More often than not, when looking at what professional athletes did in World War II, their baseball careers largely overshadow their wartime exploits. However, this person flips the script on this trend as his mildly successful baseball career pales in comparison to his wartime and post-baseball career profession.
Born in New York City on March 2, 1902 to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents, Mo Berg was a very complex human being. Casey Stengel called him the strangest man ever to play baseball. He reportedly started school at the age of 3 and began playing baseball at the age of 7. Both became mainstays throughout in his life.
Moe’s father was someone who understood the value of education. He came over to the United States in 1894, and found modest work ironing laundry. He worked to point where he eventually owned his own laundromat on the Lower East Side. However, this was still not good enough for him, and he attended night school at Columbia until he earned his degree in pharmacy. Thus, his father had high ambitions for his children, and worked so that he could afford college educations for his children. The older siblings, Samuel and Ethel became a medical doctor and a school teacher respectively. The family felt that Moe should become a lawyer, and so he did. However, first he would attend Princeton with other ambitions.
By the time of his senior year, Moe had become an all-city third baseman with a cannon for an arm. He graduated high school at the age of 16, and during his senior year was recognized by the Newark Star-Eagle being selected as the 3rd basemen for a hypothetical Dream Team. The selection considered all players from within New York’s preparatory and public schools.
Moe began college at the age of 16 at New York University, and then transferred a year later to Princeton University. Moe was a bit of an outcast at Princeton as he did not fit the mold. He did not come from an affluent family, and was not a Christian. Rather, he came from a meager background and was Jewish which found him sitting on the fringes of society at Princeton. He was a loner which some claim was what contributed to his mysterious ways later in his life. However, for what Moe lacked in social life at college, he made up for by way of academia. He studied numerous languages both classical and romantic. He studied Greek, Latin, French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Sanskrit. Skills that would be of great use to him in the future. Now, how many of us could say that right? HAHA
Nonetheless, through his social awkwardness, he did continue to play baseball in college and made his way around the diamond year in and year out. He began playing first base his freshman year where his team went undefeated. Then his sophomore year he moved to Short. By his senior year he was the Captain of the team. Princeton’s team was the best it had ever been that year as they won 18 games and handed Holy Cross star pitcher Ownie Carroll one of his only two losses in his college career.
Though, like everything else with Moe, he was hit or miss. While he possessed an acute level of baseball instincts and had a powerful, accurate throwing arm, he was a subpar hitter with very little speed on the base path. Nonetheless, his senior year he managed a .337 batting average, and hit .611 against Princeton’s rivals Harvard and Yale. Additionally, using his newfound linguistic knowledge to his advantage, Mo and second baseman Crossan Cooper would communicate their plays in Latin whenever there was a base runner on second.
June 26, 1923 found Yale and Princeton competing at Yankee Stadium. Yale stomped Princeton, but Moe had a phenomenal game hitting .500, and made numerous remarkable plays at short. Scouts from the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Robins (later the Dodgers), were in attendance. Both teams wanted to bring in Jewish players to help their teams appeal to the large Jewish population in New York.
They both expressed interest in Moe, especially the Giants; however, they already had two future Hall of Fame shortstops in Dave Bancroft and Travis Jackson. The mediocre Robins gave Moe the best chance to play. Therefore, Moe signed his first major league contract with Brooklyn on June 27, 1923 for $5,000 ($74,000 today).
Moe graduated from Princeton with honors in 1923 and while he signed his professional contract, he also enrolled at Columbia Law School. While he would continue his work in academia, it took him the better part of a decade to obtain his law degree. The reason for this was his encounter with an eminent lawyer by the name of Dutch Carter who advised him to focus on baseball because there would be plenty of time to study law afterwards. You see, Carter had been pressured by his family to give up baseball to pursue law, and this was something that he regretted. Moe followed Dutch’s advice and even turned down a position at Princeton to teach Romance languages in order to capitalize on his prime years.
Moe found himself bumped around the league as well as up and down between the majors and minors in his early years. He played 49 games in 1923 for the Robins, but disappeared to the minors for 1924 and 1925. He was picked up by the Chicago White Sox in 1926 where he would play anywhere from 20 to 107 games per year until he was traded to Cleveland in 1931. He played a whopping 10 games there, and then found himself on the road again in 1932 – this time to the Washington Senators where he played in 75 games at most over 2.5 seasons. Then he was back to Cleveland midway through the 34 season eventually ending up at Boston in 1935 through the end of his career in 1939.
In 1927, Moe made his transition from shortstop and catcher. The daily catcher Harry McCurdy had his hand slashed by a Boston batter. With both backup catchers out from injuries of their own, the White Sox Manager, Ray Schalk, was relegated to looking at his bench for anyone who could catch. Moe said that he used to think that he could, and when Schalk asked him who said he couldn’t, Moe responded “my high school coach.” Schalk told Moe that he would be obliged if he could prove his high school coach wrong.
Moe ended up becoming a very good defensive catcher. He could gun down runners as swift as they may have been. Berg’s debut as a catcher was one for the history books. Not only was he tasked with catching for the nasty knuckleballer Ted Lyons, which was a task in and of itself, it was also against the famed New York Yankees lineup so eloquently named Murders Row, a lineup that included Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Earle Combs. Nonetheless, Lyons defeated the Yankees 6-3 and held Ruth hitless.
However, regardless of his defensive skills, it would seem as though he could never overcome his lack of offensive ability. Over 15 years and 1813 at bats he would obtain only 441 hits, 71 of which were doubles, 6 triples, 6 home runs, he had 206 RBIs, 117 strikeouts, 78 bases on balls, and a lifetime .243 batting average.
Nonetheless, it must be understood that while Moe was playing, he was continuing to go to school at Columbia. In 1926, he would even have to skip out on Spring Training, even turning down extra money from Charles Comiskey who tried to entice him to show up. He would also have to join the team late in 1927, and he had to take extra classes in the fall of 1927 so that he could get a leave of absence from school for the 1928 season.
Prior to Spring Training in 1928, Moe took a job at a lumber camp in the Adirondacks in order to get himself in shape. The hard labor worked wonders as he reported to Spring Training in impeccable shape. Throughout the season Moe proved himself to be an invaluable asset to the team behind the plate. He led the American League in caught stealing percentage with 60.9%, he was third in the American League for double plays by a catcher with 8, and was 5th in the American League in assists by a catcher with 52. He had a .246 batting average and a career high 16 doubles.
The following year, Moe did not graduate with the class of 1929 as he failed his Evidence class; however, he did pass the New York State bar exam. He would repeat his failed class the following year and received his Bachelor of Law degree on February 26, 1930. As far as baseball, 1929 would be met with even more success. He was still second in the American League in both double plays by a catcher with 12 and assists by a catcher with 86, caught the third most attempted base stealers in the league with 41, was fourth in the league in caught stealing percentage at 47.7%, and perhaps his best season offensively with a .287 batting average and 47 RBIs.
1930 would not hold the same success. He would tear ligaments in his knee in an early exhibition. While changing direction his cleat stuck in the dirt so essentially his body continued to move, but his leg did not go with him. This injury would seriously hinder his playing time, and while he was still in the starting lineup, he would be limited to 20 games that season. That winter, he took a job with the respected Wall Street law firm Satterlee and Canfield now Satterlee, Stephens, Burke & Burke.
Essentially, 1929 was the last truly successful season Moe would have. We already kind of went over his trampoline career as he was bumped from city to city, so we can cut right to the chase. In the end, Moe retired as a player in 1939, and eventually turned in his cleats as a coach for the Red Sox in 1941.
An interesting story from his managerial days finds us with Mo and a guy you might have heard of, Ted Williams as Ted sought Moe for advice. In 1940, when Ted was in his second year with Red Sox, he engaged Moe for information a solid catcher would know. Williams wanted to know what made great hitters like Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth. Berg replied, "Gehrig would wait and wait and wait until he hit the pitch almost out of the catcher's glove. As to Ruth, he had no weaknesses; he had a good eye and laid off pitches out of the strike zone. Ted," Moe said, "you most resemble a hitter like Shoeless Joe Jackson. But you are better than all of them. When it comes to wrists you have the best."
While his career in baseball would be over, I will tell you that this is far from where the story ends. Though to help set the stage for what he did later in life, we need to back up a bit into his playing career.
In 1932 Herb Hunter, a retired baseball player arranged for Moe, Lefty O’Doul, and the knuckleballer Ted Lyons to go to Japan to teach baseball seminars at Japanese Universities during the winter. At the conclusion of the seminar tour, Moe stayed in Japan while his fellow players went back the US. Moe wanted to explore. I mean, who wouldn’t!? His tour consisted not only of Japan, but of Manchuria, Shanghai, Peking, Indochina, Siam, India, Egypt, and Berlin. Though he wanted to go back to Japan, he had to report to Biloxi, Mississippi for Spring Training, but this would not be Moe’s last adventure.
Hunter coordinated yet another trip to Japan, but this time to play exhibitions against a Japanese All-Star team. Hunter brought the likes of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Earl Averill, the “Mechanical Man” Charlie Gehringer, Jimmie Foxx, and Lefty Gomez. Though Moe was not much more than a mediocre third –string catcher, he was tacked onto the team at the last minute. Though, Moe did not come alone. In addition to his baseball gear, Moe also brought along a 16-mm movie camera and a letter from Movietone News a New York City newsreel production company. Moe had contracted Movietone News to film the sights of his trip.
Moe was naturally an asset to the team as he spoke Japanese. This was obviously something that would be very beneficial to the tour. He even gave a welcome speech and even addressed the Japanese legislature. On November 29, 1934 while the team was busy playing in Omiya, Moe took a solo detour over to Saint Luke’s hospital in Tsukjii under the guise of visiting the daughter of the American Ambassador, Joseph Grew, who had just given birth.
However, instead of visiting the new mother and her child, he snuck onto the roof of the hospital, one of the tallest buildings in the city, and used his camera to film the city’s sky-scape and harbor instead. The area was a huge industrial complex and major freight harbor. When Moe returned from the trip, he was released by the Indians and continued his world tour, this time hitting up the Philippines, Korea, and Moscow.
Moe’s videos ended up in the hands of the American intelligence community and provided them with rare photos of the city including the industrial sections, possible munitions factories, and other key items. While some claim that these reels Moe shot while on top of the hospital were used to ensure the success of Doolittle’s Raid in World War II, the more likely scenario is that they were reviewed, but were found to be too old to be of any use for the raid. The images were taken in 1934 while the raid took place in 1942. A lot can change over the course of nearly a decade, especially for a country preparing for war.
However, there is a more important issue at hand: this all begs the question of who Moe was working for while he was in Japan? Or was this all completely coincidental? How does a mediocre catcher who just happens to speak Japanese end up playing with the likes of Ruth and Gehrig on an All Star team touring across Japan with a movie camera? Why was he added at the last minute? Did he just happen to use espionage tactics to gain access to the roof of one of the tallest buildings in Tokyo? Why would it concern him to say hello to this woman anyways? There does not seem to be any connection between the two so it doesn’t make sense. Why was he not with the team during their exhibition? He even wore a Kimono which suggests that he put a lot of thought into this as Kimonos are only worn for special occasions – a special occasion that never transpired.
All of these questions seem to remain unanswered even today. It could very well be circumstantial, but it really tugs at my curiosity. Unfortunately, the truth does not seem to be available. Perhaps it was just an elaborate plan to take home movies. However, that seems like a lot of trouble to go through though. Whatever the case, Moe seems to have taken that secret to the grave with him.
In any case, following the attack on Pearl Harbor Moe left baseball to join the White House’s new Office of the Inter-American Affairs. From August 1942 to February 1943 Moe was on assignment in the Caribbean and South America. Essentially, his job was to monitor the health and physical fitness of the American troops stationed there. Deeming the region as no imminent threat the US, the government decided the organization’s talents would be better used elsewhere.
Moe was then recruited into the Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.), the precursor to today’s CIA, by General William “Wild Bill” Donovan in 1943. For a salary of $3,800 a year, this new life as a paramilitary operations officer was a far cry from being a ball player. Though he was prone to blunders, even noted for being caught trying to infiltrate an aircraft factory during training, at another time dropping his gun into a fellow passenger’s lap, and even being recognized because he forgot to take off his O.S.S. issued watch, he was still highly regarded within the community.
One of Moe’s first assignments was to parachute into Yugoslavia to determine the strength of Chetnicks loyal to King Peter who were led by Draza Mihajlovic and the Communist partisans led by Josip Borz in their fight against the Germans. Talking to both men and analyzing their relative strengths, Moe determined that those under Broz were superior and had the backing of the Yugoslav people so the greater US aid went to Broz.
He was even chosen to carry out one of the O.S.S.s most ambitious missions – a plot to assassinate Werner Heisenberg, the head of Nazi Germany’s atom bomb project. Posing as a German businessman in Switzerland, Moe was armed with a side arm and cyanide capsule. He was to determine how close the Germans were to possessing nuclear capabilities. If the evidence suggested that they were close, Moe was to shoot Heisenberg then kill himself with the cyanide. In the end, Heisenberg divulged nothing, and Moe concluded that they were nowhere near being a significant nuclear threat. Thus, both men lived to see another day.
Towards the end of the war, and this is pretty funny, Moe was travelling through Soviet occupied Czechoslovakia with some other agents. They were held up by Soviet soldiers, and when asked to produce papers, Moe supposedly handed them a paper with a big red star on it. The Americans had no business being there, and he had to do something. Apparently the big red star was enough to convince the Soviets that it was alright. In all actuality, what Moe showed them was a copy of the Texaco Oil Company letterhead.
In his late 40s Moe was forced out of the spy business, and never held down a regular job after that. As a matter of fact he remained a bachelor and essentially freeloaded off of his family for the remainder of his life. He lived with his brother Sam for 17 years, and after receiving two eviction notices finally conceded and moved in with his sister Ethel for the remaining eight years of his life.
Moe is recorded as never being the same after the war. This could be said for most veterans of the war, but Moe seemed to never recover. According to his brother, Moe became very moody and short-tempered. This was most likely PTSD which in the grand scheme of armed conflict is a relatively new diagnosis. He, like many others until recently, lived life with this condition never being treated. Additionally, he became a recluse which is odd because he was not that outgoing as it was. So, it is interesting that his brother points this out. He seemingly had no care for anything outside of his bedside books.
Moe turned down numerous offers to write his biography. However, in desperate need of money, Moe finally agreed to break his silence about his life and exploits in a book. Unfortunately, the project came to a screeching halt when the editor misunderstood who the book was going to be about. He was under the impression that it was going to be Moe from the Three Stooges. Thus, the book was never done.
Moe died on May 29, 1972 at the age of 70 of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. His sister took his ashes to Israel, and like the rest of Moe’s secrets, the location of his remains are unknown.
Moe remains a tricky subject for biographers and filmmakers alike. He was someone who never stood still and was difficult to interpret or understand not only because of his later profession, but because of his personality. From an early age he hid his ethnicity so as to not be denigrated, and this seemingly set him on a course to somewhat hide who he was.
To give you an idea of just what a complex man he was, he was awarded the Medal of Freedom at the conclusion of World War II, but in Moe Berg fashion, he declined it. Ultimately, his sister accepted the award on his behalf after his death. His citation reads, “In a position of responsibility in the European Theater, he exhibited analytical abilities and a keen planning mind. He inspired both respect and constant high level of endeavor on the part of his subordinates which enabled his section to produce studies and analysis vital to the mounting of American operations.” Now why would someone not accept such a prestigious award? Who knows…
When preparing for his role in the movie “The Catcher was a Spy,” actor Paul Rudd, who played Moe, said that he felt like he was playing multiple people. He said that in some instances he was a real oddball and not forthcoming or gregarious, yet when you read some accounts he was a total charmer. You wonder if this is the same guy. Rudd also said he wasn’t someone who particularly wanted to be known, and that he found pleasure in the unknowable. The filmmakers said that the more they dug, the less they felt they knew about him. However, everyone who worked on the film came to the same conclusion: that Moe was a hero. Perhaps this is the way the Moe wanted it to be.
Moe was nowhere near Hall of Fame caliber, however, he was considered for a time receiving a handful of votes in 1958 and 1960. Nonetheless, he was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1996 and the Baseball Reliquary’s Shrine of the Eternals in 2000. Additionally, his is the only baseball card on display at the Headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency.
-Chris
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