Alexander "Al" Schacht (November 11, 1892, in New York, New York - July 14, 1984, in Waterbury, Connecticut), was an United States professional baseball player and coach. Schacht was a pitcher in the Major Leagues from 1919-21. He played for the Washington Senators.

Baseball career

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 of "The Clown Prince of Baseball." Ironically, at the height of their collaboration, Schacht and Altrock developed a deep personal animosity and stopped speaking with 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 entertainer.

Jewish heritage

Schacht, wrote: "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."

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