CHARLESTON, Ill. – Former Eastern Illinois baseball standout and Major League Baseball All-Star, Marty Pattin, passed away yesterday (Oct. 3) in Charleston.  Pattin was part of the first Eastern Illinois Athletic Hall of Fame Class in 1982 as the Panthers get set to celebrate their 37th Hall of Fame Class this weekend.
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Pattin, is a native of Charleston and pitched for the Panthers in the mid-1960's (1962-65), he was a seventh round draft pick of the California Angels in 1965. He made his major league debut on May 14, 1968 by hurling a perfect inning against the Chicago White Sox. He would become a mainstay in the big leagues for the next 13 seasons winning 114 games pitching for the Angels, Seattle Pilots, Milwaukee Brewers, Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals. He ended his career in 1980 pitching for the Royals in the World Series. In his final inning of work he struck out All-Stars Greg Luzinski and Mike Schmidt.
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The former Panthers pitcher had his No. 19 officially retired at EIU in 2009 and the Charleston High School Baseball Field was renamed Marty Pattin Field in 2016.
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At EIU he was a second team All-American in 1964 leading the Panthers to the NAIA playoffs. He had a 10-1 record with a 1.99 ERA while leading the nation in strikeouts that season. He once struck out 22 Illinois State batters in a nine inning game. He was elected to the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1972 and was a charter member of the EIU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982.  Pattin earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees from EIU.
