Baseball Traditions

on July 7, 2011
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Take Me Out to the Ballgame

The classic baseball anthem “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” was originally played during Vaudeville acts and intermissions at nickelodeons. It is popularly held that Jack Norworth, the song’s lyricist, had never attended a baseball game before writing the famous song.

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Hot Dog Eating Contest

Joey Chestnut was the champion of 2011’s Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest in Brooklyn, N.Y. To earn the title of hot dog victor, Chestnut wolfed down 62 dogs and buns in a mere 10 minutes—the equivalent of about 20,000 calories.

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And Cracker Jacks

Cracker Jack was invented by a German Immigrant at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. According to popular lore, the name came about when a salesman exclaimed, "That's a Cracker Jack!" upon tasting the confection.

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Major League Appetite

Major League ballparks are predicted to serve almost 22.5 million hot dogs this year, which is enough that if laid end-to-end, the dogs would stretch from AT&T park in San Francisco to Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.

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Baseball Trivia

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Cracker Jack prizes

Some vintage Cracker Jack prizes are priced at almost $7,000.

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Coney Island

A German immigrant opened the nation’s first hot dog stand in Coney Island in 1871. During its first year of operation, the stand sold over 3,000 franks.

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Buy Me Some Peanuts

One-third of Major League ball clubs now designate special “peanut-free” seating to accommodate fans with severe peanut allergies.

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History of Sausage

The first sausage is believed to trace its roots back to 64 A.D. when the cook of Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar stuffed pig intestines with ground meat and spices.