Tun Berger

John Henry Berger

• Bats Unknown, Throws Right
• Height 5' 6½", Weight 178 lb.

• Debut May 9, 1890
• Final Game August 28, 1892
• Born December 6, 1867 in Pittsburgh, PA USA
• Died June 10, 1907 in Pittsburgh, PA USA

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Biographical Information

"That elegant catcher . . ." - Sporting Life's description of Tun Berger in the Oct. 2, 1889 issue

" . . . a first-class catcher . . ." - Sporting Life, June 22, 1895

"Every man in the club blames his fall-off in hitting to Irwin, for it seems that he undertook to make them bat the way he wanted." - Sporting Life, Sept. 24, 1892, quoting Tun Berger about the 1892 Senators who hit .239 as a team

". . . the well-known hard-hitting catcher and all around player . . ." - a description in Sporting Life, March 31, 1900

John "Tun" Berger played for the Pittsburgh Alleghenys/Pirates and Washington Senators. In his career, he hit one home run and had 57 RBI, 40 of which came in 1890 for the Alleghenys. Berger played 57 games at shortstop, 48 at catcher, 43 in the outfield (mostly in right field), 23 at second base, and a game at third base. In 1890, the Alleghenys used 25 players in the outfield, believe it or not, and Berger was in right field more often than anyone else. One of his fellow outfielders was Billy Sunday, who appeared in center field more than anyone else.

Tun served as a minor league umpire in 1899. He had earlier umpired one National League game in 1891. His obituary in Sporting Life says he died of kidney disease.