"It's A Beautiful Day For A Ball Game

The song that opens the Helena Senators and Reps games is 52 years old, from a group better know for a Christmas carol. The song is “It’s a Beautiful Day For a Ball Game,” from the Harry Simeon Songsters.

You hear “The Little Drummer Boy” every winter. The ball game song was their attempt to make a summer-time song. It was written in 1960. Nat “King” Cole and Tennessee Ernie Ford recorded it. The sheet music for it is in a collection at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Major League Baseball put it in the World Series highlight film of 1965. The song has been used by the Mets, Cubs, Phillies, and Dodgers over the years to open their games. The University of Minnesota uses it at their games, during rain delays. KBLL has used it since the beginning of Legion baseball broadcasts in 2000.

 "Let’s go! Batter up!

We’re taking the after-noon off!

It’s a beautiful day for a ball game, for a ball game today
The fans are out to get a ticket or two
From Wal-la, Wash-ing-ton to Kal-a-ma-zoo

It’s a beautiful day for a home run,
But even a tr-ple’s o-kay!
We’re gonna cheer and boo and raise a hullabaloo
At the ball game today

Batter up!
Strike one!
Hey! The game has just be-gun,
And the home team’s out to win!
There he swings!
Strike Two!
At the pitch-er’s dipsy doo
Boy! That fast ball popped right in!

This is it! Strike three!
Fans are tearing up the chairs, but what the heck! Who cares?

It’s a beaut-ful day for a ball game, for a ball game to-day
If you and I are out of dollars and cents,
Oh honey, we can a-ways share a lit-tle hole in the fence.

It’s a beautiful day for the la-dies,
So throw all your dishes a-way

We’re gon-na cheer and boo and raise a hulabaloo
At the ball game today
At the ball game
The wonderful ball game today
WOW!”

The author of the song is Ruth Roberts.

The creator of scores of songs in virtually every genre, Ruth Roberts is equally as well known for her love songs as she is for her sports songs. In the 1950s, 60s, '70s, and onward, Roberts' romantic ballads and playful up-tunes were snapped up by the popular recording artists of the day, including Dean Martin, Theresa Brewer, Jimmy Dean, The McGuire Sisters, Patti Page, Debbie Reynolds, Vic Damone, Arthur Godfrey, Steve Allen and Eydie Gorme.

Ruth Roberts remains one of a select group of songwriters who has had a song recorded by the Beatles, whose version of her "Mailman Bring Me No More Blues" on the Fab Four's Anthology 3 Album is considered a "rare" Beatles recording.

A lifelong New York baseball fan, Roberts' original music honoring this uniquely American game became the popular classics we've all been singing since our childhoods. The extraordinarily popular "Meet the Mets" became the theme song for the New York Mets; Sports fans will also recognize "Mr. Touchdown" and "I Love Mickey," which was popularized by Theresa Brewer.

A trivia note: the man singing “Mickey who?" In “I Love Mickey” is, in fact, Mickey Mantle.