JANUARY 2015 – NO:- 110 The Enigmatic Moe Berg: Baseball

JANUARY 2015 – NO:- 110
EDITOR: [email protected]
Website for previous issues
Index
The Enigmatic Moe Berg: Baseball Player and Spy
By Gene Eisen
Introduction
On July 6, 1983, the B’nai B’rith Philatelic Service printed a first day cover for the United States stamp
commemorating the great baseball home run hitter Babe Ruth (Scott 2046). The cachet also featured the
major league ball player, Morris “Moe” Berg, in his catcher’s uniform (See below).
Much has been written about Berg’s strange career as a baseball player and later as an espionage agent for
the US during WW II (see list of references), but the definitive and well-researched biography of Berg must be
credited to Nicolas Dawidoff (1994). After reading all of the available material on Berg, one finds it is still
difficult to pin down Berg’s enigmatic personality. He has been described as brilliant, charming, loquacious
and entertaining, but also as secretive, shadowy, cold, a loner and difficult to get close to. Casey Stengel, a
famous baseball eccentric himself, called Berg “the strangest fellah to put on a baseball uniform.”
Morris Berg, the youngest of three children of Russian Jewish immigrants Bernard Berg and Rose Tashker,
was born in 1902 in the Harlem section of New York City. Bernard Berg and his wife ran a laundry on the
lower east side while he attended the Columbia College of Pharmacy. After graduating and passing the NY
State Board of Pharmacy exam, the ambitious Berg moved his family from the poor Jewish immigrant
neighborhood in NY to a middle-class gentile area of Newark, New Jersey, where he purchased a drugstore.
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The Early Years
Moe Berg attended Barringer High School in the Roseville section of Newark where he excelled academically,
began a lifelong love of languages and excelled on the baseball field. Following graduation, Berg attended New
York University where his brother Samuel was a premed student. After one year, Berg decided to apply to
Princeton University, an elite Ivy League school where one had to be very wealthy or extremely smart.
Additionally, elite American universities in that era had an unwritten quota system for admitting Jews. Entrance
requirements included three years of Greek, four years of Latin and three years of English, together with required
translations of selected classics from Greek and Latin. Berg must have overwhelmingly impressed the admissions
committee, for the following fall found him in the first post WW I freshman class at Princeton.
Berg aced foreign languages there, graduating magna cum laude with a B.A. degree. He was also the star
shortstop for the baseball team. Berg’s performance on the baseball diamond attracted the attention of major
league teams in NY City who were looking for a talented Jewish ballplayer to attract the sizeable population of
Jewish baseball fans to the ballpark.
A Baseball Career
In 1923, Berg signed with the Brooklyn Robins (Dodgers). Moe’s weakness as a hitter sent him to the minor
leagues for two years (1924-1925). In 1926, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox. He also was accepted to
Columbia University Law School and managed to play baseball while completing his law degree in 1929,
becoming an off-season lawyer with a Wall Street firm. This was a rare accomplishment in an age when few major
league baseball players even attended college.
Berg became a catcher by accident in August 1927 when all three of the White Sox catchers were injured within
one week. Berg volunteered to catch, saying he had caught one game in high school. Berg was reported to have
commented as he prepared to catch, “If the worse happens, kindly deliver my body to Newark.” Moe played 15
seasons in the major leagues with six teams. In addition to the Dodgers and White Sox, he played with the
Cleveland Indians (1931, 1934), Washington Senators (1932-1934) and Boston Red Sox (1935-1939). He was
used as a backup catcher primarily for defensive purposes. His infrequent times at bat often prompted him to quip
to his teammates, “Gentlemen, is it still four balls and three strikes?” His lifetime batting average was only .243.
After retiring as an active player in 1939, he stayed on with the Red Sox to coach for two years (1940-1941).
How was Berg able to stay in the major leagues so long if he played so little, was a weak hitter and a slow runner
on the base paths? Moe was well respected as “the brainiest guy in baseball.” He was able to work well with
young pitchers as an unofficial “catcher-coach.” His ability to recognize and encourage young players was likely
appreciated by the management of the teams for which he played.
An example of this ability is seen in an episode with one of his teammates, Ted Williams, who was in his second
year with the Red Sox, when he sought out Moe Berg for advice. Williams wanted to know what made great hitters
like Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. After Berg gave his assessment, he told Williams, “But you are better than all of
them. When it comes to wrists, you have the best.” Whether at this early stage of Williams’ career Berg was being
honest or just trying to encourage Williams is debatable. The reality is that Williams went on to become the
greatest hitter in modern baseball history. (See below)
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The Spying Exploits
Although Berg’s career as a spy did not officially begin until he was hired by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS)
in 1943, there is speculation that his spying career started much earlier. In 1934, an all-star team of major league
players scheduled a tour of Japan. Berg was clearly not an all-star, but he was invited to join the team ostensibly
because of his knowledge of Japanese culture and language. Or was there more to it?
While touring with the team, Berg mysteriously disappeared for a day in Tokyo. He had read in the Japanese press
that Elsie Lyon, the daughter of America’s ambassador to Japan was in St. Luke’s Hospital, having just given birth
to a girl. After dressing in traditional Japanese garb and purchasing a bouquet, Berg proceeded to the hospital. At
the desk he asked in his best Japanese for directions to Mrs. Lyon’s room. Berg never went to visit her, however.
Instead he made his way to the roof. There he removed a movie camera hidden under his kimono and took
extensive pictures of the Tokyo skyline. That film and other photos Berg took while in Japan were sent to the US
government. It is, of course, problematic whether his photos proved useful in planning General Doolittle’s 1942
bombing raids on Tokyo during WW II.
One of Berg’s many missions for the OSS was to determine how advanced
Germany was in developing an atomic bomb. In 1944, Paul Scherrer, a
Swiss physicist, invited German’s foremost nuclear scientist, Werner
Heisenberg (See right), to present a seminar in Zurich. Berg was ordered to
attend this meeting. If he found indisputable
evidence that Germany was
in the advanced stages of developing a bomb, he was to assassinate
Heisenberg with the revolver he carried. Berg attended the lecture and a
dinner party given for Heisenberg, posing as a Swiss physics graduate
student. This gave him an opportunity to speak German with a Swiss accent.
From the comments made by Heisenberg, Berg concluded that it was
unlikely Germany was close to developing the bomb, which was a great
relief for the Allies.
Berg left the OSS after WW II ended. After the war, Berg was awarded
the Medal of Freedom by the US for his spying efforts, but he refused
the award. After his death, however, his sister Ethel accepted the
award on his
behalf. He was inducted into the National Jewish
Sports Hall of Fame in 1996 and Baseball’s Shrine of the Eternals in
2000. A Moe Berg baseball card (See left) is on display at the headquarters of the CIA
Berg’s years after WW II were decidedly unhappy. No one ever got close enough to him to make a diagnosis. He
did not get on well with his brother and sister. He may have suffered from a form of post-traumatic stress following
his adventurous years as a spy. Moe Berg died in 1972, but his legend as major league baseball’s foremost spy
lives on.
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References
Dawidoff, N. 1994. The Catcher Was a Spy: The Mysterious Life of Moe Berg. Pantheon Books, New York.
Fireston, David. 1983. Morris (Moe) Berg. Notes printed with B’nai B’rith first day cover cachet.
Kaufman, L., B. Fitzgerald and T. Sewell, 1974. Moe Berg: Athlete, Scholar, Spy. Little, Brown and Co., Boston.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moe_Berg
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/venona/dec_berg.html
http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/ele65b3b
http://www.baseballrequary.org/berg.html
http://espn.go.com/classic/biography/Berg_Moe.html
llustrations
(Order as per illustrated in article)
1. Morris (Moe) Berg (1902-1972) cachet on B’nai B’rith FDC, United States commemorative for Babe Ruth (1895
-1948), July 6, 1983, Scott 2048.
2. United States commemorative for Ted Williams (1918-2002) Major League Baseball All-Star FDC, July 21,
2012, Scott 4694.
3. Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976) issued by Germany, Nov. 8, 2001, Scott 2142.
4. 1933 Goudy Gum Company baseball card depicting Morris “Moe” Berg of the Washington Senators.
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ISSUE NOT LISTED IN JUDAICA CATALOGUES
REPORTED BY
VITALY CHARNY
I found an old Judaica issue, that looks like is not listed in Judaica catalogues.
Russia 1948 - Five Year Plan In Electrification.
It depicts Farkhad (or Farkhadskaya) Power Station
Chief architect was JOSEPH KARAKIS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Karakis
In the Wiki article above, It lists a long list of different buildings designed by him - and I am sure they could
possibly be found on other stamps and postal stationary, if researched further.
The Russia 1948 — Five Year Plan In Electrification, catalogue numbers for these stamps are:Michel catalogue #1272, #1274
Stanley Gibbons catalogue #1420, #1422
Yvert & Tellier catalogue #1278, #1280
NEW MEMBERS:150:- E. SHALE.
Email:- [email protected]
Interests:- BIBLICAL (OLD TESTAMENT/TENACH) THEMATIC COLLECTION.
151:- JASON PERUN.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
Email:- [email protected]
Interests:- SYNAGOGOGUES & JUDAICA ITEMS.
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BOOK REVIEW
BY
GARY S. GOODMAN.
HOLOGRAPHY AND PHILATELY
POSTAGE STAMPS WITH HOLOGRAMS
BY
HANS I. BJELKHAGEN
Stamp collectors are often looking for a new interesting thematic collection to collect — and “Holograms” seems to
make it that ideal subject, especially now that a new publication has been published that lists all Hologram stamps
ever to be issued.
Holography was invented in 1948 by Jewish born Hungarian Dennis Gabor, so this subject could also appeal to
Judaica themed collectors too.
Author Hans I. Bjelkhagen has compiled “Holography And Philately - Postage Stamps With Holograms”.
An amazing reference book, in 362 pages which catalogues all the stamps depicting Holograms that have been
issued from the first issue in 1988 by Austria, up to the Nigeria issue of December 2013. During that time,
approximately 80 countries have issued Holographic stamps, and the total number of different postal items
containing Holograms is estimated at 450 pieces.
The introduction in Chapter 1, explains the history of Holography and Holograms, which quickly interacts this
subject with postage stamps. After all, that is what the publication is titled “Holography And Philately - Postage
Stamps With Holograms”. This chapter also explains what is, and what is not included in this excellent
compilation. For readers who are not very familiar with the philatelic terminology , various definitions are listed and
explained.
So a complete newcomer to stamp collecting, would be comfortable with the hobby.
Whilst Chapter 2, titled “Early Philately - Related Holography”, mentions Hologram items to appear on various
philatelic items before the first “official” stamp issue in 1988.
The majority of the content is understandably within Chapter 3 titled “Holograms On Postage Stamps”. As the title
suggests, it features Holograms on postage stamps, miniature and souvenir sheets, and on various philatelic
items.
It describes all these in a chronological review and description of each issue is listed.
The book is superbly illustrated with colour photographs, scattered on every page, of all the postage stamps,
miniature sheets, and souvenir sheets, that have been issued worldwide, and are clearly illustrated, along with a
good selection of first day covers, and stamp booklets, panes and other covers.
There is also a chapter on “Hologram Stamps In German Year Book Of Stamps”. This amazingly covers a chapter
within itself, including many colour illustrations too.
The remaining chapter, mentions any “Additional Postal And Related Philatelic Items With Holograms”, that have
not been covered in the previous chapters.
And a final chapter covers “3D Imaging Techniques, Holograms And Hologram Stamps”.
This book will certainly teach you everything you need to know about Holography and Holograms on Stamps.
If all this information was not enough, the author then publishes various tables, listing all the Postage Stamps and
Souvenir Sheets with Holograms, in chronological date order. These are fully cross-referenced with the colour
illustrations and issues throughout the book. Other listings include Country, Stamp Item, Size, Denomination , and
Perforations of each stamp. There is also a Scott catalogue number listing for every stamp issue too.
This is then followed by a cross-reference listing of Hologram Stamps issued by Country.
My only criticism is that I would have liked to have seen catalogue number listings for the other major catalogue
publishers too, as Scott numbering is not widely recognised throughout Europe.
The other item to note is that all the Postage Stamps are described as “Definitive” stamps, when actually a large
majority of these stamps are in fact “Commemorative” stamps.
But never-the-less, the author should be commended for compiling a thorough reference publication on this
subject. It is possibly the best Thematic Philatelic Publication to appear in 2014.
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This is definitely THE book on the subject, and after reading this book, there will definitely be more collectors
interested in “Holography And Philately - Postage Stamps With Holograms”.
The postage stamp book:
HOLOGRAPHY AND PHILATELY
Postage Stamps with Holograms (Xlibris 2014)
by Hans I. Bjelkhagen
ISBN: 978-1-4931 3049-8 or ISBN: 978-1-4931-3050-4
More information on the book and how to order it, please,
visit the website:
http://www.hologramstamps.com
SYNAGOGUE ISSUE BY ISRAEL
Member Gideon Colter informs us that Israel has just issued a set of 3 Sundial stamps.
The 5.60 shekel stamp has a sundial mounted on the front of the Zoharei Chama
Synagogue in Jerusalem.
I thought that synagogue collectors would be interested.
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LETTER FROM MEMBER ARNOLD LEWIS
I was interested to read the item about Sir Jacob Epstein.
He produced “Dicky Lewis”, the statue that fronts the Liverpool Lewis’s building.
Over the years this has become quite a famous landmark and “meeting place” in Liverpool. (U.K.)
Incidentally, “Dicky Lewis” was installed in 1956 and was then widely regarded as disgusting resulting in a shoal of
complaints and letters to the Liverpool Echo and threats to boycott the store.
The full title of the statue is “The Spirit of Liverpool Resurgent”.
Below is a picture of the statue, plus one of Sir Jacob Epstein working on it in his studio.
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LITHUANIA STAMP ISSUE - IS THIS JUDAICA?
Member Ellis Bromberg informed me of an interesting Lithuanian stamp issue.
It is a pair of Lithuanian stamps depicting Karate Judaism.
The stamps depict the leader of the Lithuanian Karaite community Seraya Szapszal (According to Wikipidia, he
did not seem to be a friend of the jewish people), and the group’s Kenesa (synagogue) in Vilnius.
The stamps were issued on the 7th June, 2014.
The stamp issue was officially titled “Lithuanian National Minorities—Karaites”
According to member Rabbi Zaiden, the Kenesa is a Temple and NOT a synagogue.
They do have a Torah scroll—But their prayer books are very different to the ones that are used by the Jewish
people in synagogues. Their prayer books are closer that what is used by the muslim people.
They are Not Jewish and about 3000 years ago claimed that they only keep part of the Torah so by now it is
nothing.
As always, in stamp collecting, you collect what you want to.
I have it in my collection! — Gary.
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COMMENT TO “OVER THE RAINBOW” ARTICLE
FROM
GENE FRICKS
Alan Benjamin's piece about Over the Rainbow seems to incorporate some wishful thinking. Yip Harburg said,
in an interview aired some years ago on the Public Broadcasting System (PBS), that the lyrics referred to the
Depression experience. There was nothing about the Holocaust or Jewish revival.
In his biography of Louis B. Mayer, the head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Scott Eymon makes the point
that Mayer did not particularly like the song and wanted to cut it out. He thought the song made the movie drag.
The lyrics as originally written did not work so well. Irving Berlin was brought in by Arthur Freed to suggest
some changes. One of those was 'over the rainbow.' Arthur Freed had wanted to make Oz but Mayer assigned
Mervyn LeRoy as the senior producer. Freed hired Arlen and Harburg. When Mayer threatened to cut the song,
Freed threatened to resign as the head of one of MGM's production units. Mayer backed down and the scene
stayed. Parenthetically, Freed followed Oz with Babes in Arms, starring Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney, and
Strike Up the Band, with Ira Gershwin. Three blockbuster hits in one year.
Mayer was not interested in political messages in the movies he made. He bowed to Nazi protests about other
movies in the 1930s; German contributions to the bottom line were more important.
Mayer would make a Judaica subtheme all his own. He employed an astounding number of Jewish actors, writers, lyricists and music arrangers, producers and directors. He had ownership interests in several other studios
as well as in theatre distribution chains.
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FOR SALE
Judaica themed covers (worldwide).
Also, Israel First Day Covers, Souvenir FDI leaves, Mint Israel with tabs, JNF/
KKL labels & sheetlets. + other Israel related envelopes & covers.
Too numerous to list - But will gladly show you them all via Skype.
Contact Gary.
THE PUBLICATION EVERY MONTH AND THE SUCCESS
OF THIS NEWSLETTER IS ENTIRELY BASED ON THE
INPUT AND FLOW OF ARTICLES RECEIVED.
NO ARTICLES — NO NEWSLETTER!
PLEASE SUPPORT THE NEWSLETTER BY SUBMITTING
AN ARTICLE.
THANKS.
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