Seventh-inning stretch

In baseball in the United States and Canada, the seventh-inning stretch is a tradition that takes place between the halves of the seventh inning of a game – in the middle of the seventh inning. Fans generally stand up and stretch out their arms and legs and sometimes walk around. It is a popular time to get a late-game snack or alcoholic beverage as well, as vendors end alcohol sales after the last out of the seventh inning. The stretch also serves as a short break for the players. Most ballparks in professional baseball mark this point of the game by playing the crowd sing-along song "Take Me Out to the Ball Game". Since the September 11 attacks, many American ballparks complement or replace the song with the playing of "God Bless America." If a game goes into a fifth extra inning, a similar "fourteenth-inning stretch" is celebrated (as well as a possible "twenty-first inning stretch" or "twenty-eighth inning stretch"). In softball games, amateur games scheduled for only seven innings, or in minor-league doubleheaders, a "fifth-inning stretch" may be substituted.

The origin of the seventh-inning stretch is much disputed, and it is difficult to certify any definite history.

One claimant is Brother Jasper (Brennan) of Mary, F.S.C., the man credited with bringing baseball to Manhattan College in New York City. Being the Prefect of Discipline as well as the coach of the team, it fell to Brother Jasper to supervise the student fans at every home game. On one particularly hot and muggy day in June 1882, during the seventh inning against a semi-pro team called the Metropolitans, the Prefect noticed his charges becoming restless. To break the tension, he called a timeout in the game and instructed everyone in the bleachers to stand up and unwind. It worked so well he began calling for a seventh-inning rest period at every game. The Manhattan College custom spread to the major leagues after the New York Giants were charmed by it at an exhibition game.

In June 1869 the New York Herald published a report on a game between the Cincinnati Red Stockings and the Brooklyn Eagles (home team): "At the close of the long second inning, the laughable stand up and stretch was indulged in all round the field."

...
Wikipedia