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Making Beautiful Music
Organist at College World Series in Omaha is still going strong at age 89
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Published: June 25, 2008
Updated: 06/25/2008 12:20 am
OMAHA, Neb. - OMAHA, Neb. - Players, coaches and the fans come and go at the College World Series. Lambert Bartak is here year after year -- always in the background, but always heard.
Bartak, 89, is Rosenblatt Stadium's longtime organist, one of a dwindling number in ballparks around the country.
Bartak spends games in a booth at the far end of the press box. His playlist is written on a tattered sheet of yellow paper, and there are dozens and dozens of songs.
But fans can always count on hearing Bartak crank out old standards on his 1935 Hammond, tunes such as "Hello Dolly," "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" and "You Are My Sunshine."
Come the seventh-inning stretch, the video board shows Bartak, in a polo shirt and "CWS Staff" ball cap, playing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," punctuating by raising his hands as if to signal a touchdown
Jenny Begley, a 36-year-old fan from Omaha, said Rosenblatt wouldn't be the same without him.
"It somehow makes it more fun," she said. "I look forward to the organ music. I love hearing Lambert's name when he's introduced before the game, and then seeing him play in the seventh inning."
Organ music was part of the ballpark experience just about everywhere from the 1940s until about the 1980s, when recorded music began creeping in between innings.
Gladys Gooding, who played Brooklyn Dodgers games at Ebbets Field, John Kiley at Fenway Park in Boston and Shay Torrent at the old Comiskey Park and Anaheim Stadium were just a few of the beloved organists of their day.
Bartak has quite a following himself. He even has an entry on Wikipedia.
The World War II veteran was a studio musician for about 10 years at Omaha radio station WOW, where he worked alongside Johnny Carson. He played bar mitzvahs and other gigs all over town, and perhaps was best known as the accordionist at Mr. C's Italian steakhouse in north Omaha.
He filled in at Rosenblatt from 1955 until 1980 and has been the full-time organist ever since.
Folks who see Bartak around the stadium usually have two questions for him: How old is he, and how long has he been playing at Rosenblatt?
"I also get a lot of requests," he said.
Bartak has lots of sheet music in his booth, but he never uses it. His repertoire is performed by memory.
"I could do it in my sleep," he said.
Bartak remains the main musical attraction at Rosenblatt. Yes, some recorded music is sprinkled in during the CWS, but it doesn't bother him.
"Some of it," he said, "is very good."
Dick Whorley, a 70-year-old fan from Omaha, said he can't stand canned music. Ballparks and organ music simply go together.
"It's traditional," he said, "as far as the atmosphere is concerned."
While traditionalists might lament the fading of ballpark organists, Bartak isn't one to overdramatize.
"It's just music to fill in with," he said. "Not that big a deal."
The College World Series is nearing its run at Rosenblatt. A new downtown stadium will open in 2011.
Bartak, who said he works on a year-to-year basis, doubts his old Hammond, or any other organ, will take up residence at the new park.
"It wouldn't fit in the modern age," he said.
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