President Bush Joins United States Postal Service in Unveiling Stamp at White House All-Star Tee Ball Game

President Bush Joins United States Postal Service in Unveiling Stamp at White House All-Star Tee Ball Game

EMBARGOED FOR July 16, 2008 at 4:30p.m. ET

Stamp Celebrates Baseball Unofficial Anthem's 100th Anniversary

President Bush joined the Postmaster General today in unveiling the "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" stamp to celebrate the song's 100th anniversary. The First-Day-of-Issue ceremony took place on the White House South Lawn where 51 young players representing all 50 states and Washington, DC, played in the White House All-Star Tee Ball game. All 75 million "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" 42-cent first-class commemorative stamps go on sale today.

President Bush launched Tee Ball on the South Lawn to encourage fitness among America's youth and promote the national pastime to people of all ages. The eighth season opened June 27 by honoring the Latino community's many contributions to the game of baseball. That game featured the Little League Angels from Manati, PR, and the Little League Red Sox from Camden, NJ.

"The Postal Service is proud of its role in portraying the American experience through stamps," explained Postmaster General John Potter. "Of the thousands of stamps the Postal Service has issued, only one other song has been commemorated on postage -- 'The Stars and Stripes Forever.' And what better song to celebrate as 2008 marks the 100th anniversary of Baseball's unofficial anthem, 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game?' There are a few songs most Americans know the words to, and the lyrics celebrated during the seventh inning stretch of America's pastime is one of them."

The 32-cent "The Stars and Stripes Forever" first-class stamp was issued in 1997. A sampling of other songs referred to on stamps honored individual subjects: "God Bless America" was inscribed on Irving Berlin's 37-cent first-class stamp issued in 2002; "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," was noted on Edgar Y. "Yip" Harburg's 37-cent stamp issued in 2005; and, the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" was depicted on the 33-cent "Celebrate the Century 1960s" stamp series issued in 1999.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

The stamp image is based on a circa-1880 "trade card" from the personal collection of art director Richard Sheaff of Scottsdale, AZ. The original card shows a baseball scene and contains words promoting a product made by a Michigan company. The stamp art shows the same scene but replaces the product-related words with "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," the stamp denomination, notes from the music, and the words "United States of America."

For decades the song's catchy chorus has been part of the musical tradition at ballparks around the nation, especially during the seventh-inning stretch. The song was born on a New York City train in the summer of 1908, when passenger Jack Norworth (1879-1959) -- an actor, singer and songwriter who had never attended a major-league ball game -- saw a sign about an upcoming game at the Polo Grounds. Suddenly inspired, he took out a piece of paper and began dashing off lines about a fictional fan he called Katie Casey (Nelly Kelly in a 1927 version of the song). Katie "was baseball mad," he wrote, and when asked by her beau to a show, this was her reply: "Take me out to the ball game / Take me out with the crowd. . . ."

Norworth took his lyrics to composer Albert Von Tilzer (1878-1956), who had also never been to a major-league game. Von Tilzer set the words to music (a waltz tempo), and the York Music Company published the song the same year. Among the earliest recordings were renditions by the Haydn Quartet and singer Edward Meeker, both in 1908.

The original, handwritten lyrics of Norworth and Von Tilzer's most celebrated collaboration now reside among the treasured collections of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Cooperstown, NY.

Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/welcome.htm.

An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 146 million homes and businesses, six days a week. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services, not tax dollars, to pay for operating expenses. The Postal Service has annual revenue of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world's mail.

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark

Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at The Postal Store Web site at www.usps.com/shop, by calling 800-STAMP-24, or at their local Post Office. Customers should affix stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes to themselves or others, and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

Take Me Out to the Ball Game Stamp
Postmaster
Special Cancellations
PO Box 92282
Washington, DC 20090-2282

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark. All orders must be postmarked by Sept. 16, 2008.

How to Order First-Day Covers

Stamp Fulfillment Services also offers first-day covers for new stamp issues and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official first-day-of-issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the quarterly USA Philatelic catalog. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-STAMP-24 or writing to:

Information Fulfillment
Dept. 6270
U.S. Postal Service
PO Box 219014
Kansas City, MO 64121-9014
Philatelic Products
There are four philatelic products available for this stamp issue:
-- 462161, First-Day Cover, $.80
-- 462165, Digital Color Postmark, $1.50

-- 462173, CarryTune(TM) Book, CD and Digital Color Postmark First-Day Cover Book, $6.49

-- 462199, Cancellation Keepsake w/ Digital Color Postmark, $9.90

A high-resolution image of the stamp is available for media use only through this link: http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2008stamps/downloadcenter.htm

CONTACT: Mark Saunders of USPS, (O) +1-202-268-6524, (C) +1-202-320-0782, mark.r.saunders@usps.gov

/PRNewswire-USNewswire -- July 16/

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: U.S. Postal Service

Web Site:

http://www.usps.com/

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