Dieter Ruehle is an American musician who is the stadium organist forMajor League Baseball'sLos Angeles Dodgers andNational Hockey League'sLos Angeles Kings.[1] As of December 2024, Ruehle has played for three championship teams in three different sports: the Dodgers in 2020, 2024, and 2025;the Lakers in 2002, 2009, and 2010; and the Kings in 2012 and 2014.[2]
Ruehle has been with the Kings since 1989—taking a six-year break between 1992 and 1998—and has been the Dodgers’ full-time organist since 2016, replacingNancy Bea Hefley,[3] for whom he had filled in since 2013.[4][5][6] He has occasionally played organ for both teams' games in a single day.[1] When the NHL and NBA played games in China, Ruehle played organ for the NBA games in 2013 in Beijing and Shanghai and for the NHL in 2017 in the same cities.[7]
He played organ for theLos Angeles Lakers from 2001 to 2016, forming a working relationship withKobe Bryant.[8] The two worked together on Bryant's podcast "The Punies".[2] Ruehle has also played for theSan Jose Sharks for five seasons, from 1992 through 1997, and thePhoenix Coyotes for the 1997–98 season.[2]
Ruehle has played at five different Olympic games.[6] He played at the Sochi Olympics withRay Castoldi, the Madison Square Garden organist who Ruehle cites as a big influence.[9] They ran the musical show at the Shayba Ice Arena andBolshoy Ice Dome.[9] His other Olympic stints were Winter 2002 in Salt Lake (Ice Hockey), Summer 2004 in Athens (Basketball), Winter 2006 in Torino (Ice Hockey), and Winter 2010 in Vancouver (Ice Hockey).[10] He was the official tournament DJ for theUS Open Men's & Women's Tennis Championships from 2006 through 2015.[11]
Ruehle has played organ music on the video gamesNHL '94,NHL '95 andNHL '96 forEA Sports.[12] Ruehle provided songs for all the team, including additional information such as "... which music was blasted during power plays, which tunes were used to celebrate goals."[12]
AtDodger Stadium, Ruehle plays a Roland Atelier AT-80s organ. He also uses an Instant Replay, a hard disc audio playback system, for in-game pre-recorded music and a compact electronic drum machine.[1][9] Ruehle, along with other contemporary organistsJosh Kantor andMatthew Kaminski will interact with fans overTwitter and will sometimes use his musical choices for comical effect.[13] During theCOVID-19 pandemic, Ruehle added other songs to his repertoire such as"Hush" byDeep Purple and "Enjoy the Silence" byDepeche Mode.[14]
Ruehle was born in Van Nuys and grew up in North Hollywood and Burbank.[15] His father is German American and his mother is Mexican American.[15] He was a fan of both the Dodgers and the Kings growing up.[1] He took classical piano lessons growing up and graduated fromBurbank High School in 1986.[1][15][16]
Ruehle was inspired byNancy Faust, stadium organist for theChicago White Sox.[17] His first time playing at a Kings game was as a result of writing a letter to local TV stationKABC-TV which was running a "Sports Fantasy" segment.[5] Ruehle, who was twelve at the time, said his fantasy was to play for the Kings and he played for the team's first period.[5] He was the organist for theLos Angeles Lazers of theMajor Indoor Soccer League when he was 15, playing there until the league folded.[9]
| |
| Franchise | |
| History | |
| Personnel |
|
| Arenas | |
| Rivalries | |
| Affiliates | |
| Media | |
| Culture and lore |
|
