Player #117B: Nicholas "Nick" Altrock Part 1. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1909, 1912-1915, 1918-1919, 1924, 1931 and 1933. 83 wins and 7 saves in 16 MLB seasons. 3-time World Series champion. At 42 years 1912-1953), he is the longest-tenured coach for one franchise (Washington Senators). He debuted for the Louisville Colonels in 1998. His best season was 1905 with the Chicago White Sox as he posted a 23-12 record with an ERA of 1.88 in 315.2 innings pitched. A 1906 arm injury stunted his career as a pitcher. He pitched very little after 1908 but continued making sporadic pinch-hit appearances, including one in 1933 at the age of 57. He became a coach with Washington in 1912 and was known for his antics in the coaching box and teamed with Al Schacht, the "Clown Prince of Baseball" for a dozen years performing comedy routines on baseball fields and on the vaudeville stage.
Altrock's SABR biography remembers his career as a comedian: Altrock and (fellow washed-up pitcher, Al) Schacht became the Martin and Lewis of baseball comedy. They created a series of pantomimes that they performed at games, including bowling, juggling, golf tricks, rowing boats during rain delays, mocking umpires, and other tricks. The two of them regularly headlined vaudeville bills, and became part of the eagerly anticipated entertainment for the World Series and All-Star games. Altrock made more money at his peak in the 1920s than almost any other ballplayer. His salary from all his various appearances was reported in the $180,000 range.
Ironically, in the midst of this success Altrock and Schacht stopped speaking to each other in 1927. Although Altrock never spoke about the specific reasons for it, their rift was often attributed to a fake prizefight routine that got a little too real. The story is that Schacht thought it would be funnier if he actually hit Nick and so punched the older comic unexpectedly and knocked him to the ground. Altrock got revenge a few days later during a routine where he would normally fire a hard baseball at Schacht for him to dodge and follow it with a soft baseball that Schacht took on the head. Altrock switched the baseballs, and Schacht took a hard blow to the skull and hit the turf.
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