The Los Angeles Dodgers family mourns the loss of longtime Dodger Stadium organist Nancy Bea Hefley, who passed away according to a post on Facebook by her son. She was 89 years old.
For almost 30 years, fans at Dodger Stadium were serenaded by Hefley’s keys as she was the team’s live organist from 1988 until her October 2015 retirement.
There are not many live organists in baseball — let alone the world of professional sports — but Hefley was a true trailblazer in her craft.
The San Pedro native’s witty and timely tunes played throughout the stadium allowed her humor and personality to shine through the speakers for almost three decades at Chavez Ravine.
One of her defining moments during her ‘rookie’ season in 1988 was when she would play the song “Master of the House” from the musical Les Misérables whenever known musical theater fan Orel Hershiser would take the mound.
Perhaps that helped him secure a Cy Young award that season as the Dodgers went on to win the World Series as well.
Although not originally a baseball fan, she came to be the organist of the Dodgers through her husband’s lifelong affinity to the franchise, plus her friend and former Dodgers pitcher named Tommy John.
“At first I didn’t think I’d want to sit at a baseball game every night,” Bea said to the American Federation of Musicians’ Linda A. Rapka. “I didn’t know it was going to be so much fun.”
When the Dodgers’ previous organist, Helen Dell, was retiring, her husband let her know about the job opening.
“I’ve been here ever since,” she said at the time. “They haven’t been able to get rid of me!”
Dodger Stadium wasn’t the only place that Hefley has performed.
For over 55 years, she played the organ at Bellflower Baptist Church. This is where she met her husband, Bill, who would later go on to be one of the construction workers who helped build Dodger Stadium in 1962.
Before her work on the Dodgers, Hefley was a substitute organist for the Los Angeles Angels. On Valentine’s Day 1988, she auditioned for the Boys in Blue during an exhibition game between the Dodgers and the University of Southern California.
Hefley passed the torch to Dieter Ruehle, the current organist for the Dodgers, who started to fill in for her in 2013 before taking over full-time after her retirement.
Dodgers Nation wishes condolences the Hefley family.
Photo Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports
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