Lambert Bartak

Who is Lambert Bartak?

Lambert Bartak was the full-time organist for the NCAA Division I College World Series at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska. Lambert had played, full-time for the series, since 1988; he first played the organ for the event in the 1950s. Bartak also played for the Omaha Royals from 1973 to 2002. Bartak performed in one of the few stadiums that still featured live music, as most stadiums had switched to prerecorded music. His image is often shown on the video screens at Rosenblatt, as well as on ESPN broadcasts of the games.

Bartak holds the dubious distinction of being one of three organists to be ejected from a baseball game, the other being Wilbur Snapp in 1985 and Derek Dye in 2012. During an Omaha Royals game on May 26, 1988, Royals catcher Larry Owen argued a call with home plate umpire Angel Hernandez. Manager Glenn Ezell joined the fray and, during the argument, Bartak played the theme song from the Mickey Mouse Club. After Bartak played the spelling portion of the song, "M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E", another umpire, by the name of Tony Maners, motioned to the press box ejecting Bartak.