Nancy Faust is as synonymous with the Chicago White Sox as the team’s exploding scoreboard. Had things gone differently, however, then the team’s longtime organist might have instead led the North Siders in singing “root, root, root for the Cubbies.”

When the Edgebrook native attended North Park University in 1967, Faust’s then-boyfriend wrote to Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley, asking if he would hire her to play “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Wrigley wrote back a week later to say, essentially, thanks but no thanks.

The Cubs’ loss was the White Sox’s gain.

Faust spent 41 seasons — more than 3,000 games — on the South Side, missing only a handful of games due to the birth of her son. She is widely recognized for incorporating popular music into ballpark repertoire and for choosing songs that relate to each player based on their name, number or even their home state. Ever chant “Na-Na Hey-Hey Goodbye” when the opposing team pulls their pitcher? That’s because Faust played it first.

Her choices, considered the inspiration for today’s walk-up music, have earned Faust a gold record and the admiration of generations of baseball fans. She stepped away on Oct. 3, 2010, to the tune of “This Used to Be My Playground” by Madonna, the theme to the 1992 film, “A League of Their Own.”

The White Sox announced Monday that Faust, 78, will return to The Rate — which was known as U.S. Cellular Field the last time she played there almost 15 years ago — with her organ for six home games on select Sundays. And on Tuesday, she was practicing inside the booth behind home plate that bears her name.

Her husband and roadie, Joe Jenkins, watched as news crews captured his wife tickling the ivories on her portable organ and noted the significance of the dates chosen for her return. Tuesday is their son Eric’s birthday. Mother’s Day marks the day they brought him home from the hospital. And her final scheduled appearance on Aug. 10 is their 45th wedding anniversary.

“Instead of taking her out to brunch Sunday, maybe I’ll buy her a hot dog,” Jenkins said.

“And some popcorn,” Faust added.

When contacted by the Tribune on Monday, Faust admitted she didn’t anticipate this reunion. Her participation in the 2023 documentary “Last Comiskey” and the 2022 book “Chili Dog MVP: Dick Allen, the ’72 White Sox and a Transforming Chicago” made her realize fans miss her — and she misses them.

And maybe she could use a little cheering up, too — just like Sox fans do after making it through the team’s 121-loss season in 2024. Not everything has been “Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows” for Faust in the past year. A car mishap broke multiple bones in her right foot, which she uses for her organ’s volume pedal. Mandy, one of her beloved donkeys, died. And a burst pipe inside her Wisconsin cottage, meaning it will have to be gutted.

“I never expected a resurgence like this. It’s very heartwarming to know that I’m remembered,” Faust told the Tribune. “What can I say except that I’m just so excited and honored to be included. It’s the fans that really made my time at the park glorious and special.”

The catalyst for her return is thanks to her “Superstar” friend Dick Allen, who will be posthumously inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 27. Allen received 13 out of a possible 16 committee votes in December 2024 to earn enshrinement in the Class of 2025 — clearing the 75% threshold. He will be joined by Dave Parker, who received 14 votes.

“It’s special for me because I’ve been championing for so long — since I started on Twitter — to get Dick Allen into the Hall of Fame,” she said. “So it’s a really exciting year that we get to go to Cooperstown. And then to get this call on top of it was like all the stars aligned.”

Faust’s debut with the White Sox in April 1970 came as the result of another letter — one she penned to general manager Stu Holcomb after she performed at a luncheon he attended. Despite not knowing the rules to baseball, Faust was hired. For her first few decades with the Sox, she commuted from Des Plaines, then Deerfield and finally, Mundelein.

“I never played for a ball game — let alone attended more than one game my whole life,” she recalled.

Every tune Faust plays is by ear, what she calls “my crutch since I was 4.” Because she doesn’t read sheet music, she’s been dusting off her catalog. Someone on Twitter told Faust of their love for the way she played Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror,” so she’s boning up on that one.

“I forgot that I ever did it,” she said, “so I had to learn it again.”

Faust also plans to add songs Gen Z will recognize. After hearing Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” for the first time on Tuesday, she thinks she can have it ready for her Sunday debut. Faust has also taken suggestions, including the disco-themed Dua Lipa song “Dance The Night” from the 2023 film “Barbie.”

Wait, a disco track embraced by a woman who was at old Comiskey Park on Disco Demolition Night?

“You can’t help but love that beat,” she said. “It gets into your soul.”