I was watching some YouTube recently and among the suggested videos for my viewing was a clip of Al Schacht, who was performing in his role as an entertainer at baseball games back in the day. That reminded me of this piece, which first appeared in April, 2020.

One of the things I like to do from time to time is work crosswords. During our current situation of staying as close to home as possible, I seem to find more time now than ever before to employ this pastime. I console myself when thoughts of “couldn’t I be doing something more important” with the rationalization that such exercises help keep my aging mind in good shape. Anyway, I ran across a clue while doing a crossword that said “Walter, known as ‘Clown Prince of Baseball.’” In thinking of what the answer might be my thoughts turned to Max Patkin. The number of spaces was six, which fit Patkin all right. But Walter. Of course, Patkin’s name was Max. When it was obvious the letters P-A-T-K-I-N weren’t going to work, I did what is unthinkable for crossword devotees -- I turned to the internet. It didn’t help at all. Googling “clown prince of baseball’ I found the first thing to appear was Max Patkin. In the article about Patkin, it mentioned that others were also known by that title, including Al Schacht, Jackie Price and, in what seemed to be an afterthought, mentioned Arlie Latham. Latham had the correct number of letters and so I erased P-A-T-K-I-N and replaced it with L-A-T-H-A-M, which in the long run turned out to be what the crossword maker had wanted. Still wondering about the clue that indicated the first name of the correct answer was Walter, I eventually looked it up and found that Mr. Latham’s given names were indeed Walter Arlington. All of this is only an introduction to a discussion of those colorful characters who have worn the informal title of “Clown Prince of Baseball.” In more recent years the team mascots, especially in some venues, has provided comedic moments to entertain the crowd. The Famous Chicken (originally known as the San Diego Chicken) was an early practitioner of this genre. But long before the Chicken there were folks like Patkin, Schacht and Latham who made baseball crowds laugh.

I was most familiar with Patkin, who had a small role in the movie “Bull Durham.” He was a limber, loose jointed man, who could contort his face in unbelievable ways. HIs career as a baseball comic was started during World War II. He was pitching for a Navy team and after Joe DiMaggio hit one of his pitches into the seats, he followed the Yankee Clipper around the bases, flapping his arms and walking with an exaggerated gait. The crowd thought it was hilarious and Patkin’s career as “clown prince” was launched.

After the war, Bill Veeck, who owned the Cleveland Indians, hired Patkin to be his third base coach. Veeck was the ultimate baseball promoter and was always looking for ways to draw people to watch his team play. He encouraged Patkin to go through a comedic routine as he was giving signs from the coach’s box. Patkin would go through some very exaggerated twists and turns of his body while delivering the signs and Veeck was right, the crowd was entertained. After Veeck sold the Indians in the late 1940s, Patkin went on his own, hiring out to teams for single game appearances. He estimated after his retirement that he had had more than 4,000 gigs in his career. On one date in Great Falls, Mont., his audience consisted of four fans, as most people were home watching the 1968 moon landing. Patkin retired in 1995 and passed away in 1999 at the age of 79.

By the way, several things on Patkin can be found on “YouTube”. An easy way is to go to search and type in the name “Max Patkin.”

I had also heard of Al Schacht, who once made the comment, “There is talk that I am Jewish--just because my father was Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I speak Yiddish, and once studied to be a rabbi and a cantor. Well, that’s how rumors get started.”

Schacht was a so-so pitcher with the Washington Senators, who had a career that spanned three years. After he retired as a pitcher in 1921, Washington manager Joe Cronin made him a third base coach. He had a unique ability to mimic other players and started doing so from the coaches’ box to the delight of the baseball crowd. Another Senator Coach, Nick Altrock, joined in and the two developed a comedic routine that lasted for years. Altrock and Schacht developed a strong dislike for one another, but continued their routines until Cronin became manager of the Boston Red Sox and took Schacht along with him. In Boston, Schacht was a solo act and after he retired as a coach, traveled from place to place in his role as a baseball comedian. Returning to Schacht and Altrock’s strong dislike of each other, they had one routine where they would re-enact a boxing match between Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney. It is speculated that they loved doing this because it gave each an opportunity to punch the other.

Schacht owned a famous restaurant in New York City which was open for years. On a visit to New York in 1973, the group I was with had the option of eating at Schacht’s place or a restaurant owned by Jack Dempsey. The group opted for Dempsey’s which proved to be a worthy choice.

I had never heard of Jackie Price or Latham. So as is my wont, I looked them up. Price was a shortstop who had a seven-game career with the Cleveland Indians. According to Wikipedia, he was known for delighting fans with his skills - such as batting while hanging upsidedown or throwing three balls to three different players in one movement and was dubbed “the Clown Prince of Baseball” for his other antics which also included releasing a pair of five-foot Boa constrictors onboard a train

Latham had a long and distinguished career as a player starting in 1880 going through 1909. He was known as a speedy stealer of bases, and had more than 700 in his career. In 1909, he stole a base at age 49, becoming the oldest player to do that, a record that still stands today. According to Wikipedia, Latham was a colorful player known for playing practical jokes, including on St. Louis Browns brass. In one famous stunt, he lit a firecracker under third base in an effort to “wake himself up”. Also he would occasionally put on a clown’s nose while walking behind the Brown’s owner.

After all this, I have concluded that I am better equipped to encounter any crossword clue regarding the “Clown Prince of Baseball.”