Wilbur Snapp (August 5, 1920 – September 6, 2003) was a self-taught American musician who was the

stadium organist A stadium organist is a musician who plays an organ during live sporting events. Organs at sporting events During the early part of the 20th century, organs were often found in public locations such as movie theaters, eating establishments, and ...

for the

Clearwater Phillies Clearwater or Clear Water may refer to: Places Canada * Clear Water Academy, a private Catholic school located in Calgary, Alberta * Clearwater (provincial electoral district), a former provincial electoral district in Alberta * Clearwater, Briti ...

, a minor-league baseball team, and for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

in spring training, over a period of 20 years. Snapp served in the Army Air Forces in World War II; he married his wife Janice in 1942. Despite being unable to read sheet music, Snapp taught himself to play the organ at age 35; upon his retirement from operating a music store in Ohio, he moved to Florida and became a ballpark organist for the

. On June 26, 1985 he was ejected from a game at the

Jack Russell Stadium Jack Russell Memorial Stadium is a stadium in Clearwater, Florida. It opened as Jack Russell Stadium in 1955. It had a capacity of 4,744 when it opened; in 2003 seating capacity was 6,942 people. It was the spring training home of the Philadelphia ...

for playing "

Three Blind Mice "Three Blind Mice" is an English-language nursery rhyme and musical round.I. Opie and P. Opie, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), p. 306. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number o ...

" in response to what he thought was a bad call from the umpire, Kevin O'Connor. The umpire pointed up to Snapp, who was sitting at his organ behind first base, then thumbed him out of the game.

References

External links

National Public Radio interview with Snapp's widow Janice Snapp, September 9, 2003
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snap, Wilbur 1920 births 2003 deaths 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American musicians 20th-century organists American male organists American organists Musicians from Springfield, Ohio People from Champaign County, Ohio People from South Pasadena, Florida Stadium organists United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II American people of German descent