He was the home plate umpire when Pete Rose tied Ty Cobb for the most hits (4191); Nolan Ryan's 4,000th strikeout on July 11, 1985, and on September 25, 1986, he was the second base umpire when Mike Scott of the Houston Astros pitched a 2–0 no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants to clinch the NL West Division championship.
Pallone was overheard saying in an umpire’s meeting that he deliberately stood in front of Reds short stop Dave Concepción to interfere with his fielding.
The comment brought surprised stares from those surrounding him and Pallone made no attempt to hide his disdain for the Cincinnati Reds.
On April 30, 1988, Pallone was involved in a highly controversial confrontation with Rose when he managed the Cincinnati Reds.
Pallone later wrote his autobiography, Behind the Mask: My Double Life in Baseball, which became a New York Times best-seller, and has been republished as an e-book.