the brooklyn dodgers sym-phony

for today's baseball story -- from...his...tory -- vin scully told about the night...walter o'malley...invited all amateur musicians...to the game, for free -- if they brought their instruments with them -- this was in response to the musicians' union...protesting...the brooklyn dodgers sym-phony, a motley group of musicians...who wandered through the stands, making...music -- if you wanna call it that -- the union objected...to musicians..., including union musicians, i suppose, playing music...without being paid

here's a picture of the sym-phony

o'malley called the special event, on august 13, 1951, 'music depreciation night'

here's the story...from the web-site...the brooklyn dodgers: america's team. my home town

THE BROOKLYN DODGER SYM-PHONY: To call the Sym-Phony a group of dedicated amateur musicians would be to grant them a degree of musical competence many magnitudes above what actually existed. "They couldn't hit a note," said Don Newcombe. Maybe not, but these guys had a great deal of fun parading through the stands with their brass instruments and big bass drum, adding musical punctuation to every step (and misstep) on the field. "Three Blind Mice" was the theme song for the umpires, "The Worms Crawl In, The Worms Crawl Out" greeted struck-out players as they returned to the dugout, and no matter how savvy the player, a big "ba-boom" greeted every player as his rump hit the bench. A totally spontaneous outgrowth of the madcap energy that effused Ebbets Field, the Sym-Phony drew the ire of the powerful Musicians' Union, who accused owner Walter O'Malley of allowing non-union performers to entertain at Ebbets Field. To prove the point that anyone could play an instrument without being an "entertainer," O'Malley, in a rare moment of business whimsy, announced "Music Depreciation Night," and allowed any fan carrying an instrument to enter the park for free. Kazoos, whistles, ocarinas, jews'-harps, accordians, trumpets, drums, violins, upright basses, tubas and sousaphones, a woodwind section, and even two pianos set up a still-remembered caterwauling that night "to beat the band," or, more accurately, the Musicians' Union. The union dropped the matter. The band played on.

another web-site, brooklyndodgermemories, also chronicles 'music depreciation day'