Alumnus Joe Price is taking his research interest on the road, singing the national anthem at 100 games this summer.
Singing the national anthem before baseball games is such a time-honored practice that most fans barely give it a second thought.
But Joe Price, PhD'82, thinks a lot about the ritual's meaning — he says it provides "a doxology of sorts" for the national pastime. That's one reason why Price, a professor of religious studies at Whittier College who has sung the anthem dozens of times at pro ballparks, set out to sing it at 100 minor league games this summer.
Along with his wife Bonnie, Price will visit 40 states in five months, making stops nearly every night to perform "The Star-Spangled Banner." On the way, he's talking to fans about the song and the game, and documenting his journey in a blog. On July 27, Price will return to Illinois to sing for the Kane County Cougars in Geneva.
Price, an expert on the relationship between sport and religion, also plans to draw on the journey for his next book. Titled Perfect Pitch: The National Anthem For the National Pastime, the book will explore the ritual significance of the national anthem at baseball games.
The national anthem is "a hymn of consecration for the civil religion of baseball," Price says. "It brings together the civil sanction for the game. At the ballpark, fans stand with caps off, often with hands over hearts, facing the flag, either singing along or remaining silent and respectful during the anthem—much in the character of reverence that is accorded to identifiable religious rituals."
It's not all research — Price says he's a devoted baseball fan at heart. Yet he concedes his fascination with the pre-game anthem spawned "a weird hobby, to say the least."