Eddie Layton | |
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 Layton at his retirement party in 2003 | |
| Born | Edward M. Layton (1925-10-10)October 10, 1925 Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | December 26, 2004(2004-12-26) (aged 79) Forest Hills, Queens,New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Stadium organist |
Edward M. Layton (October 10, 1925 – December 26, 2004) was an Americanstadium organist who played at oldYankee Stadium for nearly 40 years, earning him membership in the New York Sports Hall of Fame.[1]
Layton was born inPhiladelphia. He graduated from West Chester State Teachers College, nowWest Chester University, where he majored inmeteorology with a minor in music. He began playing the organ when he was 12 years old.
While serving in theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II, he learned to play theHammond organ. After World War II, he began a career as a professional organist writing scores forsoap operas onCBS,[2]"The Secret Storm," "Love is a Many Splendored Thing," "Love of Life," and "Where the Heart Is." He recorded 27 albums of organ music, and travelled the world as a spokesperson and artist forHammond Organ company.
Layton joined theNew York Yankees franchise in 1967 whenCBS purchased the Yankees fromDan Topping. Because of pressure from the success of theNew York Mets, their newShea Stadium facility and the popularity of their organist,Jane Jarvis, 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 presidentE. Michael Burke 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 aboutbaseball.[3] 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", while fans chanted "Eddie! Eddie!".[1]Current New York Yankees organistsEd Alstrom andPaul Cartier were recruited by Layton to take his place at Yankee Stadium.
In addition to playing for the Yankees, Layton was the organist for theNew York Knicks and theNew York Rangers from 1967 to 1985.[4] He also played for several seasons ofNew York Islanders games in the 1990s[2] and served one stint as organist for the indoorNew York Cosmos soccer team atMadison Square Garden.
Layton also performed concerts in more than 200 cities for the Hammond Organ Company and released 27 albums.[3] In addition, Layton played the organ atRadio City Music Hall for thirty years ofPace University commencements held there. The student union atPace University's New York City campus was named in his honor.[5]
Layton loved sailing and owned his own tugboat. He also owned a huge collection of model trains he maintained at hisForest Hills, New York home. He loved demonstrating organs to the public, and giving organ lessons. In 2009, Soapluvva established aYouTube tribute channel to both Layton and Charles Paul, who were colleagues of each other at the CBS Broadcast Center inManhattan.
On December 26, 2004, Layton died of natural causes at his home inForest Hills, New York, at age 79, following a brief illness.[2] He was buried atMount Hebron Cemetery inQueens, New York City, with his feet pointed away fromShea Stadium.[6]
Layton claimed credit as the first to come up with the idea of playingcharge calls at a baseball game in 1971.[3] However, Michael Silverbush claims to have made the innovation eight years prior.
In Ken Burns' 1994 documentaryBaseball, in a sequence onNew York Mets fans in the film's eighth installment, Silverbush can be seen briefly playing a trumpet atShea Stadium in 1969.
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