Player #88A: Alexander "Al" Schacht. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1919-1921. 14 wins and 3 saves in 3 MLB seasons. Was highly-regarded as a third base coach in Washington (1924-1934) and Boston (1935-1936). Performed player mimicry and comedy routines with fellow Washington coach Nick Altrock earning the nickname of "The Clown Prince of Baseball". After leaving coaching he continued comedy but settled in as a restauranteur.
Deveaux tells about one of Schacht's debut moments: Walter's (Johnson) arm hurt so much after this game (the game in which he no-hit the Red Sox) that he was not able to make his next start, the second game of a doubleheader, which was to follow a morning game against the Yankees at Griffith Stadium. Clark Griffith had advertised that Walter would be pitching, and he was hard up for someone to put out there as an emergency replacement. Asking for conscripts, he chose among the volunteers a grass-green rookie named Al Schacht. A New Yorker, Schacht would later write that he had sent Clark Griffith several letters in the past, in the manner effectively employed by Ty Cobb about fifteen years earlier. Schacht, who had simply signed the letters, "A. Fan," had begged Griff to scout a young phenom named Al Schacht.
We wouldn't be telling this story, naturally, if Schacht hadn't beaten the league's best offensive team that day. Babe Ruth, who would lead the league with his unbelievable total of 54 home runs, was the first to get a hit off Schacht -- in the fourth inning. Schacht came away with a seven-hitter and a 9-3 win, and needless to say, his pitching skills and penmanship earned him a tidy contract from Griffith for 1921. In this way began a playing career cut short by a sore arm, but followed by his very long run as a baseball comedian.
Widely recognized as the "Clown Prince of Baseball," Schacht became a full-time baseball comic in 1921, teaming up with Nick Altrock, coach and resident clown. The two revived some of the routines Altrock had first performed with Germany Schaefer. Eventually, Schacht would strike out on his own, touring major- and minor-league ballparks across America. His act, part pantomime and part anecdotes, got him bookings at 25 World Series and 18 All-Star games. During World War II, he would tour Europe, Africa and the Pacific theater with the USO. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)
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12-25-2022, 05:06 AM
Al Schacht
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