BENNY SIEU/AP, File
NEW YORK — It’s sung every summer in baseball stadiums around the United States, including Wrigley Field. But the impact of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” goes much further than simply getting fans out of their seats for the 7th-inning stretch.
More than a century after Jack Norworth penned the lyrics, a nonprofit founded with the song’s royalties is celebrating 50 years of supporting young musicians — including the talent behind some of today’s most popular musicals. The ASCAP Foundation, the separate charitable arm for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, was established in 1975 after Norworth’s estate left a bequest of the future licensing payments for baseball’s unofficial anthem and his other hits.