Here’s a nice promotion to end the season for the Chicago White Sox: longtime organist Nancy Faust, the woman who gave us “Na Na Na Na Hey Hey Goodbye” at the ballpark, will be honored with her very own bobblehead on the eve of her retirement.
Faust began playing organ at the original Comiskey Park in 1969, discovered when she was playing at a luncheon attended by then-general manager Stu Holcomb. Replacing the legendary Shay Torrent, she’s witnessed many interesting things during the Bill Veeck and Jerry Reinsdorf eras, including the times when Veeck moved the organ to the bleachers and then behind home plate.
Though she’s scaled back in recent years and only appears at day games, she’s still known for playing a traditional ballpark organ sound. There’s definitely a Chicago sound when it comes to organ music at sporting events — remember, Chicago Stadium for the longest time featured a massive organ, and the first use of the organ at a ballgame was at Wrigley Field — and Faust is squarely within that tradition.
Her last game is Oct. 3, but she will be honored Saturday when 10,000 Nancy Faust bobbleheads are given away to the U.S. Cellular crowd.
Photo courtesy of the Chicago White Sox.
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