THAT’S THE WAY I SAW IT

I REMEMBER MAX PATKIN

The MEMORIES and DREAMS publication of the Baseball Hall of Fame had an article titled, LEGENDARY PRINCES in their Fall 2008 issue. They wrote about Al Schacht, Nick Altrock, Max Patkin, and Jackie Price.

I remember Max Patkin as I umpired two games in which he was the feature attraction. One was in Lafayette and the other Kokomo.

Max would come in our dressing room before the game and ask, “Please don’t be offended by my antics.”

Max would come out on the field like he was going to argue. He would quickly get in front of you on his knees and you would fall over him. The fans roared. His show would end about the 6thinning when we the umpires would actually eject him from the game (part of his act).

Max’s jersey and pants are some of the artifacts preserved by the Baseball Hall of Fame as a tribute to laughter in baseball.

One of my fond memories was working two games with Max Patkin.