Joseph Howard Berry Jr. (December 31, 1894 – April 27, 1976) was an American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

and

pinch runner In baseball or softball, a pinch runner is a player substituted into a game for the purpose of base running. Description A pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been s ...

for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

from 1921 to 1922. At the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, he was an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

fullback and an intercollegiate

pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek language, Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) (). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of the Anci ...

champion. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

as a liaison officer in the South Pacific during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He retired from the Marines as a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Early life and education

Berry was born on December 31, 1894, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated from

Northeast Manual Training School The Northeast Manual Training School, also known as Edison High School, was an historic, American school building that was located in Fairhill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. Histor ...

. He attended

Muhlenberg College Muhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg College is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is named for Henry Muhlenberg, the German pat ...

for one year and transferred to the

in 1915. Berry was an All-American fullback for the University of Pennsylvania football team in 1916 and 1917 and played in the

Rose Bowl Rose Bowl or Rosebowl may refer to: * Rose Bowl Game, an annual American college football game * Rose Bowl (stadium), Pasadena, California, site of the football game, and the home stadium of the UCLA Football team * Rose Bowl (cricket ground), West ...

. He was an intercollegiate pentathlon champion in track and field from 1915 to 1918. He played varsity baseball for Penn in 1916 and 1917 including as team captain in 1917. In the summer of 1916, he enlisted in the United States Army and served on the Mexican border. He was back in college by the Fall of 1916 and re-enlisted in 1917 at the end of the football season. After his service during World War I, he returned to Penn and received his degree from Wharton.

Career

He played parts of two seasons in

, 1921 and 1922, for the

. In 1921, he appeared in seven games as a second baseman. During 1922, he appeared in six games, exclusively as a pinch runner. He worked as a property assessor for the Philadelphia Board of Revision of Taxes. He was active in the Republican Party and a supporter of veteran's organizations. Berry's father, Joseph Howard Berry, Sr., was also a major leaguer who played for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

in 1902. He served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II as a liaison officer and saw combat in the South Pacific. He retired from the Marines as a colonel. In 1964, he was elected to the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame at

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

. He died on April 27, 1976, in Philadelphia and was interred at

West Laurel Hill Cemetery West Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1869, is in size, and contains the burials of many notable people. It is affiliated with Laurel Hill Cemetery in nearby Philadelphia. ...

Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania Bala Cynwyd ( ) is a community and census-designated place in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located on the Philadelphia Main Line in Southeastern Pennsylvania and borders the western edge of Philadelphia at U.S. Route ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berry, Joe 1894 births 1976 deaths 20th-century United States Marines American football fullbacks Baseball players from Philadelphia Burials at West Laurel Hill Cemetery Major League Baseball second basemen Military personnel from Philadelphia New York Giants (baseball) players Penn Quakers baseball players Penn Quakers football players Penn Quakers men's track and field athletes Players of American football from Philadelphia United States Army personnel of World War I United States Marine Corps colonels United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II

Early life and education

Career

See also

References