Editorials

Dodgers Nation Wishes Nancy Bea Hefley A Happy Birthday

Nancy Bea Hefley
On this day, Nancy Bea Hefley was born in San Pedro, California. She has been the Los Angeles Dodgers organist for 28 years.

At the age of four, Nancy played the piano quite often and at seven, began to play the accordion. At 13, she began to learn the basics of playing the organ and soon started to play at the Bellflower Baptist Church. She also played the organ at local county fairs, such as the OC Fair and Fairplex Fair in Pomona.



Although she loves what she does, Hefley never saw herself playing the organ for baseball games. As she grew up playing the piano and accordion, her teachers saw her being a concert pianist or accordionist, but never an organist.

In 1967, she filled in for friend at a California Angels game and was ecstatic at how well she did and was even complimented on her ability to bring the sound of music to the stadium. Later, she was offered a job as the organist at Angel Stadium, but declined it because she said that she “doesn’t take jobs away from friends”.

In 1987, the announcement of the retirement of Dodgers organist Helen Dell after 15 years with the franchise was an opportunity for Hefley. She auditioned and soon was hired before the 1988 season. For her first season with the Dodgers in 1988, she played “Master of the House”, for the introduction of the umpires, which was from Les Misérables. Vin Scully, who returns for his 66th season with the Dodgers, told her to play that more often, as he loved it.

She and husband of 57 years, Bill Hefley attend Dodger home games regularly. Nancy met Bill in 1956 at church and goes with her to each game, whether he’s in the suite watching the game on the TV or outside in the stands.

Nancy Bea is adored by many baseball fans, not just for the Dodgers, as well as players of the franchise. She is a part of the Dodgers organization, the game, the stadium, the players and coaches, as well as a crowd favorite at Dodger Stadium.

As the season approaches, Nancy Bea will be bringing her organ music to Dodgers Stadium once again.

Staff Writer

Staff Writer features content written by our site editors along with our staff of contributing writers. Thank you for your readership.

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