Take Me Out to the Ball Game

The Wolves, world champion baseball team, begin spring training in the early 1900s but are missing star players Dennis Ryan and Eddie O’Brien, who are late returning from vaudeville performances. Dennis is eager to return to the field while Eddie would rather stay on stage. The team braces for a challenging season without their top talents.

Upon arrival in Sarasota, the Wolves discover their owner has died and left the team to a distant relative, Katherine Higgins, who turns out to be a woman named KC Higgins. Katherine proves to be a capable baseball mind who impresses most of the team with her knowledge and skill. Eddie, however, treats her with condescension.

Katherine enforces a strict curfew with fines for violations, tightening control over the Wolves. Eddie tries to go out and spots Katherine swimming, prompting Nat and Eddie to urge Dennis to talk to her in hopes of arranging a triple date to dodge the curfew. Dennis eventually attempts to win her over with a song, but Katherine remains unmoved.

Undeterred, Eddie climbs to Katherine's balcony to impress her, but she sends him away and fines him. The moment underscores the growing tension between Eddie and Katherine as they navigate attraction and authority.

During the opening game, Eddie, Dennis, and Nat entertain the crowd with a skit that wins cheers from the stands. Shirley, a fan in attendance, becomes infatuated with Dennis and pursues him around the stadium. The playful antics set the tone for the season's early tensions.

Katherine admonishes Eddie for heckling the umpire, but she later loses her temper herself, revealing the volatility beneath her composed exterior. The team wins the game, raising morale even as Shirley continues to chase Dennis.

At a mid-season clambake, Katherine and Eddie share a kiss, but she feels humiliated when she learns it was part of a bet. She then kisses Dennis in front of Eddie, but neither feels a spark, and Dennis realizes his feelings for Shirley. The moment marks a turning point in their affections.

Mobster Joe Morgan bets against the Wolves and sees Eddie perform, offering him a nightclub role that would conflict with the baseball schedule. Eddie contemplates the temptation but remains torn between duty to the team and the lure of nightlife.

Eddie secretly rehearses at night to balance the potential nightclub gig, but the late hours begin to take a toll on his performance in games. Mike Gilhuly misinterprets Eddie’s decline as love trouble and pressures Katherine to spend time with him.

Eddie and Katherine privately discuss their feelings when Joe interrupts, revealing Eddie's nighttime rehearsals. Katherine responds by kicking Joe off the team, a move that jeopardizes the Wolves' pennant chances.

With Eddie sidelined, the Wolves' pennant hopes plummet until Eddie rallies the crowd by encouraging kids to chant for him at the championship game. The stadium responds, and Katherine agrees to let him join the game, boosting the team's chances to win.

Shirley overhears Joe ordering henchmen to keep Eddie from playing, and Dennis decides to protect his teammate by knocking Eddie out with a real baseball during their skit. Eddie quickly recovers, but the incident demonstrates the lengths Joe will go to sabotage the team.

Eddie is taken to the locker room where Joe's men, posing as doctors, knock him out each time he wakes. Shirley, recognizing the ruse, works with Katherine to expose the impostors and force the Wolves to throw them out.

After Dennis’s covert intervention to protect Eddie, Eddie recovers and hits a game-winning home run. He chases Dennis around the bases in a triumphant finale, and the Wolves clinch the pennant as the crowd erupts in celebration.

Police arrest Joe Morgan and his gang, ending their sabotage. The crowd lifts Eddie and Dennis into the air in celebration, with Shirley and Katherine sharing in the victory as the Wolves return to order and glory.