Sure, Marty Pattin pitched a good baseball game. But that’s not his real legacy. EIU graduate Marty Pattin is great
because more Eastern students have had a beer his name than any other person in the history.
Marty Pattin is the namesake of Marty’s, the East Fourth Street tavern that is the only bar on EIU’s campus.
Marty has a 12-year major league baseball career with trips to the All-Star game and World Series. But Eastern
students remember him best for terms like 4 O’Clock Club, endless dart games, drunken escapades that started at
Marty's, and all those nights watching Jimmy Buffett knockoff bands.
Martin William Pattin grew up in Charleston and got both a bachelor’s and master’s at Eastern. But he real major was
baseball. In one game at EIU, he struck out 22 batters. He joined the Angels in 1968 and then was part of the Seattle
Pilots, which later became the Brewers. He was an all-star in 1971 and soon after was part of a 10-player trade that
sent him to the Red Sox. He won 32 games in two seasons with the Red Sox, even though it is reported Pattin was
afraid of pitching with Fenway Park’s Big Green Monster lurking behind him. He spent the last seven seasons with the
Kansas City Royals before retiring in 1980 (he still lives in Kansas).
It’s a good bet that all of Pattin’s accomplishments would be news to the thousands of Marty’s patrons who walked in
and staggered out of the bar over the years.
Who doesn’t have a story about Marty’s, the adorable little everyman’s bar that would host a football party one day
(complete with parleys) and a rock band the next? Maybe all you did was try and ride the metal Panther outside the bar.
It could have been the place you had your first drink (or twelve) at Eastern. Or perhaps you met your spouse there? No
matter what it was, Marty’s is as much of a fixture and legend to the school as Old Main or famous professors.
There have been or are bigger bars on campus (Stix), more controversial ones (Panthers), ones with better food (Jerry’
s), and better places to dance and party (Mother’s or Ikes). But Marty’s is the Cheers for college students in Charleston
where virtually everyone can feel welcome and find something they like.
Marty Pattin really owes his legendary EIU status to Dave Kinnaird, the owner of Marty’s bar.
While he has done his best to inebriate Panthers, Pattin’s nicknames were “Bulldog” (because he was a tenacious
pitcher) and “Duck” (because he imitated Donald Duck).
Sources for information and some photos:Baseball Library, Baseball Reference and Baseball Almanac.
because more Eastern students have had a beer his name than any other person in the history.
Marty Pattin is the namesake of Marty’s, the East Fourth Street tavern that is the only bar on EIU’s campus.
Marty has a 12-year major league baseball career with trips to the All-Star game and World Series. But Eastern
students remember him best for terms like 4 O’Clock Club, endless dart games, drunken escapades that started at
Marty's, and all those nights watching Jimmy Buffett knockoff bands.
Martin William Pattin grew up in Charleston and got both a bachelor’s and master’s at Eastern. But he real major was
baseball. In one game at EIU, he struck out 22 batters. He joined the Angels in 1968 and then was part of the Seattle
Pilots, which later became the Brewers. He was an all-star in 1971 and soon after was part of a 10-player trade that
sent him to the Red Sox. He won 32 games in two seasons with the Red Sox, even though it is reported Pattin was
afraid of pitching with Fenway Park’s Big Green Monster lurking behind him. He spent the last seven seasons with the
Kansas City Royals before retiring in 1980 (he still lives in Kansas).
It’s a good bet that all of Pattin’s accomplishments would be news to the thousands of Marty’s patrons who walked in
and staggered out of the bar over the years.
Who doesn’t have a story about Marty’s, the adorable little everyman’s bar that would host a football party one day
(complete with parleys) and a rock band the next? Maybe all you did was try and ride the metal Panther outside the bar.
It could have been the place you had your first drink (or twelve) at Eastern. Or perhaps you met your spouse there? No
matter what it was, Marty’s is as much of a fixture and legend to the school as Old Main or famous professors.
There have been or are bigger bars on campus (Stix), more controversial ones (Panthers), ones with better food (Jerry’
s), and better places to dance and party (Mother’s or Ikes). But Marty’s is the Cheers for college students in Charleston
where virtually everyone can feel welcome and find something they like.
Marty Pattin really owes his legendary EIU status to Dave Kinnaird, the owner of Marty’s bar.
While he has done his best to inebriate Panthers, Pattin’s nicknames were “Bulldog” (because he was a tenacious
pitcher) and “Duck” (because he imitated Donald Duck).
Sources for information and some photos:Baseball Library, Baseball Reference and Baseball Almanac.
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