He never carried a sheet of music to the ballpark. More than 2,000 songs
were stored in his head.
For 21 seasons, Minnesota Twins organist Ronnie (Baseball) Newman had a
playing streak that would rival many of the game's greats today.
Newman, of Minneapolis, died Tuesday of complications from diabetes at
Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina. He was 70.
A moment of silence was held Tuesday night at the Twins-Anaheim Angels
game for Newman, who had played the baseball anthem "Take Me Out to the
Ball Game" for 1,775 straight home games.
During Tuesday's game "Satin Doll," a song he performed before every home
game, was played.
"Ronnie's one of the all-time great ambassadors for the Twins, right up there
with [longtime radio announcer] Herb Carneal and [public address announcer]
Bob Casey," said Matt Hoy, Twins vice president of operations. "Ronnie
would go anywhere to promote the team. He was a Twin through and
through."
Newman's daughter, Connie Newman of Minneapolis, said Tuesday that a
friend of her father's referred him to Twins owner Calvin Griffith before the
1977 season.
"He was hired with a handshake," she said. "He'd tell that story quite
frequently.
"Music was his life, and he really loved the Twins. It's all he lived for."
He last played music for the Twins in 1998, when scoreboard commercials
and recorded rock music grew more popular than his organ tunes.
Newman played from behind home plate at Metropolitan Stadium in
Bloomington, where he earned $50 a game. In the early days at the
Metrodome he played from a pit, watching the game through a periscope.
He frequently played jazz in clubs in the Twin Cities, and he also performed in
Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe, Nev., with the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Mel
Torme and Lenny Bruce.
"I never got tired of listening to him play," said friend Dagmar Runyon of St.
Paul. "Ronnie always had something refreshing to put out. He was a true jazz
improvisational musician."
Obituary: Ronnie Newman, who played organ for Twins
Terry Collins, Star Tribune
September 3, 2003
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