Seventh-Inning Stretch Tradition

Lore & Background

The origin of the seventh-inning stretch is much disputed, and it is difficult to certify any definite history. One claimant is Brother Jasper (Brennan) of Mary, F.S.C., who called a timeout during a hot game in June 1882 to let restless student fans stand up and unwind. In June 1869, the New York Herald reported a 'laughable stand up and stretch' at the close of the second inning of a game. Later in 1869, the Cincinnati Commercial noted a ten-minute intermission at the end of the sixth inning in a West Coast game.

A letter written in 1869 by Harry Wright documented spectators arising between halves of the seventh inning to stretch. Another tale holds that the stretch was invented by a manager stalling for time to warm up a relief pitcher. On October 18, 1889, Game 1 of the 1889 World Series saw a seventh-inning stretch after somebody yelled 'stretch for luck'. A popular story involves President William Howard Taft standing up to stretch on April 14, 1910, but this date is far later than other accounts. There appears to be no written record of the term 'seventh-inning stretch' before 1920.

Reader's Guide

In modern baseball, standing up and singing 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' during the seventh-inning stretch is a popular tradition. It was first played at a ballpark at a high school in Los Angeles, California in 1934. The song's composers, Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer, had never attended an actual baseball game prior to writing it. The practice gained exceptional popularity from broadcaster Harry Caray, who sang the song in the broadcast booth for the Chicago White Sox and later led the crowd as a Chicago Cubs tradition.

Many teams also play local songs: the Baltimore Orioles play 'Thank God I'm a Country Boy'; the New York Mets played the 'Mexican Hat Dance' and later 'Lazy Mary'; the St. Louis Cardinals play 'Here Comes the King' and 'Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis'; the Toronto Blue Jays have Health Canada officials lead stretching exercises while 'OK Blue Jays' plays; the Texas Rangers play 'Cotton-Eyed Joe'.

Did You Know?

• In Japan and South Korea, the seventh-inning stretch is known as the Lucky 7.
• If a game goes into a fifth extra inning, a similar 'fourteenth-inning stretch' is celebrated.
• In softball, amateur baseball games scheduled for only seven innings, or minor-league doubleheaders, a 'fifth-inning stretch' may be substituted.
• In Japan, the seventh-inning stretch consists of two parts: one after the end of the 6th inning for the away team's fight song, and another after the top of the 7th inning for the home team's fight song.