John Kiley, organist for the Red Sox in Fenway Park and for theBruins and Celtics in Boston Garden for more than a third of acentury, died yesterday in St. Ann's Nursing Home in Dover, N.H. Hewas 80.
Whether he was trying to stir up the crowd with a booming chordprogression when the bases were loaded in the bottom of the ninth, orplaying the 'Hallelujah Chorus' when Carl Yastrzemski belted oneover the right field wall, the sound of Mr. Kiley's organ was asfamiliar to Boston baseball fans as the call of 'get your hot dogheah.'
A bit of a ham, he often opened his show with 'Take Me Out to theBall Game' and was not above playing 'White Christmas' when it washot enough to fry bacon on home plate, but to many his musicalaccompaniment became an integral part of the Fenway park experience.
Not only sports fans were familiar with his keyboard technique,though. He had raised the spirits of many shoppers with daily organrecitals at the Prudential Center during Christmas seasons past.
Mr. Kiley was born in Boston.
His musical career began when he frequented the movie palaces ofDorchester and Roxbury, more interested in the technique of thepianist or organist than the movie on the screen. By the age of 15he was playing organ in silent movie theaters throughout the city.
Although the advent of the 'talkies' ended the careers of hundredsof keyboard players, it was only the beginning for Mr. Kiley.
He became musical director of Boston radio station WMEX from 1934to 1956 and Boston Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey became a regularlistener.
Yawkey hired Mr. Kiley in 1953 when he decided to add music to theFenway Park experience.
Mr. Kiley also was house organist in Boston Garden from 1942 to1984 and was proud to be the answer to the trivia question 'whoplayed for the Bruins, the Celtics and the Red Sox?' But he wasalways quick to point out that he also played for the Boston Braves.
After his retirement in 1989, Mr. Kiley's renditions were replacedby recordings of 'Mony, Mony' 'Summer in the City' and other poptunes and for many Sox fans a little bit of baseball tradition died.At the time, Mr. Kiley summed up both his career and his feelingswhen he said, `You have to give the public what they want.'
He leaves two sisters, Kathleen McCarthy of Weymouth and MaryO'Malley of Hyde Park.
A funeral Mass will be said Monday at 10 a.m. in Holy Name Churchin West Roxbury. Burial will be in St. Joseph's Cemetery in WestRoxbury.
