Soon after the announcement of Ozzy Osbourne’s death at 76, sports fans were fondly recalling an iconic performance from the Black Sabbath singer that was memorable for all the wrong reasons.
In 2003, Osbourne and wife Sharon were special guests as they attended a Chicago Cubs game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Wrigley Field.
Osbourne was there to sing the traditional ‘Take Me out to the Ballgame’ at the bottom of the seventh inning. Stood in a booth in his Chicago Cubs jersey alongside Sharon, the singer made a point of getting the crowd excited.
‘Alright Chicago!’ an excited Osbourne cried. ‘I want to hear a real crazy crowd start singing with me. Are you ready? Are you ready? I can’t hear you, are you ready? One, two three!’
But as the music started playing, it immediately became clear that while Ozzy knew the tune, he had no idea what the words were.
After singing the first line, Osbourne mumbled along with the organ while members of the Cubs and Dodgers teams looked up towards him in the stands, bemused. He even struggled to count the numbers for the line ‘one, two, three times you’re out’.
Ozzy Osbourne’s performance of ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame’ has resurfaced after his death
Osbourne left fans and players stunned as he didn’t know the words to the iconic tune
He told the team to ‘get some runs’ and ‘don’t mess around’ at the end of his performance
The fans, however, loved it. A packed Wrigley Park seemed to find it endearing and helped the metal singer along by belting out the words for him. As the tune finally ended, Osbourne didn’t miss a beat as he sent a message to the Cubs team in the dugout.
‘Now let’s get some runs,’ Sharon yelled, prompting Ozzy to send his own words of motivation.
‘Yeah, let’s get some runs! Come on, don’t mess around! Let’s get some runs, guys,’ he said, prompting cheers and applause.
‘Unforgettable and totally wild,’ one fan posted on X about the clip on Tuesday, after news of his death emerged.
Another said: ‘Hats off for the legend of the legends we will miss you Ozzy. RIP the lord of darkness.’
The Cubs fan group ‘Just Another Year’ reposted the video on X and added: ‘Rest in peace to Ozzy Osbourne. Your 7th inning stretch at Wrigley will never be forgotten.’
Osbourne died on Tuesday morning, his family announced in a statement, less than three weeks after performing for the final time with his band Black Sabbath in Birmingham, England – his home city.
‘It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning,’ the statement said.
Osbourne died on Tuesday at the age of 76, his family announced in a statement
His death is less than three weeks after his farewell performance with Black Sabbath
‘He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time. Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and Louis.’
The rocker was able to bid an emotional farewell to his fans on stage this month as he reunited with his original Black Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward for the first time since 2005.
‘You’ve no idea how I feel – thank you from the bottom of my heart,’ Osbourne told the crowd in his final speech.
The music legend vowed, however, that it would be his final ever performance due to his health, having opened up about his battle with Parkinson’s in 2020.
He formed Black Sabbath in Birmingham in 1969 and they sold 100million records thanks to hits such as ‘Paranoid’ and ‘War Pigs’.
