Navigate to News section

The Woman Who Introduced Us to the Mets

Shivah Stars

by
Marc Tracy
July 07, 2011
The original Mr. Met.(Wikipedia)
The original Mr. Met.(Wikipedia)

Each week, we select the most interesting Jewish obituary. This week, it’s that of Ruth Roberts, who died last Thursday at 84, a popular music composer who wrote, among other things, the catchy, upbeat tune “Meet the Mets,” the first song of New York City’s second baseball team. Born Ruth Mulwitz in Westchester County, songs she wrote were recorded by such luminaries as Buddy Holly, James Dean, and even the Beatles (“Mailman, Bring Me No More Blues” was cut from Let It Be). As for “Meet the Mets,” which debuted along with the franchise in 1962, she wrote the music and co-wrote the words with her frequent songwriting partner Bill Katz. A 1984 rewrite altered some of the more, er, anachronistic lyrics (“bring the wife”), but kept Roberts’s simple, indelible tune.



Ruth Roberts, ‘Meet the Mets’ Songwriter, Dies at 84 [NYT]

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.