Alexander Schacht (November 11, 1892 – July 14, 1984) was an American professional baseball player,

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

clown A clown is a person who performs comedy and arts in a state of open-mindedness using physical comedy, typically while wearing distinct makeup or costuming and reversing folkway-norms. History The most ancient clowns have been found in ...

, and, later,

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspec ...

. Schacht was a pitcher for the Washington Senators in the American League from 1919 to 1921.

Early life

Schacht was born in New York City, where he attended the High School of Commerce.

Pitcher, coach, and "clown"

Although he compiled a 14–10 won/loss mark (with a 4.48 earned run average) in his three-year MLB pitching career and was highly regarded as a third-base coach, Schacht's ability to mimic other players from the coaching lines, and his comedy routines with fellow Washington coach Nick Altrock, earned him the nickname "The Clown Prince of Baseball" (a sobriquet later given to fellow ballplayer-turned-entertainer

Max Patkin Max Patkin (January 10, 1920 – October 30, 1999) was an American baseball player and clown, best known as the Clown Prince of Baseball (a play on "Crown Prince"). Patkin was the third "officially" crowned Clown Prince of Baseball, after Al Scha ...

). Ironically, at the height of their collaboration, Schacht and Altrock developed a deep personal animosity and stopped speaking to each other off the field. During their famous comic re-enactments of the Dempsey– Tunney championship boxing match, many speculated that they pulled no punches as they rained blows on each other. After 11 seasons (1924–34) as a Senator coach, Schacht broke up his act with Altrock to follow Washington manager Joe Cronin to the Boston Red Sox, where Schacht coached at third base in 1935–36. He then focused on a solo career as a baseball clown and entertainer.

Restaurant

Following World War II, Schacht went into the restaurant business. His eponymous steakhouse at 102 E.

52nd Street 52nd Street is a -long one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan, New York City. A short section of it was known as the city's center of jazz performance from the 1930s to the 1950s. Jazz center Following the repeal of ...

(at Park Avenue) in Manhattan was popular for decades, catering to a clientele of sports stars and stage and screen celebrities. The menus at Al Schacht's were round, fashioned as oversized baseballs, and featured dishes named after old-time players. From time to time, Schacht would mount the small restaurant stage and launch into his old routines, to the delight of patrons. The restaurant's exterior appears in the 1961 movie '' Breakfast at Tiffany's''.

Personal life

Schacht was Jewish, famously writing in his autobiography: "There is talk that I am Jewish—just because my father was Jewish, my mother is Jewish, I speak

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

, and once studied to be a

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...

and a cantor. Well, that's how rumors get started." After WWII, Al met and married Mabelle Radcliffe, a vocalist who went by the stage name Mabelle Russell.Society for American Baseball Research
/ref> They eventually moved to Southbury, CT and lived there until his death in 1984. Mabelle died in 1995.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schacht, Al 1892 births 1984 deaths 20th-century American Jews American Ashkenazi Jews American clowns American restaurateurs Baseball players from New York City Boston Red Sox coaches Jewish American baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball third base coaches Washington Senators (1901–1960) coaches Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Yiddish-speaking people