Charlie Berry

Note: This page links to former major league catcher and umpire Charlie Berry. For his father who played in 1884, click here.

Charles Francis Berry

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 185 lb.
• School Lafayette College
• HIgh School Phillipsburg (NJ) High School
• Debut June 15, 1925
• Final Game September 8, 1938
• Born October 18, 1902 in Phillipsburg, NJ USA
• Died September 6, 1972 in Evanston, IL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

The son of Charlie Berry, catcher Charlie Berry is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and also played in the NFL. In baseball, he played in 11 major league seasons, and was an American League umpire for 21 years.

Berry made his professional baseball debut in the major leagues, starting with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1925. The next year, he was with the Portland Beavers and batted .236 with 5 homers and 33 RBI. Dropping a level a year, he moved to the Dallas Steers in 1927 and hit .330 with 10 homers and 77 RBI. It would be his last minor league stop as he was picked up by the Boston Red Sox and, in 1930 and 1931, he was a solid threat at catcher. Moving to the Chicago White Sox in a trade, he peaked in 1932 with a 112 OPS+ for Boston and Chicago before declining. He got into a fight with umpire George Moriarty that year.

After his playing career ended, he became a Philadelphia Athletics coach from 1936 to 1940 and managed the Wilmington Blue Rocks from July 6, 1940 to the end of the season. Berry began his umpiring career in the International League in 1941-1942, and was an American League umpire from September 1942 to 1962. He was also a NFL official. He was an umpire in the 1946 and 1958 World Series and later worked the 1958 NFL title game, perhaps becoming the only person to officiate at an NFL title game and a World Series in the same year. In 1970, he came out of retirement to work Game 1 of the 1970 ALCS when the regular umpires went on a one-day strike.

Sources: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pat Doyle's Professional Baseball Player Database, Total Baseball

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1940	Wilmington Blue Rocks	Interstate League	39-23	2nd	Philadelphia Athletics	Lost in first round	replaced Chief Bender (29-29) on July 5

Related Sites

• Charlie Berry at the SABR Bio Project
• Charlie Berry on Retrosheet.org
• College Football Hall of Fame page