Edward M. Layton (October 10, 1925 – December 26, 2004) was an American

stadium organist A stadium organist is a musician who plays an organ during live sporting events. Organs at sporting events During the early part of the 20th century, organs were often found in public locations such as movie theaters, eating establishments, and ...

who played at old

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

for nearly 40 years, earning him membership in the New York Sports Hall of Fame.

Early life

Layton was a native of

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. He graduated from the

West Chester State Teachers College West Chester University (also known as West Chester, WCU, or WCUPA, and officially as West Chester University of Pennsylvania) is a public research university in and around West Chester, Pennsylvania. The university is accredited by the Middle ...

(Now West Chester University) majoring in

meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...

with a minor in music. He began playing the organ when he was 12 years old. While serving in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he learned to play the

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs ...

. After the war, he began a career as a professional organist writing scores for

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

s on CBS. Four noted CBS soap operas were "The Secret Storm," "Love is a Many Splendored Thing," "Love of Life," and "Where the Heart Is." During that time, he recorded nearly 27 albums of organ music. He was also noted for traveling the world as a spokesperson and artist for the Hammond Organ company.

New York Yankees

Layton joined the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

franchise in 1967 when CBS purchased the Yankees from

Dan Topping Daniel Reid Topping (June 11, 1912 – May 18, 1974) was a part owner and president of the New York Yankees baseball team from 1945 to 1964. During Topping's tenure as chief executive of the Yankees, the team won 14 American League pennants and ...

. Because of pressure from the success of the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major leagu ...

, their new

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.

facility and the popularity of their organist,

Jane Jarvis Jane Jarvis (née Nossette, October 31, 1915 – January 25, 2010) was an American jazz pianist. She was also known for her work as a composer, baseball stadium organist and music industry executive. Life and career Jarvis was born in Vince ...

, Topping had installed an organ in Yankee Stadium at the beginning of the 1965 season. Lowrey organ demonstrator Toby Wright was the first Yankee organist and did the 1965 and 1966 seasons. Team president

E. Michael Burke Edmund Michael Burke (August 6, 1916 – February 5, 1987) was a U.S. Navy Officer, O.S.S. agent, C.I.A. agent, general manager of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, CBS executive, and President of the New York Yankees, the New York ...

brought Layton in to play organ music at the stadium in 1967. At the time, he had never been to the stadium and knew nothing about

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

. He went on to play the organ for the Yankees for over three decades, taking a break from 1971 to 1977 to pursue other musical commitments. (Wright had returned as organist during that time.) When he retired on September 28, 2003, he played a final performance of "

Take Me Out to the Ball Game "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is a 1908 Tin Pan Alley song by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer which has become the unofficial anthem of North American baseball, although neither of its authors had attended a game prior to writing the son ...

", while fans chanted "Eddie! Eddie!". Current New York Yankees organists Ed Alstrom and

Paul Cartier Paul Cartier (born January 4, 1959) is the stadium organist for Major League Baseball's New York Yankees and the National Hockey League's New York Islanders. When he plays for the Yankees, Cartier plays 15-20 minutes every game night before the ...

were recruited by Layton to take his place at Yankee Stadium.

Other Work

In addition to playing for the Yankees, Layton was the organist for the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associa ...

and the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...

from 1967 to 1985. He also played for several seasons of

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

games in the 1990s and served one stint as organist for the indoor

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independe ...

soccer team at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsyl ...

. Layton also performed concerts in more than 200 cities for the Hammond Organ Company and released 27 albums. In addition, Layton played the organ at

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and theater at 1260 Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplace of the Nation", it is the headquarters for th ...

for thirty years of

Pace University Pace University is a private university with its main campus in New York City and secondary campuses in Westchester County, New York. It was established in 1906 by the brothers Homer St. Clair Pace and Charles A. Pace as a business school. Pace ...

commencements held there. The student union at

's New York City campus was named in his honor.

Hobbies

Layton loved sailing and owned his own tugboat. He also owned a huge collection of model trains he maintained at his

Forest Hills, New York Forest Hills is a mostly residential neighborhood in the central portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is adjacent to Corona to the north, Rego Park and Glendale to the west, Forest Park to the south, Kew Gardens to the southea ...

home. Eddie loved demonstrating organs to the public, and giving organ lessons. In 2009, Soapluvva established a YouTube tribute channel to both Eddie Layton and Charles Paul, who were colleagues of each other at the CBS Broadcast Center in Manhattan.

Death

On December 26, 2004, Layton died of natural causes at his home in Forest Hills, New York at age 79, according to various reports following a brief illness. He was buried at Mount Hebron Cemetery in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, with his feet pointed away from Shea Stadium.

Controversy

Layton claimed credit as the first to come up with the idea of playing charge calls at a baseball game in 1971. However, Michael Silverbush claims to have made the innovation eight years prior. Ken Burns' 1994 documentary ''

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

'' contained some videographic evidence buttressing Silverbush's claim. During the sequence on the new

fans in the film's 8th installment, Silverbush can briefly be seen playing a trumpet at the

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.

in 1969.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Layton, Eddie 1925 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American keyboardists United States Navy personnel of World War II New York Yankees personnel Musicians from Philadelphia Stadium organists American male organists 20th-century American musicians 20th-century organists 20th-century American male musicians Burials at Mount Hebron Cemetery (New York City)