Forgotten Feminist Roots of 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game'

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The classic baseball song 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' has long-forgotten feminist origins, according to historian George Boziwick. He believes the inspiration for the song's independent, baseball-loving heroine, Katie Casey, was the famous Cincinnati actress Trixie Friganza, who was a vaudeville star, suffragette, and Giants fan in the early 20th century.

Why it matters

The story of 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' sheds light on the pioneering role of women in baseball fandom and the women's suffrage movement in the early 1900s. It highlights how a seemingly innocuous baseball song contained a subversive message about gender norms and women's empowerment at a time when their presence at sporting events was still uncommon.

The details

Lyricist Jack Norworth wrote the lyrics to 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' in 1908, inspired by a sign he saw for a baseball game while riding the New York subway. Norworth was having an affair with Trixie Friganza, a vaudeville headliner, suffragette, and Giants fan from Cincinnati. The verses of the song tell the story of Katie Casey, an independent woman who would rather attend a baseball game than go to the theater, challenging the conventions of the time.

• In 1908, Norworth wrote the lyrics to 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' while riding the New York subway.
• In 2008, historian George Boziwick uncovered the feminist history of the song while curating an exhibit at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

What they’re saying

What’s next

Boziwick's research has shed new light on the feminist origins of the classic baseball song, and it may inspire further exploration of the role of women in early 20th century baseball culture and the women's suffrage movement.