation,there was just uh music that was
(17:49):
appropriate.
Before the big Jumbotron camealong with their own music, I
was really in my wheelhouse.
Those were just wonderful days.
I guess it wasn't until I wentback to Twitter that I realized
people still remembered thatstyle.
I guess it revived me a littlebit.
And I'm really happy to knowthat there's people that still
remember and just areinterested.
Mike Koser (18:08):
For a lot of us who go to games now, it just
sometimes feels like a wall ofsound.
You know, we miss those dayswhere we could sit in the
ballpark before the game, watchbatting practice, and hear the
organ play.
Nancy Faust (18:19):
I think when we think back, yeah, things seemed
a lot easier and more slowlymoving.
Mike Koser (18:24):
Ronnie Dale used to play at Crosley Field and would
play the organ for maybe 20minutes after a game and people
wouldn't even leave.
They would just sit in theirseats and kind of reflect on the
game and reflect on a Sundayafternoon.
And again, it was just asimpler time.
Nancy Faust (18:38):
It was.
And I just I my husband wouldsay, you know, it's like people
leave happy, even though um wemay have lost.
Because I know I played upbeatsongs like morning train or just
something that people couldwalk out happy to.
I'm just being glad that theyexperienced a ball game, win or
lose.
It certainly was a place whereso many bonds were formed.
I saw that happen generationafter generation.
Mike Koser (18:58):
How is it possible in 41 years you only missed five
games?
How on earth is that possible?
Nancy Faust (19:03):
Oh, I well, you know, there was only 81 games a
season, so I only had to behealthy 81 days out of the year,
you know.
And I guess the hardest partabout my job was just getting
there because there was alwaysuh traffic and things like that.
And I didn't live very close tothe park.
But once I got there, it's justit was just a grand party.
And um, the with well, thereason I missed the games was
(19:24):
your fault, Eric.
I um I had a child.
And then so I missed my fivegames, but then the team went
out of town, and by the timethey came back, I was ready to
go back to work.
So that's why I missed my fivegames.
Mike Koser (19:39):
Now, there was a time in the 70s, correct me if
I'm wrong, where you wereapproached by the Cubs to come
play at Wrigley Field when youweren't playing at Comiskey
Park.
Is that true?
Nancy Faust (19:48):
Yeah, there was a lot of attention given to the
music there in the 70s, and Idid receive a couple letters
from the Chicago Cubs andsaying, Would you be interested
in playing when the specschedules don't conflict?
And usually they didn't.
And I thought that would begreat.
And I asked Mr.
Veeck, and he said somethinglike, Young lady, you're gonna
(20:08):
have to pick one or the other.
Uh, he just didn't want toshare the music, I guess.
I knew I had a good thing, soit was out of the question at
the time.
Mike Koser (20:16):
So many years at Comiskey Park and and and so
many memories.
And like you said, people whostarted off as kids, then
bringing their kids and thentheir kids' kids, it just uh and
and who continued to let usknow on Lost Ballparks about
their connection to you andabout their the music that you
played, because there were a lotof years where the White Sox
were not great, but people wouldstill love to come to the
(20:36):
ballpark because it was anexperience.
Nancy Faust (20:38):
That's true, and music was part of it, you know.
The and Harry certainly thehaving Harry broadcast the
games.
Harry Caray (20:44):
Hello again, everybody.
Harry Caray and Jimmy Pearsallfrom Comiskey Park, where we're
gonna have a wild night tonight.
Nancy Faust (20:51):
Harry made you want to be there win or lose as
well.
I mean, he just said, you know,you can't be fun at the old
ballpark.
And uh there was just somethingabout the atmosphere and having
a good time and I want him tosee the shirt you're wearing.
Harry Caray (21:05):
Can you make that out?
It says outpatience.
I think everybody should nowhold up your legs.
He's wearing short.
Boy, oh boy, oh boy.
Nancy Faust (21:14):
Fortunately, he focused on every aspect of the
game, and I was fortunate to beone of those aspects, and the
music was.
Mike Koser (21:21):
So, how close were you to Harry Caray, by the way?
I mean, was he was his boothright next to yours?
Nancy Faust (21:26):
Um, it was within eyesight.
It was above me and then over.
So if I looked up and over, Icould see him.
And he'd give me a nod and I'dknow he was gonna dance.
So that would be like after um,after taking out to the ball
game.
And we'd he'd do a little.
But yeah, so it was really anadvantage that I could see him.
(21:53):
That was really great to belocated in that position.
And when he did take me out tothe ball game, I gave I put it
in a key that he could sing it.
And I always gave him anintroduction like this.
And then when you do this, Iknow he's ready starting to go.
Mike Koser (22:49):
By the way, to play for?
Nancy Faust (22:51):
The player that I realized sparked most emotion
from the fans was Richie Allen,definitely.
I mean, I I don't know muchabout players, but I just knew
that when he'd come up, they'dall stand, you know, and they'd
go crazy.
So I thought this guy's reallymagnetic, you know.
I mean, he's he has charisma.
And I realized it afterwatching him a few coming up to
bat.
So I I guess he'd be the mostoutstanding of the players, but
(23:13):
there certainly are so many.
Mike Koser (23:14):
And you would play for Dick Allen.
What would you play for him?
Nancy Faust (23:17):
It was a knee-jerk reaction.
I thought this guy's like asuperstar, and that song had
been popular for just a coupleof years, so I just played it.
Seemed I played it, and thenhe'd hit a home run, and it was
(23:45):
like, oh, well, that's a perfectmatch.
And even Sports Illustratedmentioned it in an article about
him.
You know, they say, Oh, eventhe organist has a special song
for him.
And I think that was the firsttime I ever played a song based
on a player's performance, youknow, just because he was that
good.
Mike Koser (24:00):
Yeah, I can I can picture him up to bat at a
course crushing a home run intothe left field seats at Comiskey
Park.
And it's so uh it's just to meit's sad that he did not see
himself inducted to the Hall ofFame.
And hopefully that will berectified at some point.
Nancy Faust (24:12):
Well, certainly is a lot of hope for a next time,
and it would be a real travestyif he doesn't make it next time.
Mike Koser (24:17):
In an article written last year, ESPN's Tanya
Malinowski said, Nancy didn'tuse the organ simply to provide
background music to the game.
She used it to react to it, toscore it like a film, to make
the fans' experience even moresensory.
That speaks for all who wereable and lucky enough to watch
you play at Comiskey Park.
Nancy Faust (24:36):
Well, thank you, Mike.
It was it was my pleasure.
It was I was, like I say, in mywheelhouse doing the one thing
that I was able, felt I was ableto do.
I don't know what I would havedone if baseball hadn't come
along.
So I'm very thankful for thesport and for primarily for the
fans, actually.
It was the fans that made myjob such so enjoyable.
Mike Koser (24:55):
Thank you so much for spending some um some time
with us today and for your andfor your donkey for allowing us
to invade her barn.
So that we can record some ofthe podcast here.
Nancy Faust (25:05):
Well, we appreciate what you do too, because fans
like to be like to remember thebetter times in their lives, and
um, you certainly do providethat for them, providing a lot
of wonderful memories.
Thank you.
I'm glad to be part of it.
Mike Koser (25:18):
Thank you, Nancy, and thank you to your son Eric
and Joe for helping out today.
We so appreciate them behindthe scenes.
Been an honor to talk with youagain.
And thank you.
Take care.
Thank you, guys.
Have a great day.
Nancy Faust (25:29):
Take care.
Bye-bye, Mike.
Mike Koser (25:31):
Hey, look, I'll just say this.
If you spent your summers atComiskey Park, the baseball
palace of the world, I'm surethere are a few things that
you'll always remember.
Maybe going to McCuddy's afterthe game, Harry Caray, some
interesting uniform choices,shorts, 1976, the exploding
scoreboard at center field, andthe iconic organ music of Nancy
Faust.
Nancy's on Twitter, by the way,at played41 at P-L-A-Y-E-D 41.
(25:56):
All right, next week on theLost Ball Parks podcast, you
can't talk about baseball in the70s and 80s without mentioning
the Cobra, Dave Parker.
Dave Parker grew up across thestreet from Cincinnati's Crosley
Field.
So you and your friends used togo in the Crosley Field parking
lot and do what?
Dave Parker (26:13):
We would throw rocks at each other and be like
two teams.
We would do rock battles.
One thing that we used to dowith a flat rock, and we could
make it go around the building,make it curve around the
building.
Mike Koser (26:26):
One day while playing this game, a future
baseball hall of famer whoplayed for the Cincinnati Reds
walked out of the clubhouse intothe parking lot and caught them
playing this game.
Dave Parker (26:35):
So we followed them every day.
They were familiar with us.
Mike Koser (26:38):
Wait till you hear who that was and what happened
next.
Dave Parker (26:41):
Never forget it.
Mike Koser (26:42):
We'll have that story for you next week.
When Dave Parker, the Cobra,joins Lost Ballparks.
I'm Mike Koser, and this is Lost Ballparks.
Annoucer (00:26):
Podcast Open.
Gladys Gooding (00:32):
Hello, this is Gladys Gooding.
For the past several years, Ihave been playing in Ebbets
Field for our beloved bums, theBrooklyn Dodgers.
Mike Koser (00:41):
In 1942, Gladys Gooding became the first
professional baseball organistplaying an electric hammond
organ for the Brooklyn Dodgersat Ebbets Field.
She stayed with the team untilthey moved to Los Angeles after
the 1957 season.
You ask someone from thatgeneration what they remember
most about attending games atEbbets Field, and they will most
certainly mention GladysGooding, right alongside Red
(01:01):
Barber, Vin Scully, the famousright field wall, Dodger legends
like Jackie Robinson, Pee-WeeReese, Sandy Koufax, Duke
Snider, Gil Hodges, and RoyCampanella.
Before Gooding and her organwere moved to a glass box high
above the crowd at Ebbets Field,she spent her first games
situated right next to theDodger dugout.
Players would come over inbetween innings and request
songs.
(01:22):
Gooding was the first.
Others followed.
Jane Jarvis, who played for theMilwaukee Braves and the New
York Mets, Eddie Leighton forthe New York Yankees, Ronnie
Dale for the Reds at CrosleyField, and then Nancy Faust for
the Chicago White Sox, whobecame so much a part of the
fabric of going to a game atComiskey Park that fans couldn't
imagine a game without her.
Nancy was the White Soxorganist from 1970 to 2010.
(01:46):
And today, she's sitting at herorgan here on
the Lost Ballparks podcast.
Nancy Faust (01:51):
Is that you, Mike?
Mike Koser (01:52):
It's me, Nancy.
How are you?
Nancy Faust (01:54):
Great, Mike.
Is it just the two of us?
Because I don't quiteunderstand the Zoom technology.
Mike Koser (01:58):
It is, yeah.
Nancy Faust (02:00):
Because when we we get behind closed doors, or I
could play just the two of us.
(organ music playing) That'sfor you and me.
Mike Koser (02:09):
That's great.
I love it.
Thanks so much for uh forjoining.
Yeah, I really appreciate it.
Nancy Faust (02:13):
Oh, I really enjoyed listening to the trailer
of your new podcast and hearingall those voices from the
beyond.
Oh, yeah.
And I know it will appeal to somany people that have great
memories and that want to knowabout the past.
Mike Koser (02:26):
41 years as the organist for the Chicago White
Sox, much of it's been atComiskey Park.
How did you get the job?
Nancy Faust (02:33):
I was playing for different kinds of functions
like banquets and dinners.
And one of the functions that Iplayed for was something that
my mother wasn't able to dobecause she was a professional
musician.
So I took her place and it wasattended by the general manager
of the White Sox.
His name was Stu Holcomb.
So he actually heard me play atthis banquet.
(02:53):
I realized that this man ofpower from the ballpark was
there.
And I had friends in school.
By the way, I was still goingto school, North Park College.
I had friends that encouragedme to follow up with a letter
and let them know that I'd beinterested should there be an
opening.
So I did.
I wrote to Stu Holcomb and likethat next year, he sent me a
letter and said, Yeah, we'd likeyour services.
(03:14):
I never auditioned or anything,but he actually did hear me
play at a luncheon.
Mike Koser (03:19):
And thank goodness that your mom wasn't able to
make it that night.
Nancy Faust (03:21):
I'll say, because she probably knew just about as
little about baseball as I did.
Although I think um I was morein tune to what were popular
songs.
My my mother played things likesongs from musicals and old
time songs, and I kept up allduring college because it was
just fun to play music that Iheard on the radio.
(03:42):
So it was just an easy fit forme.
I really knew nothing aboutbaseball, but I certainly could
play anything.
So if I got a suggestion, itwas easy to do.
And when I got my job, Stu uhgave me a list of players and he
said, maybe you could play alittle something as they
approached the batter's box.
And each song reflected thehometown of the player.
(04:02):
And there I just remember BartJohnson being from California.
So I played "California.
Here I come".
Mike Koser (04:11):
Now, when you first started in 1970, the organ was
in the center field bleachers atComiskey Park.
Is that right?
Nancy Faust (04:16):
The organ was located in the center field
bleachers.
1970 was very lowly attended,and it was a great year for me
to break in.
But the organ was placedoutside with the people, and
that was pretty umunconventional.
And that was done by BillVeeck, who hired the first
organist prior to me, whose namewas Shea Torrent.
And he was hired in 1960.
And Bill did something kind ofstrange by just placing the
(04:39):
organ right outside with thefans.
And that really worked to myadvantage because I was able to
get information that I didn'tknow about.
It was kind of a form of, Iguess, social media prior to
social media, where fans couldgive me ideas of songs and give
me ideas of what to play.
Mike Koser (04:55):
So, how would you make your way into Comiskey Park
and to the organ each night?
How would you get there?
Nancy Faust (05:00):
My goodness, that was so long ago.
But I just probably walked allaround the um, what would you
call it, the concourse, all intocenter field, up a few stairs
and into the center fieldbleachers.
And the organ was in thislittle booth and it had tarps
that came down at the side incase it should rain or be windy.
I had a radio out there with meso that I could listen to the
(05:22):
broadcast while I was trying tofigure out players' names and
things like that.
I was trying to gain someinformation about the game just
by listening to the broadcasts.
Mike Koser (05:31):
And so some folks may not realize, but long before
the Cubs, Harry Caray was theplay-by-play guy for the Chicago
White Sox.
Harry Caray (05:38):
Hello again, everybody.
Mike Koser (05:40):
So you would have been listening to him out there
in center field.
Nancy Faust (05:43):
Well, that's a good point.
Although Harry didn't startuntil my second year.
He was hired by Stu Holcomb aswell.
So I really enjoyed listeningto Harry's broadcast.
He was a very colorful.
And it was Harry that picked upon some of the songs that I
(06:16):
play.
And he'd say, Oh, listen tothat.
We should actually get thatorganist where she has a better
accessibility to the fans.
And so that I think he actuallyencouraged management to move
me in to Behind Home Plate,which was my final resting
place.
No, it was my perch.
Mike Koser (06:34):
So one night in 1977,
Annoucer (06:36):
this is W M A Q Chicago.
Mike Koser (06:38):
The Kansas City Royals are in town.
Harry Caray (06:40):
Harry Caray, Jimmy Pearsall, we go on to the bottom
of the sixth.
Mike Koser (06:44):
And you are about to make ballpark history because
as their pitcher begins tostruggle and eventually is taken
out of the game, as he makeshis way to the dugout, you
decide to play.
Nancy Faust (06:56):
Nah, nah, hey, hey, goodbye.
And, you know, that was the daywhen uh well, when Bill Veeck
owned the team and the fans werejust loose, you know, and they
responded so well.
And because we were vying forfirst place with Kansas City,
(07:17):
they just rather than clappingalong is what they normally did
when I would play that song,everybody just burst out in
songs.
And um, the effects were justphenomenal because prior to
(07:44):
that, the only thing fans wouldsing along to was take me out to
the ball game or the nationalanthem.
And so it was ratherintimidating, I'm sure, for the
pitcher.
I don't remember who thepitcher was.
Mike Koser (07:53):
Poor guy.
Nancy Faust (07:54):
Yeah.
And so, but it caught on, andthe media said, Well, what was
that?
You know, what was that youplayed afterwards?
And actually, I thought thename of the song was Shanana,
but that's close enough.
I just knew it was somethingthat was short, lent itself to
hand clapping.
And I I learned later it wasNana, hey, hey, goodbye.
Became synonymous with theteam.
And actually, then otherballparks picked it up and they
(08:15):
play it on their PA system.
The uh White Sox actually had awell, I should say Mercury
Records had a like a littlecelebration at the end of the
season, a ceremony where theypresented me with a gold record
of Nana Goodbye because theyre-released the song because it
became quite popular forsporting events and people
wanted to hear it again, Iguess.
Mike Koser (08:34):
Hearing that song played at Comiskey Park is a
vivid memory for White Sox fans.
And another one is of HarryCaray singing Take Me Out to the
Ball Game.
Now, I know a lot of folksthink of Harry Caray singing
that at Wrigley Field, but himgrabbing the microphone, the PA
microphone, and singing it alongwith the crowd actually began
at Comiskey Park with youaccompanying him uh on the
organ.
Nancy Faust (08:54):
Well, that's right.
Well, of course, I played it bymyself until Harry uh people
realized he was up in the booth,which was visible for me, which
was great.
And I could see him swingingthat mic and leading everybody.
And before you know it, I mean,he was the he was the main
attraction for at least thepeople that could see him during
Take Me Out to the Ball Game.
And I guess it was Bill Veeck'sidea to broadcast it over the
(09:17):
whole park.
You know, I mean, the storygoes that he said, Oh, well, I'm
not good enough.
And Bill Veeck would say, Well,yeah, you're you are good
enough.
In fact, you're so bad you'regood.
So then that became thetradition was for Harry to be on
the scoreboard, they'd showhim, and he'd let everybody in
take me out to the ballgame, andit just was just a highlight of
the game.
Harry Caray (09:37):
All right, everybody.
Okay, Nancy.
Mike Koser (10:30):
When you went to a game at Comiskey Park, it did
not matter what the score was.
You were going to stay untilthe seventh inning till you got
a chance to hear that.
And it was Bill Veeck's idea.
Bill Veeck, of course, was theowner of the White Sox and one
of the most colorful charactersin all of baseball history, for
sure.
Can you talk to us about theragtime promotion that he came
(10:51):
up with that had a long-lastingeffect on your life?
Nancy Faust (10:54):
Well, I certainly most certainly did because
ragtime, well, let me say thatall of Bill Veeck's promotions
involved door prizes and it keptthe fans engaged.
Everybody wanted to winsomething.
Usually it was silly things,but he had so many promotions
going.
And I think that's when heactually realized the value of
my music because I I could playmusic that reflected whatever
the promotion was.
If it was Irish, German, Greek,or whatever, or if it was
(11:16):
circus day, I'd be playingcircus music or
anti-superstition or whateverthe promotion was.
Well, it the the promotionyou're talking about involved
ragtime articles like an oldtime piano and an old time car.
And they also brought a brokendown donkey, I should say old
donkey into the center field.
And that was a door prize.
(11:36):
But the donkey was not claimed.
I happened to have a horse atthe time.
And I, when I realized that itwasn't claimed and it was still
at the field at the park beneaththe stands a couple of days
later, I asked Bill if I couldhave that donkey rather than
returning it to any let me haveit.
So that kind of created aninterest in donkeys.
And actually, after Rositapassed away, I acquired another
(11:58):
donkey, which I still have.
And right now, my donkey's nameis Mandy now.
I'm in her barn and the organcan't fit in the house.
So we're keeping the organ inthe barn, and that's where you
are with me in Mandy's barn.
Mike Koser (12:12):
So that one moment ended up changing your life
pretty dramatically.
Nancy Faust (12:15):
Yes, it did.
So here we are in a barn.
Thank you very much, Bill.
And yeah, it did.
Mike Koser (12:20):
Oh, did Billy Martin, and I'm guessing this is
probably when he was managingthe Yankees, did he actually
have the umpire call and ask youto stop playing because you
were throwing off his pitcher?
Nancy Faust (12:29):
Well, he didn't ask the umpire to do that, but the
umpire was aware that he wasvery in tune to uh the organist
at another park prior to comingto our park, and he blamed the
loss on the noise of the organ.
And because the umpire wasaware of that, when I played,
the umpire's turnaround made mestop.
And that at that time, StuHolcomb called and said, Don't
(12:50):
you're not doing anything wrong,you keep playing.
So it was the umpire that wasdoing it in in respect to Billy
Martin so that Billy Martinwouldn't get upset.
And Billy Martin actuallycalled me at the organ, I don't
know, like the next day orsomething and said, Oh, honey, I
just want you to know uh thatwasn't me.
So he was at kind ofapologetic, didn't need to be.
Everybody was catering to BillyMartin at the time, you know.
Mike Koser (13:11):
So Okay, Nancy, since we are lucky enough to
have you at the organ, I thoughtwe'd go through a few scenarios
that might come up at abaseball game at Comiskey Park,
and you could talk about what itis that you might play.
For instance, if a batter drawsa walk from a pitcher, you
might play.
Nancy Faust (13:27):
Well, you know what I did actually, so that I
wouldn't be at a loss.
What I always had with me was Iwhen I think of I would hear a
song and it was good, I'd put itin a category.
Here's some walk songs, just soI could, you know, refer to it
real quickly.
So here's a I became I'm out inArizona now and I played for
spring training.
So here's my list from a coupleof years ago.
Here's I there were things likeuh " long and winding road".
Mike Koser (13:57):
So if a pitcher was keeping his eye on a runner at
first base, you know, and keptthrowing it over there to check
on him, you might play what?
Nancy Faust (14:05):
Oh, you mean if somebody was trying to steal a
base?
Mike Koser (14:16):
All right, we have to go back here a few years for
this one, but Ozzie Guillenwalks to the plate.
Nancy Faust (14:21):
Oh, well, Ozzie Guillen.
Well, sir, the he there were alot of songs that applied to
Ozzie when um oh because hislast name looked like Gilligan,
I would play uh Gilligan'sIsland.
He probably didn't know what Iwas doing this for.
(14:45):
And to tell you the truth, inthose days I don't think players
cared much what I was playing.
I and I felt I was there forthe entertainment of the fans.
It was the fans that weresurrounding me, giving me great
ideas.
And um that I just hoped thatthey were enjoying what they
were hearing.
Mike Koser (15:00):
Omar Vizquel.
Nancy Faust (15:01):
Oh Let's well, because Vizquel sounds like
physical, I'd something likethat.
But I have to tell you, Mike, Imean, it it wasn't just playing
(15:24):
for players, and I did usuallyfind something that would be
applicable with the help offans, who also gave me some
insight about players, you know,that I may not have known.
But like there was a playerthat went out with somebody
named Lucille, and it was a bigdeal because Lucille wasn't uh
the woman that he thought shewas.
So I played.
(15:44):
Or somebody told me that umGeorge Brett had had hemorrhoid
surgery.
So I played you can't sit down.
(16:06):
Oh no, you can't sit down whenhe came back to play, of course,
or I might have played a walkright in, sit right down, or
something like that.
Mike Koser (16:13):
Or like if a cat would go across the field.
Nancy Faust (16:23):
Um, that was another thing that offered me
songs was just playing teamsfrom other towns where I could
play their play Boston.
I think Boston did that song,or I could have done something
like this.
(16:44):
Oh, there's just so manysituations.
And I once the scoreboard camealong and I was brought in and I
could see what was posted up onthe scoreboard, I was able to
play songs that reflected whatthe messaging was.
If the message, oh, if therewas a proposal to from one fan
(17:05):
to another, every once in awhile we had things like that,
or I could play Love andMarriage, or if it was welcome
the University of Wisconsin, oryou know, welcome college night,
(17:28):
then I could play all thecollege fight songs, or if the
message was uh welcome theCoca-Cola uh group, or I'd play.
Or, you know, if there was arain delay, there was also a lot
of um rain music.
So whatever the situation,there was just uh music that was
(17:49):
appropriate.
Before the big Jumbotron camealong with their own music, I
was really in my wheelhouse.
Those were just wonderful days.
I guess it wasn't until I wentback to Twitter that I realized
people still remembered thatstyle.
I guess it revived me a littlebit.
And I'm really happy to knowthat there's people that still
remember and just areinterested.
Mike Koser (18:08):
For a lot of us who go to games now, it just
sometimes feels like a wall ofsound.
You know, we miss those dayswhere we could sit in the
ballpark before the game, watchbatting practice, and hear the
organ play.
Nancy Faust (18:19):
I think when we think back, yeah, things seemed
a lot easier and more slowlymoving.
Mike Koser (18:24):
Ronnie Dale used to play at Crosley Field and would
play the organ for maybe 20minutes after a game and people
wouldn't even leave.
They would just sit in theirseats and kind of reflect on the
game and reflect on a Sundayafternoon.
And again, it was just asimpler time.
Nancy Faust (18:38):
It was.
And I just I my husband wouldsay, you know, it's like people
leave happy, even though um wemay have lost.
Because I know I played upbeatsongs like morning train or just
something that people couldwalk out happy to.
I'm just being glad that theyexperienced a ball game, win or
lose.
It certainly was a place whereso many bonds were formed.
I saw that happen generationafter generation.
Mike Koser (18:58):
How is it possible in 41 years you only missed five
games?
How on earth is that possible?
Nancy Faust (19:03):
Oh, I well, you know, there was only 81 games a
season, so I only had to behealthy 81 days out of the year,
you know.
And I guess the hardest partabout my job was just getting
there because there was alwaysuh traffic and things like that.
And I didn't live very close tothe park.
But once I got there, it's justit was just a grand party.
And um, the with well, thereason I missed the games was
(19:24):
your fault, Eric.
I um I had a child.
And then so I missed my fivegames, but then the team went
out of town, and by the timethey came back, I was ready to
go back to work.
So that's why I missed my fivegames.
Mike Koser (19:39):
Now, there was a time in the 70s, correct me if
I'm wrong, where you wereapproached by the Cubs to come
play at Wrigley Field when youweren't playing at Comiskey
Park.
Is that true?
Nancy Faust (19:48):
Yeah, there was a lot of attention given to the
music there in the 70s, and Idid receive a couple letters
from the Chicago Cubs andsaying, Would you be interested
in playing when the specschedules don't conflict?
And usually they didn't.
And I thought that would begreat.
And I asked Mr.
Veeck, and he said somethinglike, Young lady, you're gonna
(20:08):
have to pick one or the other.
Uh, he just didn't want toshare the music, I guess.
I knew I had a good thing, soit was out of the question at
the time.
Mike Koser (20:16):
So many years at Comiskey Park and and and so
many memories.
And like you said, people whostarted off as kids, then
bringing their kids and thentheir kids' kids, it just uh and
and who continued to let usknow on Lost Ballparks about
their connection to you andabout their the music that you
played, because there were a lotof years where the White Sox
were not great, but people wouldstill love to come to the
(20:36):
ballpark because it was anexperience.
Nancy Faust (20:38):
That's true, and music was part of it, you know.
The and Harry certainly thehaving Harry broadcast the
games.
Harry Caray (20:44):
Hello again, everybody.
Harry Caray and Jimmy Pearsallfrom Comiskey Park, where we're
gonna have a wild night tonight.
Nancy Faust (20:51):
Harry made you want to be there win or lose as
well.
I mean, he just said, you know,you can't be fun at the old
ballpark.
And uh there was just somethingabout the atmosphere and having
a good time and I want him tosee the shirt you're wearing.
Harry Caray (21:05):
Can you make that out?
It says outpatience.
I think everybody should nowhold up your legs.
He's wearing short.
Boy, oh boy, oh boy.
Nancy Faust (21:14):
Fortunately, he focused on every aspect of the
game, and I was fortunate to beone of those aspects, and the
music was.
Mike Koser (21:21):
So, how close were you to Harry Caray, by the way?
I mean, was he was his boothright next to yours?
Nancy Faust (21:26):
Um, it was within eyesight.
It was above me and then over.
So if I looked up and over, Icould see him.
And he'd give me a nod and I'dknow he was gonna dance.
So that would be like after um,after taking out to the ball
game.
And we'd he'd do a little.
But yeah, so it was really anadvantage that I could see him.
(21:53):
That was really great to belocated in that position.
And when he did take me out tothe ball game, I gave I put it
in a key that he could sing it.
And I always gave him anintroduction like this.
And then when you do this, Iknow he's ready starting to go.
Mike Koser (22:49):
By the way, to play for?
Nancy Faust (22:51):
The player that I realized sparked most emotion
from the fans was Richie Allen,definitely.
I mean, I I don't know muchabout players, but I just knew
that when he'd come up, they'dall stand, you know, and they'd
go crazy.
So I thought this guy's reallymagnetic, you know.
I mean, he's he has charisma.
And I realized it afterwatching him a few coming up to
bat.
So I I guess he'd be the mostoutstanding of the players, but
(23:13):
there certainly are so many.
Mike Koser (23:14):
And you would play for Dick Allen.
What would you play for him?
Nancy Faust (23:17):
It was a knee-jerk reaction.
I thought this guy's like asuperstar, and that song had
been popular for just a coupleof years, so I just played it.
Seemed I played it, and thenhe'd hit a home run, and it was
(23:45):
like, oh, well, that's a perfectmatch.
And even Sports Illustratedmentioned it in an article about
him.
You know, they say, Oh, eventhe organist has a special song
for him.
And I think that was the firsttime I ever played a song based
on a player's performance, youknow, just because he was that
good.
Mike Koser (24:00):
Yeah, I can I can picture him up to bat at a
course crushing a home run intothe left field seats at Comiskey
Park.
And it's so uh it's just to meit's sad that he did not see
himself inducted to the Hall ofFame.
And hopefully that will berectified at some point.
Nancy Faust (24:12):
Well, certainly is a lot of hope for a next time,
and it would be a real travestyif he doesn't make it next time.
Mike Koser (24:17):
In an article written last year, ESPN's Tanya
Malinowski said, Nancy didn'tuse the organ simply to provide
background music to the game.
She used it to react to it, toscore it like a film, to make
the fans' experience even moresensory.
That speaks for all who wereable and lucky enough to watch
you play at Comiskey Park.
Nancy Faust (24:36):
Well, thank you, Mike.
It was it was my pleasure.
It was I was, like I say, in mywheelhouse doing the one thing
that I was able, felt I was ableto do.
I don't know what I would havedone if baseball hadn't come
along.
So I'm very thankful for thesport and for primarily for the
fans, actually.
It was the fans that made myjob such so enjoyable.
Mike Koser (24:55):
Thank you so much for spending some um some time
with us today and for your andfor your donkey for allowing us
to invade her barn.
So that we can record some ofthe podcast here.
Nancy Faust (25:05):
Well, we appreciate what you do too, because fans
like to be like to remember thebetter times in their lives, and
um, you certainly do providethat for them, providing a lot
of wonderful memories.
Thank you.
I'm glad to be part of it.
Mike Koser (25:18):
Thank you, Nancy, and thank you to your son Eric
and Joe for helping out today.
We so appreciate them behindthe scenes.
Been an honor to talk with youagain.
And thank you.
Take care.
Thank you, guys.
Have a great day.
Nancy Faust (25:29):
Take care.
Bye-bye, Mike.
Mike Koser (25:31):
Hey, look, I'll just say this.
If you spent your summers atComiskey Park, the baseball
palace of the world, I'm surethere are a few things that
you'll always remember.
Maybe going to McCuddy's afterthe game, Harry Caray, some
interesting uniform choices,shorts, 1976, the exploding
scoreboard at center field, andthe iconic organ music of Nancy
Faust.
Nancy's on Twitter, by the way,at played41 at P-L-A-Y-E-D 41.
(25:56):
All right, next week on theLost Ball Parks podcast, you
can't talk about baseball in the70s and 80s without mentioning
the Cobra, Dave Parker.
Dave Parker grew up across thestreet from Cincinnati's Crosley
Field.
So you and your friends used togo in the Crosley Field parking
lot and do what?
Dave Parker (26:13):
We would throw rocks at each other and be like
two teams.
We would do rock battles.
One thing that we used to dowith a flat rock, and we could
make it go around the building,make it curve around the
building.
Mike Koser (26:26):
One day while playing this game, a future
baseball hall of famer whoplayed for the Cincinnati Reds
walked out of the clubhouse intothe parking lot and caught them
playing this game.
Dave Parker (26:35):
So we followed them every day.
They were familiar with us.
Mike Koser (26:38):
Wait till you hear who that was and what happened
next.
Dave Parker (26:41):
Never forget it.
Mike Koser (26:42):
We'll have that story for you next week.
When Dave Parker, the Cobra,joins Lost Ballparks.
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