Greg DeHart, who was a baseball player for the Burlington Bees, has recently finished a documentary, honoring Exton’s Max Patkin, who was known as the ‘Clown Prince of Baseball,’ writes Ed Morrone for The Daily Local News. 

DeHart first met Patkin in 1980. He was a goofy 6-foot-5-inch man, who dressed in an old, dingy jersey with a giant question mark on his back. What DeHart came to find out was that Patkin was famous for decades in the minor leagues for his comedic act. 

Patkin, born in 1920 in Philadelphia, gave around 5,000 performances over a 50-year period. He died in Chester County in 1999.

He has been inducted into the Reading Phillies Hall of Fame, the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, and the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. 

The Clown Prince’s act involved his trademark uniform: the dirty, baggy jersey and an askew baseball cap on his head. He would contort his face into various shapes, mock players and coaches, and interact with the crowd, filling every baseball game with fun and laughter. 

The documentary, which DeHart had worked on over the course of twenty years, will feature archival footage, sound bites from Patkins, and conversations between DeHart and Patkin’s daughter, Joy. 

“I think if Max was alive, he would have loved it,” DeHart said. “He would be signing autographs of his baseball card and talking to every single person who asked him about his life.” 

Read more about Max Patkin’s unconventional career in The Daily Local News. 

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