 Ladies and gentlemen the railroad hour and here comes our summer show train Tonight the association of American railroads presents a new musical play by Lawrence and Lee a great baseball memory Casey at the bat Starring Gordon Macray and his guest lovely Dorothy Warren show Our choir is under the direction of Norman Luboff and our music is arranged and conducted by Carmen dragon Yes tonight the premiere of another new operetta is brought to you by the American railroads the same railroads that bring you most Of the food you eat the clothes you wear the fuel you burn and all the other things you use in your daily life And now here is our star Gordon Macray Baseball fever is running high coast to coast on sand lots and in big league parks That's why we're bringing you a musical version of one of the great yarns in baseball history Dorothy Warren's shoulder will be a lovely strawberry blonde named peg And I shall be Casey mighty Casey in Casey at the bat Labor by Casey struck out. I guess I ought to know because I'm Casey You want to know why they mentioned my name first when they talk about the bonehead goose in baseball history? Well, I'll tell you Never meet a girl who made you melt inside like an ice cream cone and a kid's hand on a sunny day in the bleachers Well, I did Her name was peg She had hair that was all soft and kind of strawberry colored We was batting a thousand me and her Guess I'll never forget the way we used to dance together in that big outdoor pavilion out by the lake And the band sound of the Ziphane just was playing Okay, so you shouldn't hold me so close Everybody's watching us course. Everybody's watching us. That's because you're the most famous person all of mudville Oh, no, it's because of you. They're all jealous because I'm dancing with the most beautiful girl in the whole United States Make like a hoop and roll away. You know what they're saying I got something more for important to ask you Peg. Yes, Casey. I gotta be frank with your pig I I ain't never gone to the plate before in a pitch like this My knees is shaking like I was a raw rookie. Well say anything you want to Casey. I Want you to marry me? Oh, I know I'm just a big dumb baseball player But I love your pain. I want to marry you Casey. You do. Yes, but you've got to promise me one thing Anything anything you want. You want me to hit four home run Sunday? I'll hit five No, Casey, I want you to promise me you'll only stay in mudville for another season Well, you want to go on to Philadelphia where there's culture libraries and art museums and symphony orchestras Maybe if you marry me you can have all the culture your little heart desires. You'll choke on culture Well, Peg married me. All right, we got hitched up 11 years ago last March 29th You know, she's still the prettiest strawberry blonde you ever saw. I Forgot to mention it though. We're still living in mudville Thanks. She don't like that much Me I ain't got nothing against mudville It ain't one of them metropolises like Terra Hote and I like it But peg she thinks our boy Timmy. He's ten now Ain't getting no culture at all especially around baseball players Should have seen what happened one day in the locker room after a Tuesday afternoon game early in June She dad that was a keen game baseball is a lot more fun than long division. Why sure it is Timmy Hey, how'd you like that pitches outside curve Cooney and Burles couldn't get on to him, but you fold them pop Gee three home runs Well, it's an off-date to me. It's an off-date. Hey Hank Joe Yeah, Casey, come here. Will you I want to show my boy the pleasures of baseball even in a locker room You know son, you hear a lot about barbershop quartets, but there ain't nothing in the world as mellow as a locker room quartet Even the cement walls like to join in fellas come on leaning close and sing it real sweet, huh? Sweet Casey please not in the little there gentlemen in various stages of undress I thought Timmy you're playing hooky from school again. Well mom. I didn't exactly I told him he could There was a picture he hadn't seen before and I figured is just as I thought Timmy How do you ever expect to be educated? I don't want to be educated mom I want to be a baseball player. Oh What am I going to do with you mom? What good's long division? I want to learn how to pitch an outside curve. Just teaching Miss Abernathy. Don't know a thing about curves Settles it. I'm packing up, and I'm leaving you. I'm taking Timmy and we're going to Philadelphia You can't I've waited 11 years to get out of the mud of Mudville and this settles it This is in Casey Must leave she won't listen to me. Yeah, I'm afraid your wife has the soul of an umpire What would I do in Philadelphia? I like mudville. I like playing ball here. I'm I'm real happy here. Yeah. Yeah, Casey You can't let some dame run your life for you call strikes on you all the time You're right Hank. You're right Got to forget dames and play ball Hey as Casey and Dorothy Warren shoulder as Mrs. Casey Summers supposed to be a happy time a home run hitting time But not for me not that summer You've never seen a baton average take such a slump in all your life You got to think home runs before you hit him and I was walking around in the days like a lame bunt Remembering how wonderful my summers used to be with peg at the parlor piano in the twilight singing to Timmy and to me So I went up to the manager and said I'm no good I'm all washed up look Casey, so the girl walked out on you try to forget her. I can't Hank I'm in love with peg and I miss Timmy and will this one day try to forget, huh? It's the big game case. We need you we need you with your old spirit Give the fans their money's worth. They like their old cocky swaggering Casey Yeah, I guess I have been letting the fans down Hank and like you always said boss the fans the most important part of the game Okay, Hank. I'll swagger today plenty But I wish I felt more like swaggering inside Well, you all know what happened that day. It was a pretty famous game It got that way because the newspaper man named a fair set it all down and sort of a poet And here's exactly the way it happened Even money with yours truly the former was a pudding To the death like silence sat for there seemed but little chance that I Drive a single to the wondermen of all and the much despised at Blakey Taw the cover off the ball And when the dust had lifted and we saw what had occurred There was Blakey safe on second Casey we want Casey and from the gladden multitude went up a joyous yell It bounded from the mountain top and rattled on the down Stuck upon the hillside rebounded on the As I stepped into my place Try to swagger like Hank told me with a smile upon my face And when responding to the cheers, I lightly doffed my hat The stranger in the crowd to doubt was Casey 10,000 eyes were on me as I rubbed my hands with dirt 5,000 tongues applauded And while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air and I just stood a watch in it in haughty grandeur there That ain't my style Someone from the stand and it's likely they'd have done it if I had to the pitcher and again the spirit I'd flew but yours truly still ignored it and the umpire said for look for me and then the audience was on I just could not let that ball go Casey turn around and see who's here. Hi pop Jimmy Oh Jimmy, why don't you get back from Philadelphia? You shouldn't have run away from your mother Well pop we was there in Philadelphia Having all that culture and I guess even mom got a little tired of it because I caught her looking at your picture and crying No kidding. So I went up to her and I said Mom no good ball player only gets one crack at the plate Why even ball players who bat 400 strike out once in a while. I guess she agreed because she came back here with me She here to me right there in the stands. Go on and kiss her pop. Hi, Mrs. Casey I'm gonna take you in my arms you strawberry blondie and waltz you around the whole ball park Dorothy Warren, she'll be back in just a moment and meanwhile our heartfelt thanks to her vigrant Jeffrey Silver Marvin Miller and to our entire company Casey at the bat based on the famous poem by Ernest there was made into a musical by Lawrence and Lee And now here's lovely Dorothy Warren's old again. You are a major league wife for a minor league ball player Why thank you Gordon tell me what are we playing next week? Well, it's just a sleeper jump to Paris Dorothy and the show train will be pulling into the city on the sane with some of the sweetest music ever written Do you like April in Paris? Oh, I simply love it. Well, that's just one of the songs will be seen together next Monday night, Dorothy Tell me shall I polish up my French accent? We oh me no me no We both play a couple of Americans Dorothy who fall in love in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower And we hope you'll all be with us a week from tonight for the premiere performance of another new operator springtime in Paris Abort well sir it looks as though we're ready to pull out and so until next Monday night and the premiere performance of springtime in Paris This is Gordon Macrae saying goodbye Can soon be seen in Warner Brothers on Moonlight Bay Our choir is under the direction of Norman Luboff and our music is prepared and conducted by Carmen dragon This is Marvin Miller saying goodbye until next week for the American Railroads Now stay tuned for your Monday night of music on NBC The voice of Firestone on NBC