Eddie Layton

Born Edward Litvin in Philadelphia, organ virtuoso Eddie Layton played the massive Hammond Colonnade organ at Yankee Stadium from 1967 to 2003. With 50,000 watts at his fingertips, occasionally he could be heard in New Jersey. Eddie turned the Yankees initial offer down sighting his lacking the ability to drive and possessing little or no baseball knowledge. He finally took the job after the Yankees threw in a limosine to-and-from Yankee Stadium. Eddie was an Honor Member of N.Y. musicians local 802, and an inductee of the New York Sports Hall of Fame. Originally hired by Madison Square Garden and playing 18 years for New York Knicks and Rangers home games, Eddie revolutionized the instrument and changed the sports world forever by introducing the, "Charge Call", and his most famous composition and stadium classic, "Bflat-F-G-A". Eddie sold over 3 million records globally, and played live in CBS radio soap operas before moving over to television in the 1960's. He made hundreds of appearances internationally for the Hammond organ company, and graced the console of the Mighty Wurlitzer at Radio City Music Hall regularly. Eddie was a great friend of Pace University; after a renovation project, the Pace University Student Union was reopened and renamed in Eddie's honor in 2005. A devoted sailor,meteorologist, and avid model train enthusiast, Eddie lived on a converted tugboat docked at the 79th St. Boat Basin for many years, eventually moving to Tarrytown and retiring in Forest Hills,Queens.Eddie Layton...A true Yankee hall of famer and sports legend. I edited my profile with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4