Moe Berg
Morris "Moe" Berg (March 2, 1902 – May 29, 1972) was an American professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1923 to 1939 and later served as an intelligence officer for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II.[1][2]
Born in New York City to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents, Berg graduated from Princeton University with a degree in modern languages and earned a law degree from Columbia University, though he never practiced law.[1][3] A polyglot fluent in multiple languages including Japanese, German, and Spanish, he leveraged his linguistic skills both on the diamond and in espionage.[1][2] In baseball, Berg was known for his defensive prowess rather than offensive output, compiling a career batting average of .243 over 662 games while playing for teams including the Brooklyn Robins, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, and Boston Red Sox.[4][5] He set an American League record with 117 consecutive errorless games at catcher from 1931 to 1934 and was praised for his handling of pitchers and strong throwing arm.[5] After retiring as a player in 1939, he briefly coached for the Red Sox before joining U.S. intelligence efforts.[6] During World War II, Berg's OSS assignments included secretly filming industrial sites in Japan during a 1934 baseball tour and parachuting into occupied Europe to evaluate Nazi atomic bomb development, particularly targeting physicist Werner Heisenberg.[1][6] His reports contributed to Allied assessments that Germany lagged in nuclear weapons production.[3] For his wartime service, President Harry S. Truman awarded him the Medal of Freedom in 1946, America's highest civilian honor at the time, though Berg declined it during his lifetime; his sister accepted it posthumously.[5][7] Berg lived reclusively after the war, residing with family and avoiding public disclosure of his spy work due to classification restrictions.[2]
Early Life and Education
Family Background and Childhood
Morris "Moe" Berg was born Morris Berg on March 2, 1902, in a cold-water tenement on East 121st Street in Manhattan, New York City, to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents Bernard Berg, a pharmacist, and Rose Tashker Berg, a homemaker.[2][4][8] Bernard had emigrated from the Ukrainian village of Kippinya in 1894, establishing himself in the pharmacy trade after arriving penniless, while Rose arrived from Russia two years later.[9][10] The couple had three children, with Moe as the youngest; his siblings included a sister, Ethel, and an older brother.[8] The family soon relocated to Newark, New Jersey, where Bernard acquired a pharmacy, enabling a modest middle-class existence amid the challenges faced by early 20th-century Jewish immigrants.[10][8] Though observant of their Jewish heritage, the Bergs were not religiously practicing, prioritizing practical advancement over ritual.[11] Bernard, who labored for over three decades in the pharmacy business, instilled a strong value on education in his children, viewing it as the path to upward mobility—a determination rooted in his own immigrant hardships and uncommon for such families in that era.[2] Moe's early childhood reflected this environment, fostering his intellectual curiosity from a young age, though he occasionally adopted pseudonyms like "Runt Wolfe" in school to downplay his Jewish identity amid prevailing antisemitism.[2] The family's emphasis on self-reliance and learning shaped his formative years, setting the stage for his later multilingual and academic prowess.[2]Academic Pursuits and Linguistic Abilities
Berg initially attended New York University for two semesters before transferring to Princeton University, where he majored in modern languages and played shortstop on the baseball team, serving as captain in his senior year. He graduated from Princeton in June 1923 with a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude.[12][5][3] After entering professional baseball, Berg pursued legal studies at Columbia Law School during off-seasons, often missing spring training, and completed his degree around 1930. He supplemented his education with linguistics coursework at the Sorbonne in Paris.[1][13][14] Berg's academic focus on languages fostered remarkable proficiency as a polyglot; during Princeton, he mastered at least seven, including Latin, Greek, French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Sanskrit. Contemporary accounts, such as his New York Times obituary, noted fluency in ten languages, aiding his later intelligence work, though exact counts varied by source.[15][16]Professional Baseball Career
Minor League Beginnings and Major League Entry (1923–1925)
Berg signed his first professional contract with the Brooklyn Robins on June 27, 1923, the day after graduating from Princeton University, for a reported $5,000 salary.[17] He made his major league debut that same day as a shortstop against the Boston Braves at Baker Bowl, recording one hit in four at-bats and scoring a run in a 6-4 Robins loss.[18] Over the 1923 season, Berg appeared in 49 games for Brooklyn, primarily at shortstop, batting .186 with 24 hits in 129 at-bats, no home runs, and one RBI.[19] His defensive play was noted as solid, but offensive struggles limited his role on a team managed by Wilbert Robinson.[2] Following the 1923 season, Berg was optioned to minor league affiliates, beginning with the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association in 1924 before being loaned to the Toledo Mud Hens in August.[20] With Toledo, a team plagued by injuries, Berg took over at shortstop after the incumbent refused a fine for missing a game, finishing the season with a .264 batting average.[21] In 1925, he played for the Reading Keystones of the International League, where he batted .311 and drove in 124 runs, showcasing improved hitting power and helping solidify his reputation as a utility infielder.[2] These minor league performances, particularly his strong season in Reading, positioned him for a return to the major leagues with the Chicago White Sox in 1926.[22]Establishment as a Catcher (1926–1934)
Following his early major league experience primarily as an infielder, Moe Berg transitioned to catcher upon joining the Chicago White Sox in 1926, a position he would hold for the remainder of his playing career.[1][2] To complete his first year of law school at Columbia University, Berg skipped spring training and the initial two months of the season, debuting with the White Sox on June 23, 1926, and appearing in 41 games that year with a .221 batting average.[2] His defensive capabilities quickly emerged as his primary asset, featuring a strong throwing arm that deterred base stealers effectively.[2] Berg solidified his role as a backup catcher with the White Sox through 1930, posting career-high marks in games played (107) and batting average (.287) during the 1929 season, which earned him 30th place in American League Most Valuable Player voting.[19] Fielding percentages reflected his reliability behind the plate, reaching .990 in 1928 and .982 in 1929.[19] Injuries, including a knee issue in 1930, limited his appearances to 20 games that year, after which he was traded to the Cleveland Indians for the 1931 season, where he managed only 10 games with a .077 average.[1][19] Acquired by the Washington Senators prior to the 1932 campaign, Berg served as a reserve catcher, contributing in 75 games with a .236 average and perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.[19] He maintained high defensive standards in 1933 (40 games, .185 average, 1.000 fielding) and split 1934 between the Senators and Indians (62 games, .251 average, .983 fielding).[19] Throughout this period, Berg's value lay in his game-calling acumen and knowledge of opposing hitters, compensating for modest offensive output in a career spanning multiple teams as a journeyman defender.[2]