Nancy Bea Hefley
Nancy Bea Hefley (born February 24, 1936) was the stadium organist for 27 years for Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers.
Biography
Early life
Bea grew up in the Los Angeles area, and began playing the piano at age 4 by listening to her seventeen-year-old sister, and by the age of seven she was also proficient at playing the accordion. At the age of thirteen, she talked her piano teacher into teaching her the basics of the organ. She has been playing the organ at Bellflower Baptist Church for over 55 years; it was there that she met her husband, Bill. She also plays the organ at the Orange County Fair, the Pomona Fair, and has played shows in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe.
Los Angeles Dodgers organist
In the mid-1980s, Bea filled in for a friend as the organist for the California Angels games at Angel Stadium, and was offered a job which she declined not wishing to take work from a friend. When it was announced in 1987 that long-time Dodger organist Helen Dell was to retire at the end of the season after fifteen years, Bea auditioned at an exhibition game between the Dodgers and the USC Trojans on February 14, 1988.[1] She did not preplan her programs, getting her cues from the events occurring on the field during the game and including a variety of popular pop and rock songs alongside older and less commonly played numbers.[2] Bea– alongside announcers Vin Scully and Rick Monday– was a great crowd favorite at Dodger Stadium.
On October 2, 2015, Bea announced her retirement following the 2015 season and was replaced with Los Angeles Kings organist Dieter Ruehle.[3]
References
- v
- t
- e
- Established in 1884
- Formerly the Brooklyn Robins and the Brooklyn Dodgers
- Based in Los Angeles, California
- Washington Park
- Eastern Park
- Ridgewood Park
- Washington Park
- Ebbets Field
- Roosevelt Stadium
- Proposed domed stadium
- Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
- Dodger Stadium
- Spring training:
- Latta Park Baseball Field
- Whittington Park
- Majestic Park
- Barrs Field
- Tinker Field
- Clearwater Athletic Field
- City Island Ball Park
- Gran Stadium de La Habana
- Miami Stadium
- Payne Park
- Holman Stadium
- Camelback Ranch
- Dodger Dog
- The Boys of Summer
- Brooklyn Dodgers: Ghosts of Flatbush
- Bums: An Oral History of the Brooklyn Dodgers
- The Last Innocents
- "I Love L.A."
- It's Good to Be Alive
- "Kernkraft 400"
- The First
- Battle of Chavez Ravine
- Chavez Ravine
- Dodger blue
- Roy Campanella Award
- Historic Dodgertown
- SportsNet LA
- KLAC
- 2011 bankruptcy
- It Happened in Flatbush
- The Jackie Robinson Story
- 42
- Dodgers infield
- The Sound of the Dodgers
- Chronicle-Telegraph Cup
- Brooklyn Dodgers 1, Boston Braves 1 (26 innings)
- Tri-Cornered Baseball Game
- "Shot Heard 'Round the World"
- 1955 World Series
- Relocation to Los Angeles
- "Battle of Candlestick"
- Sandy Koufax's perfect game
- Koufax–Drysdale holdout
- Fernandomania
- Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series home run
- Orel Hershiser's scoreless innings streak
- MLB China Series
- NL tie-breaker games/series
Hall of Fame members | |
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Ford C. Frick Award recipients | |
Miscellaneous |
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- Owner: Guggenheim Baseball Management
- President: Stan Kasten
- President of Baseball Operations: Andrew Friedman
- General Manager: Brandon Gomes
- Manager: Dave Roberts
Championships (7)
(24)
- Triple-A: Oklahoma City Baseball Club
- Double-A: Tulsa Drillers
- High-A: Great Lakes Loons
- Single-A: Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
- Rookie: Arizona Complex League Dodgers
- Dominican Summer League Dodgers
- Minor League Rosters
Seasons (141) | |
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1880s | |
1890s | |
1900s | |
1910s | |
1920s | |
1930s | |
1940s | |
1950s | |
1960s | |
1970s | |
1980s | |
1990s | |
2000s | |
2010s | |
2020s |