Robert Szasz, also known as The Happy Heckler, is a
real estate developer and has been a well-known
heckler
A heckler is a person who harasses and tries to disconcert others with questions, challenges, or gibes. Hecklers are often known to shout encouraging comments at a performance or event, or to interrupt set-piece speeches, with the intent of di ...
at
Tampa Bay Rays baseball games for several seasons.
A native of
Toronto,
Ontario, Szasz relocated to Florida in 1984 and resides in
Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2020 census, the city had a populat ...
. He held
season ticket
A season ticket, or season pass, is a ticket that grants privileges over a defined period of time.
History
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' has illustrative quotations which show the term ''season ticket'' used in the United States in 1820 ...
s for the then Devil Rays from 2000 until the end of the 2008 season, sitting in club seats behind home plate at
Tropicana Field. He would choose one player from the opposing team to insult during a game or series, waiting until the player stepped into the
batter's box before shouting a barrage of insults regarding the player's playing ability. Between the typically small and quiet crowds at Devil Rays game during the early 2000s and his booming voice, Szasz's heckling was often heard on television and radio broadcasts of the team's games.
Szasz's heckling visibly rattled players on multiple occasions. He once heckled the
Mariners'
Bret Boone so viciously that when Boone struck out, he threw down his batting helmet and started yelling back at Szasz. In another instance,
outfielder José Guillén offered Szasz an autographed baseball bat if he would stop heckling him in a game. Szasz says he didn't heckle with profanity, nor did he insult a player about a personal thing such as weight or height. He says he tried to only heckle a player on their baseball ability. Although rare, Szasz also heckled opposing pitchers.
Szasz became a controversial figure. Some fans, television viewers, and media that covered the Rays complained about his volume and abrasiveness, while others enjoyed his heckling. In any case, he became one of the more famous fans in Tampa Bay Rays baseball history, and was known throughout the
American League.
In 2008, Szasz released a book entitled ''The Happy Heckler''. Szasz did not renew his Rays season tickets for 2009 and was not heard heckling in Tropicana Field again until April 30, 2012, during a game against the Seattle Mariners.
See also
*
Ronnie Woo Woo
*
Robin Ficker
*
Wild Bill Hagy
References
External links
The Gentleman Heckler
{{DEFAULTSORT:Szasz, Robert
Living people
Canadian emigrants to the United States
Businesspeople from Toronto
American real estate businesspeople
Sports in Tampa, Florida
Baseball spectators
Tampa Bay Rays
Year of birth missing (living people)
People from Clearwater, Florida