Moe Berg

Morris "Moe" Berg (March 2, 1902 – May 29, 1972) was an American professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1923 to 1939 and later served as an intelligence officer for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II. Born in New York City to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents, Berg graduated from Princeton University with a degree in modern languages and earned a law degree from Columbia University, though he never practiced law. A polyglot fluent in multiple languages including Japanese, German, and Spanish, he leveraged his linguistic skills both on the diamond and in espionage.

In baseball, Berg was known for his defensive prowess rather than offensive output, compiling a career batting average of.243 over 662 games while playing for teams including the Brooklyn Robins, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, and Boston Red Sox. He set an American League record with 117 consecutive errorless games at catcher from 1931 to 1934 and was praised for his handling of pitchers and strong throwing arm. After retiring as a player in 1939, he briefly coached for the Red Sox before joining U.S. intelligence efforts.

Morris "Moe" Berg was born Morris Berg on March 2, 1902, in a cold-water tenement on East 121st Street in Manhattan, New York City, to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents Bernard Berg, a pharmacist, and Rose Tashker Berg, a homemaker. Bernard had emigrated from the Ukrainian village of Kippinya in 1894, establishing himself in the pharmacy trade after arriving penniless, while Rose arrived from Russia two years later. The couple had three children, with Moe as the youngest; his siblings included a sister, Ethel, and an older brother.

The family soon relocated to Newark, New Jersey, where Bernard acquired a pharmacy, enabling a modest middle-class existence amid the challenges faced by early 20th-century Jewish immigrants. Though observant of their Jewish heritage, the Bergs were not religiously practicing, prioritizing practical advancement over ritual. Bernard, who labored for over three decades in the pharmacy business, instilled a strong value on education in his children, viewing it as the path to upward mobility—a determination rooted in his own immigrant hardships and uncommon for such families in that era.