Forgotten History - Moe Berg

[GaryMrMets]

Forgotten History - Moe Berg

Moe Berg
By Denis Mueller

Casey Stengel, known as an odd ball himself, called Moe Berg, "the strangest man ever to play baseball." Berg was a shortstop at Princeton University where he used to bark out his instructions to the second baseman in Latin. While his father urged him to be a lawyer instead of this baseball thing; Moe Berg loved two things in his life and they were baseball and languages. In baseball, Berg played 12 years in the big leagues despite not being able to hit. But it is because of his study of languages that led Moe Berg down the pages of history.

Moe Berg was born in 1902. His father owned a pharmacy and in this Jewish working class area of Newark, a young Moe Berg fell in love with baseball. He graduated at the top of his class and then went to Princeton where he graduated magna cum laude. Needing money, he turned to baseball, and when the Chicago White Sox who asked him to switch to catcher, Berg did so understanding that he couldn't hit. His intelligence as a reserve catcher could keep him in the big leagues for a very long time. Moe became a good player and hit .287 in 1929 while earning some votes for MVP.

But Berg was not your typical baseball player. While at Princeton, Berg had honed another skill, there he studied and learned ten different languages. Berg was somewhat of a mystery man to his teammates. On a tour of Japan, with Babe Ruth and Low Gehrig, Berg delivered an eloquent speech at the Meiji University and then went to top tallest building in Tokyo and took pictures, which were later used for guides for American pilots in World War Two.

Berg volunteered for the service in World War II and was soon asked to join the OSS. Berg did but before he left he delivered one more speech in which he spoke to the Japanese about why they should avoid this war. Berg was no James Bond in this spy business as he kept dropping his gun until finally he gave it to his aid and said, "You hold this."

Berg was an active spy who parachuted into Yugoslavia and meet with resistance leader Marshall Tito. After meeting with Tito, Berg's next assignment was to help to determine how close Germany was developing an atomic bomb. So Berg studied physics and then went to Germany. Using various disguises and getting people to talk to him. Berg was able to determine where the German plants for the research were and that they had been bombed by the allies.

Berg lured German atomic physicist Werner Heisenberg, to Switzerland, where he would talk to him. Berg orders were to kill him if necessary but Heisenberg implied that Germany was behind the United States in the race for the bomb. Despite great danger, Berg stayed behind in Germany and helps recruit various German scientists who would become valuable to the United States after the war.

Berg quietly returned after the war and while some thought he squandered his life playing baseball, Berg as his brother said, "Loved the game." His teammate Ted Lyons said of Berg. "He was different because he was different; he made up for all the bores in the world. And he did it softly, stepping on no one."

Sources: Joe Posnanski, Kansas City Star

[Toy Cannon]

Moe Berg: The Song

Moe Berg the catcher - good field and no hit
Somehow he lasted 19 years - ‘till his knees made him quit
He never really played much & he never really cared
He was happy just to hang around with a uniform to wear

Moe Berg the Princeton graduate - went on to study law
Got his degree from Columbia - all the while playing ball
He caught the eye of the Dodgers - who were trying to sign a Jew
Who might help ‘em sell some tickets - in The Bronx & Yonkers too

Moe Berg the professor of the bullpen joked with pitchers
Reading them the newspapers he used to have delivered
He spoke to ‘em in Russian, Japanese & French
He was the greatest scholar that ever rode the bench

Moe Berg & The Babe, they went over to Japan
With a team of touring all-stars giving clinics for the fans
This was back in the 30’s as the world prepared for war
Moe took a lot of pictures - nobody knew what for

Moe Berg the secret agent - never even told his mom
Of his mission to determine if the Germans had the bomb
He learned to speak good physics - without hardly a lisp
He infiltrated lectures with the German scientists

Moe Berg the walking riddle - would put his fingers to his lips
If you recognized him on the street - he’d nod & whisper “shhhh”
He kept a lot of secrets - no one will ever know
He knew a lot of people - but nobody ever knew Moe

Moe Berg the beloved - he had the gift of gab
The moocher, the celebrity - he never paid the tab
He could get in at the ballpark - with his lifetime player’s pass
He could eat up in the press box - someone always filled his glass

Moe Berg son of an immigrant - brought his father shame
All that education - then to play a child’s game
Moe made it to the Majors - but his dad would never go see him
Moe’s baseball card is on display at the CIA museum.

Long after he’d retired - there was still Moe Berg the myth
He rode into the sunset hanging sadly onto it
Appearing on a game show - as the mystery guest
Some say disappearing - might be what Moe did best

[Durango53]

Outstanding story

[Baseball Guru]