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The comedy routine was first featured in the 1940 film, One Night in the Tropics . The duo reprised the bit in their 1945 film The Naughty Nineties , and also performed the routine numerous times on radio.
Abbott's explanations leave Costello hopelessly confused and infuriated until the end of the routine when he finally appears to catch on. "You got a couple of days on your team?" He never quite figures out that the first baseman's name literally is "Who." But after all this he announces, "I don't give a darn!" ("Oh, that's our shortstop.")
As a result of the routine, Abbott and Costello were honored in the Baseball Hall of Fame museum in Cooperstown, New York, even though they had no other connection to the sport. TIME magazine named the routine Best Comedy Sketch of the 20th century.
The names given in the routine for the players at each position are:
The name of the shortstop is not given until the very end of the routine, and the right fielder is never identified.
The theme has been reprised many times. In particular, late night television host Johnny Carson gave a memorable rendition showing President Ronald Reagan being briefed by an aide. Puns were made with the names of Chinese leader Hu (who?) of Yasser ArafatYasser Arafat ( Arabic: Ysir `Araft) ( August 4 or August 24, 1929 November 11, 2004), born Muhammad Abd al-Rahman ar-Rauf al-Qudwah al-Husayni and also known as Abu Ammar was co-founder and Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) (since 1 (yes, sir) and of Interior Secretary James WattJames Gaius Watt (born January 31, 1938) served as U. Secretary of the Interior under President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1983. He is remembered chiefly for his hostility to environmentalism and his support of the development and use of federal lands by (what?). In the animated seriesAn animated series or cartoon series is a television series produced by means of animation. A note on usage: The duration of an individual episode varies from series to series. While some series may be produced as complete half hour programs, many cartoon AnimaniacsSteven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs was a popular animated TV cartoon series from Warner Bros. produced by Steven Spielberg. Animaniacs was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven Spielberg and Warner Bros. Animation during the, a music variant was performed with Slappy and Skippy Squirrel have a similiarily confusing conversation at the Woodstock FestivalThe Woodstock Music and Art Festival was the most famous rock festival of its era. It was held at Max Yasgur's 600 acre (2. 4 kmē) dairy farm in Bethel, New York, on 15, 16, and 17 August, 1969. The festival bears the name "Woodstock" because it was origi in 1969For other uses, see Number 1969. For the movie, see 1969 (movie). Events January January 1 Australian media baron Rupert Murdoch purchases the largest selling British Sunday newspaper The News Of The World January 5 The Derry Riots leave over 100 people i about the rock bandRock band (or rock group is a generic name to describe a group of musicians specialising in a particular form of electronically amplified music. Deriving its name from the musical style which was its immediate progenitor, rock and roll, the type of musics, The Who, The Band, and Yes. Oscar-winning movie Rain Man also heavily references the sketch.
CanWest Global Park , a baseball stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba, features a Chinese restaurant down the first-base line called "Hu's on First."British comedy double act Vic and Bob, have also adapted the concept into their quiz show Shooting Stars which involved varients of the skit, including Mortimer asking the questions, "A dog has puppies, but what was the name of the mother" and "What is the unit of electrical power?" which naturally serves as its own answer. Reeves takes on Costello's role in utterly missing the point of the trick question.
It is popular in student oral interpretation .