Red Sox organist Josh Kantor is now the proud owner of the organ that former White Sox organist Nancy Faust has used at her home. Kantor bought the instrument for $1,400 over the weekend during a charity auction on MLB.com. He said he didn't intend to buy the organ — he had publicized the auction hoping the instrument would find a good home elsewhere — but eventually, he knew it should be his. "Twenty minutes before I placed my bid, I was conflicted about it and asked my wife to talk me out it," Kantor told us via e-mail. "She instead talked me into it (and I'm glad she did)."
Kantor, who's been the Red Sox organist since 2003, is a longtime fan of Faust, who retired in 2010 after playing for the White Sox for more than 40 years. Kantor wrote about Faust in Magnet Magazine in 2014, explaining that she's responsible for turning "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" into a stadium anthem. He also said in his piece that she's been a friend and a mentor ever since he was hired at Fenway.
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"In 2003, when I started working for the Red Sox, I nervously called Nancy and asked what advice she could offer me about how to do the job well and how to get the most enjoyment from it. We ended up speaking for half an hour, after which she invited me to visit her home next time I was in Chicago. I promptly booked a trip, and we spent an afternoon playing duets in her living room."
Kantor tells us he isn't sure how he's going to get the organ from Chicago to Boston, but says that once it's here, he'll use it well and will preserve it.
"Four people asked me on Twitter whether this organ will be used at Fenway; I'd say that's a highly unlikely outcome. I need to spend some time getting to know this organ before making any big decisions about how it will be used," he told us.
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For the record, Faust's home organ is a Hammond Elegante Model 340100.
Names can be reached at names@globe.com. Follow Meredith Goldstein on Twitter @MeredithGoldste.