Stepping Up to Bat for Jack Norworth

(June 21) -- "He is the Francis Scott Key of baseball, and whatever you can do to preserve his memory and legacy, it's definitely something baseball fans should get involved with."

That's what Los Angeles Dodgers team historian Mark Langill told AOL News this week in response to a growing movement by fans who want to preserve and honor the dilapidated grave site of Jack Norworth, the man who composed the words to baseball's national anthem, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," back in 1908.

After AOL News published a piece on Norworth's weather-beaten marker at Melrose Abbey Memorial Park, just a few minutes from Anaheim Stadium, where the Angels play, J.P. Myers, a 47-year-old blood courier from Diamond Bar, Calif., formed a Facebook page devoted to honoring the man who penned an American classic.

Myers' "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" Monument for Jack Norworth page on Facebook quickly attracted hundreds of members. He reached out to the media, sending e-mails to various newspapers and broadcasters.

KFI-AM, a talk radio station in Los Angeles, met Myers at the site for a feature.

Maria and Charles Sotelo, who run High Desert Monuments in Hesperia, Calif., heard the piece and stepped up to the plate, offering to re-create a new headstone for Norworth, free of charge.

"This has been our family business for more than 60 years," Maria Sotelo told AOL News, "and it would be an honor to do something to help recognize this important American."

But the project hit a snag when Myers and Sotelo visited the cemetery to inquire about the process. No modification can be made to a grave marker without the consent of next of kin.

But are there any next of kin?

According to Tim Wiles, co-author of "Baseball's Greatest Hit: The Story of 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game,'" it's unclear.

"There are no direct descendants that we found," he said. "Except that a few clippings mentioned that Norworth fathered two sons by his third wife, the actress Mary Johnson. The boys were named Edward Fields and John Robert. We found no trace of these fellows, including whether or not they had children."

As a concession, Sotelo said her family would create a stand-alone plaque in honor of Norworth that could be mounted on a stone display that stands near the grave. But the cemetery nixed that idea based on the fact that the display is not a "memorial wall."

Sotelo said she'd re-create the existing marker, note for note, but would use a higher-quality piece of stone so it would last longer. But again, no next of kin, no replacement.

As to what Norworth himself might have thought about the recent attention and the fact that a few dedicated fans want to encourage others to visit his final resting place, Wiles said, "If enough of them do so [visit], it will become a landmark of sorts.

"I know that Jack Norworth loved publicity -- in fact, when he was dying at the UCLA hospital in Wentworth, he asked to go back home to Laguna Beach. When asked why, he said, 'If I die in Wentworth, Laguna won't get the publicity.'"

Wiles added, "To be fair, those working on it should also visit the grave of Norworth's partner in writing 'Ball Game,' the composer Albert Von Tilzer." (Von Tilzer's grave is located at New Mountain Carmel Cemetery in Queens, N.Y., and is far better preserved and rugged than Norworth's.)

Whatever the hurdles, Myers is not giving up.

"This is a chance to preserve something that is truly American, celebrating someone that did something important for our culture," he said. "I'd love to get some superfan involved, like Billy Crystal -- someone who would be shocked enough by this to do something about it. Or a team like the Angels. Someone needs to own this and think of all the goodwill it would generate."

But will the cemetery allow anything at all without family's permission? Dee Zrinski, one of the managers at Melrose Abbey, told AOL News that while the replacement marker might be a dead issue, some sort of memorial is not out of the question. She said that a cremation space could be purchased and that the buyer could place a marker of his choosing -- for instance, one for Norworth.

As to where the funding might come from, that's completely up in the air.

In just several weeks, baseball's big night, the 2010 All Star Game, will be played in Anaheim, a mere moon shot from Norworth's grave. Wouldn't it be nice if somehow, some way, a simple marker could be unveiled during the several-days event?

Will someone step up to the plate to help Myers, Sotelo and other baseball fans who'd like to see a simple legacy preserved on behalf of Norworth?

This game needs a hero.