Did You Know: 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame' lyricist is buried in Angel Stadium's shadow

If you're a baseball fan, there's a 100 percent chance you're familiar with the song. "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" is a staple at every MLB game and has been for many decades. But the authors of this American classic are not well known -- and the resting place for one of them may surprise you.

First released in 1908, the song's music was written by Albert von Tilzer with lyrics by Tin Pan Alley songwriter and vaudeville performer Jack Norworth. Norworth got the idea for the song from an ad on the subway promoting the New York Giants and their home, the Polo Grounds. At the time, he had never been to a baseball game in person.

Despite that, of course, the song went on to become the indelible anthem of the game, a status that Norworth embraced later in his life. He moved to Southern California in the '40s and helped organize Little Leagues and promote baseball in the area. He was honored by the Dodgers in 1959, and was buried in Anaheim's Melrose Abbey Memorial Park when he died later that year. Seven years later, Angel Stadium of Anaheim opened right across the Santa Ana Freeway.

Norworth's grave was recently given an overhaul (including the full lyrics to his famous song) thanks to a campaign started on social media, and the Big A is still only a mile away. An MLB stadium right at his figurative doorstep seems as fitting a tribute as any to one of baseball culture's pioneers.

h/t: anaheimoc.org