Turner Barber

Tyrus Turner Barber

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 170 lb.
• School Union University
• Debut August 19, 1915
• Final Game April 30, 1923
• Born July 9, 1893 in Lavinia, TN USA
• Died October 20, 1968 in Milan, TN USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Turner Barber played nine years in the big leagues, mostly for the Chicago Cubs. An outfielder and first baseman, he hit .300 at least once both in the dead ball era and in the lively ball era, posting a career average of .289. He appeared in the 1918 World Series with the Cubbies.

Barber, who was born and died in Tennessee, attended Union University in Tennessee at the same time as Ben Shaw, who would later be in the National League in 1917 and 1918 at the same time as Barber. Turner spent most of 1915 at Winston-Salem and most of 1916 and 1917 at Baltimore before coming to the majors for all of 1918 to 1922. Baltimore was able to sell him to the Chicago Cubs for a large sum of money. He was back in the minors for most of 1923 with Atlanta, hitting .360, where one of his teammates was the 20-year-old Babe Herman who hit .339. He then spent parts or all of the years 1924-1927 with Memphis. The 1924 Memphis team distinguished itself by going 104-49 and Barber, who was acquired in June, had one of the higher batting averages on the team at .338. His last minor league season was 1930 with Quincy.

Related Sites

• Photo with the Cubs