Gladys Goodding (June 18, 1893 – November 18, 1963) was an American musician who served as the

stadium organist A stadium organist is a musician who plays an organ (music), organ during Music at sporting events, live sporting events. Organs at sporting events During the early part of the 20th century, organs were often found in public locations such as mov ...

at Ebbetts Field for the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

from 1942 to 1957, when the team left Brooklyn and moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. She began her sports career playing organ in

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 Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

. In addition to the Dodgers, Goodding also performed 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 Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

and the

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

. After the Dodgers moved, she remained in New York City and played the organ at sporting events until her death in 1963.

Early life and career

Goodding was born in

Macon County, Missouri Macon County is a county located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,209. Its county seat is Macon. The county was organized January 6, 1837, and named for Nathaniel Macon, a R ...

to Meribah () and Joseph Goodding, the third of their four children. Her father was a businessman and amateur violinist and her mother was a piano teacher. Her parents died when she was young; she and her younger brother were then sent to

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

to live in an orphanage. During her time there, she fell in love with baseball. Upon turning 18, she moved in with her older brother in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

where she learned to sing and play the piano. Eventually, she settled in

Independence, Missouri Independence is a city in and one of two county seats of Jackson County, Missouri, United States. It is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metropolitan area. In 2020 Unite ...

. Due to her adept skills at the piano, she mastered the fundamentals of playing the organ within two weeks and began playing at the local church. During this time she was briefly married and started a family. She began performing light opera on the Chautauqua and Lyceum entertainment circuits, where she was billed as a "soprano-pianist". After her divorce, she and her children moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In New York, to support her family, she became a full-time organist at Loew's Theatre, where she provided musical accompaniment for

silent films A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

. Occasionally, she also went on tour and did solo performances on the radio. Goodding had her breakthrough in sports in 1937 when she was hired to accompany sporting events at

, with the help of Ethel Mullany, the head of the Garden's booking department. She performed for

fans and

fans and also playing the "

Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of For ...

" before boxing matches.

Tenure with the Brooklyn Dodgers

In 1942, Goodding was by the

to play the organ at Ebbetts Field. Reportedly, general manager

Larry MacPhail Leland Stanford "Larry" MacPhail Sr. (February 3, 1890 – October 1, 1975) was an American lawyer and an executive in Major League Baseball. He served as a high-ranking executive, including club president and general manager, with the Cincin ...

, who was an avid piano player, hired her immediately after receiving a letter from a regular attendee at the Garden. For Goodding, the Dodgers brought an electric

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

and placed it "in the baseball field 'organ loft,' a glass enclosure high above the crowd". During her first season, she endeared herself to Dodger fans through her trademark ingenuity. For example, when umpires Bill Stewart, Ziggy Sears, and Tom Dunn stepped on the field, to the delight of the fans, she began playing "

Three Blind Mice "Three Blind Mice" is an English nursery rhyme and musical round.I. Opie and P. Opie, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), p. 306. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 3753. ...

". She became a fixture at Ebbetts Field and gained widespread popularity in the borough of Brooklyn. Goodding is responsible for beginning the modern-day practice of playing

walk-up music The use of music at sporting events is a practice that is thousands of years old, but has recently had a resurgence as a noted phenomenon. Some sports have specific traditions with respect to pieces of music played at particular intervals. Others ...

. She played for both the home team and for visiting players. Other times, she would serenade players if it was their birthday. Her rendition of "Chiapenecas", a Mexican folksong, become a fixture during the

seventh-inning stretch In baseball in the United States and Canada, the seventh-inning stretch (also known as the Lucky 7 in Japan and South Korea) is a long-standing tradition that takes place between the halves of the seventh inning of a game. Fans generally stand up ...

. When the Dodgers lost the

1952 World Series The 1952 World Series featured the 3-time defending champions New York Yankees beating the Brooklyn Dodgers in seven games. The Yankees won their 4th consecutive title, tying the mark they set in 1936–1939 under manager Joe McCarthy, and Cas ...

, according to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', Goodding played "played a medley of tunes that left nothing to the imagination. From a rendition of 'Blues in the Night,' Miss Goodding... drifted into 'What Can I Say, Dear, After I Say I'm Sorry.' She followed up with 'This Nearly Was Mine,' 'You Got Me Cryin’ Again,' 'Deep Purple,' and 'What a Difference a Day Makes.' When the park was virtually empty... Gladys concluded with '

Auld Lang Syne "Auld Lang Syne" () is a Scottish song. In the English-speaking world, it is traditionally sung to bid farewell to the old year at the stroke of midnight on Hogmanay/New Year's Eve. It is also often heard at funerals, graduations, and as a far ...

'—better known in Brooklyn as 'Wait 'Til Next Year'." When the Dodgers made their last appearance at Ebbetts Field before leaving

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

for

, Roscoe McGowan noted that she "played numerous tunes with the farewell motif" including "Thanks for the Memory" and "How Can You Say We're Through?" Jack Lang of the ''Long Island Star-Journal'' noted that she also played " California Here I Come" and "So Long, It's Been Good to Know You", ending the day with "

" as Dodger fans left the ballpark for the last time. After the Dodgers left, Goodding continued to play at

until arthritis forced her into retirement.

Personal life

Goodding was married to Robert Reinholdt "Bob" Beck with whom she had two children: Robert Jr. (1915–1980) and Maxine (1916–1988). Their marriage ended in divorce, and she reverted to using her maiden name. Goodding died of a heart attack in

, aged 70.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodding, Gladys 1893 births 1963 deaths 20th-century American organists 20th-century American women musicians American women organists Brooklyn Dodgers personnel Musicians from Missouri People from Macon County, Missouri Stadium organists American vaudeville performers