Moe Berg

: For the Canadian singer/songwriter Moe Berg, please see Moe Berg (musician).

Pre-professional career

Moe Berg was born the third and last child of Bernard Berg, a pharmacist, and Rose Tashker, a homemaker, both Jewish, in the Harlem section of New York City, New York, a few blocks from the Polo Grounds. When Berg was three and a half, he begged his mother to let him start school. In 1906 Bernard Berg bought a pharmacy in West Newark. Then in 1910 the Berg family moved again, to the Roseville section of Newark. Roseville offered Bernard Berg everything he wanted in a neighborhood – good schools, middle-class residents, and very few Jews. The Bergs were never religiously observant, although being Jewish did contribute to Moe's sense of being an outsider in mid-20th century America.

Related Topics:
Pharmacist - Jew - Harlem - New York City - New York - Polo Grounds - 1906 - West Newark - 1910 - Roseville

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Berg began playing baseball at the age of seven for the Roseville Methodist Episcopal Church baseball team under the less ethnic pseudonym Runt Wolfe. In 1918, at the age of 16, Berg graduated from Barringer High School. During his senior season, the Newark Star-Eagle selected a nine-man "dream team" for 1918 from the city's best prep and public high school baseball players, and Berg was named the team's third baseman. Barringer was the first in a series of institutions Berg joined in his life where his religion made him unusual. Most of the other students were East Side Italian Catholics or Protestants from Forest Hill, but there were not many Jews, just as Bernard wanted it.

Related Topics:
Methodist Episcopal Church - 1918 - Barringer High School - Newark Star-Eagle - 1918 - Third baseman - Forest Hill

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After graduating from Barringer, Berg enrolled in New York University. He spent two semesters there and played baseball and basketball. In 1919 he transferred to Princeton University and never again mentioned that he attended NYU for a year, presenting himself exclusively as a Princeton man. Berg received a B.A., magna cum laude in modern languages. He had studied seven different languages: Latin, Greek, French, Spanish, Italian, German and Sanskrit. His Jewish heritage and modest finances combined to keep him on the fringes of Princeton society, where he never quite fit in.

Related Topics:
New York University - Basketball - 1919 - Princeton University - B.A. - Magna cum laude - French - Spanish - Italian - German - Sanskrit

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During his freshman year, Berg played first base on an undefeated team. Beginning in his sophomore year, he was the starting shortstop. He was not a great hitter and was a slow baserunner, but he had a strong, accurate throwing arm and sound baseball instincts. In his senior season he was captain of the team and had a .337 batting average, batting .611 against Princeton's arch-rivals, Harvard and Yale. Crossan Cooper, Princeton's second baseman, and Berg communicated plays in Latin when there was a man on second base.

Related Topics:
First base - Shortstop - Batting average - Harvard - Yale - Crossan Cooper

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On June 26, 1923, Yale defeated Princeton 5-1 at Yankee Stadium to win the Big Three title. Berg had an outstanding day, getting two hits in four at bats (2-4) with a single and a double, and making several marvelous plays at shortstop. Both the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Robins desired "Jewish blood" on their teams, to appeal to the large Jewish community in New York, and expressed interest in Berg. The Giants were especially interested, but they already had two future Hall of Famers at shortstop, Dave "Beauty" Bancroft and Travis Jackson. The Robins were a mediocre team, where Berg would have a better chance to play. On June 27, 1923, Berg signed his first big league contract for $5,000 with the Robins.

Related Topics:
June 26 - 1923 - Yankee Stadium - At bat - Single - Double - New York Giants - Brooklyn Robins - Hall of Famers - Dave "Beauty" Bancroft - Travis Jackson - June 27

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