I enjoy memoirs about public figures and especially ones in which the protagonist is gay. Interestingly, books like Behind the Mask and The David Kopay Story hold my attention all the more for having been “ghost written.” These personal accounts are far more fun than the slickly written diatribes of the gay literati who articulately whine about their suffering, their internal turmoil, all the while smirking condescendingly at the rest of us who are not of their “professional” gay group.
Dave Pallone worked hard to become an umpire and used whatever opportunity presented itself to work his way into the major leagues. There is little about him that is sophisticated or polished. His motivations are basic… play baseball, if not as a professional then stay near the game any way he can. Earn money.
Dave has a temper. He also lacks diplomacy, and being “hot-headed,” managed to get himself into any number of scrapes in his chosen field.
The book interweaves the personal and professional experience of a remarkably ordinary guy. Dave the umpire gets into trouble with his peers, with his superiors, with ball players. These are narrated in boring anecdotes culminating with Dave’s on-field pushing match with Pete Rose. Juxtaposed is Dave the gay man, secretive, bewildered by how to deal with his gay orientation. The story is weakest when dealing with the petty intrigues of specific games. Even the most ardent baseball fan’s eyes will glaze over as Dave talks about a minor spat which occurred years ago in a minor league game in East Overshoe or wherever.
The narrative is more interesting when dealing with Dave’s personal feelings about gayness, coming out, meeting his first sexual partner, falling in love, experiencing loss… in short, being human.
Dave’s memoirs follow in the footsteps of David Kopay the professional football player whose story was published 13 years earlier in 1977. This earlier memoir seems more honest… a tale of personal struggle to become an integrated gay man. Dave Pallone’s tale strikes me as having a hidden agenda. Dave’s life was full of controversy. He was eventually asked to retire (or be fired) because of it. Pallone felt that he was forced out of the profession because he was gay. Get real! No doubt that was a factor but consider…He was by his own account “hot headed.” He seemed to add fuel to tense situations rather than cooling things off. He obtained a job in the major leagues by breaking an umpire strike thus becoming an umpire scab. His temperament never allowed grudges to be laid to rest by other older umpires. Finally he was investigated as part of an upstate New York sex scandal involving underage boys. He was never indicted but the suggestion of connection was enough to destroy his already shaky reputation as a National League umpire.
Dave may be interesting, even fun, yet deeper down he may not be a nice person. In his own memoir he comes across as temperamental, arrogant, cocky, and lacking in diplomacy. Dave wrote this book certainly for the money it might make, but also to justify his life and his actions as an umpire and gay man. I wonder why justification seemed necessary to him?
If you are a sports fan you’ll like the book. If not try The David Kopay Story. It has the same sports ambiance without a seemingly hidden agenda.