Jack Barry

John Joseph Barry
(Black Jack)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 158 lb.
• School College of the Holy Cross
• High School Meriden High School
• Debut July 13, 1908
• Final Game June 23, 1919
• Born April 26, 1887 in Meriden, CT USA
• Died April 23, 1961 in Shrewsbury, MA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

The $100,000 infield (Barry is second from left)

"All during Jack Barry's baseball career, his batting average lied. He saved singles for vital moments when a hit was needed to win a 2-1 or 3-2 game." - historian Fred Lieb

Nicknamed "Black Jack", Jack Barry was part of the famed "$100,000 infield" of the Philadelphia Athletics and played in five World Series in an eleven-year big league career.

After attending Holy Cross, Barry joined Connie Mack's Athletics in 1908 and, by the next year, he was the team's regular shortstop. In 1910, the team won the World's Series, led by the "$100,000 infield" comprised of Barry, first baseman Harry Davis (replaced in later years by Stuffy McInnis), second baseman Eddie Collins, and third baseman Home Run Baker, and they repeated as champs the following year. Known as an excellent fielder, Barry had his best year at the plate in 1913, hitting .275 with 85 RBI as the A's won the World Series yet again.

Philadelphia won another pennant in 1914 but lost that year's World Series to the Boston Braves. After that season, faced with rising salaries due to competition from the Federal League, Mack began dismantling his infield. Barry was sold to the Boston Red Sox for $8,000 during the 1915 season. With the Red Sox, Barry was moved to second base and played on their 1915 World Series championship team. His club was world champs again the next year, but he struggled with injuries that limited his playing time and did not play in the World Series. Boston manager Bill Carrigan retired after that season, and Barry became player/manager of the club. His team won 90 games and finished second in 1917, but he hit just .214 in his last year as a regular.

Barry entered the military during World War I and missed the 1918 season. When he returned the next summer, Ed Barrow was the team's manager, and Barry was traded back to the Athletics in midseason. Rather than return to Philadelphia, he retired as a player. After his playing days, Barry returned to Holy Cross, his alma mater, as head baseball coach for forty years, from 1921 to 1960, and led the team to the 1952 College World Series championship. He died of cancer just before his 74th birthday.

Notable Achievements

• Won five World Series with the Philadelphia Athletics (1910, 1911 & 1913) and the Boston Red Sox (1915 & 1916; he did not play in the 1916 World Series)

Preceded by Bill Carrigan

Boston Red Sox Manager 1917

Succeeded by Ed Barrow

Year-By-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs
1917	Boston Red Sox	American League	90-62	2nd	Boston Red Sox

Related Sites

• Jack Barry at the SABR Bio Project
• BR Manager page
• Jack Barry obituary