John Charles "Shad" Barry (October 27, 1878 – November 27, 1936), known also as "Jack" Barry, was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player who spent ten seasons, from 1899 to 1909, in

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 ...

. Barry was a

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, basketball, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water ...

, having played every position with the exception of

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

and

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

during his career.

Early life

Barry was born in

Newburgh, New York Newburgh is a City (New York), city in Orange County, New York, United States. With a population of 28,856 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is a principal city of the Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area. ...

. Barry attended

Niagara University Niagara University (NU) is a private Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition in the census-designated place Niagara University, New York, in the town of Lewiston near Niagara Falls. It is run by the Congregation of the Mission and ...

Career

Barry began his major league career with the Washington Senators in 1899. On February 11, 1900, Washington sold him (along with Bill Dineen and Buck Freeman) to the Boston Beaneaters for $7500. On a Boston team that included several .300 hitters, Barry was relegated to a

role; he played in 81 games in 1900, leading the league in pinch-hitting appearances. After two seasons, Boston released Barry on May 11, 1901, and he was signed by 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 ...

five days later. He remained with Philadelphia until he was traded to the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

for Frank Corridon on July 20, 1904. Chicago later sold him to the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

on January 20, 1905. Barry had been hitting .212 in 27 games for Chicago, but he hit .324 in 125 games for Cincinnati that year. On July 25, 1906, Barry was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Homer Smoot. He had hit .287 for Cincinnati in 73 games, but he hit only .249 in 62 games with the Cardinals. The Cardinals sold Barry to 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 ...

on August 3, 1908. In 1909, the Giants sold Barry to the minor league

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

of the American Association. He played for Milwaukee until 1910 when he was granted a release from his contract. He contacted Walt McCredie, manager of the Portland Beavers in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

(PCL), and secured a contract for the 1911 season. Barry started wearing eye glasses during the 1911 season, telling ''The Oregonian'', "Certainly I think spectacles will help a batsman ..This statement may sound far-fetched now, but remember that the catching mitt, the

mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment, and often employed for rituals and rites. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes, ...

, the breast and shin protectors are only recent products." During the final weeks of the 1911 PCL pennant race, ''The Oregonian'' featured columns written by Barry. Barry's net worth in 1911 was estimated at $50,000 () by ''Oregonian'' sports editor Roscoe Fawcett. In 1100 games over 10 seasons, Barry posted a .267

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(1073-for-4014) with 516 runs, 128 doubles, 47 triples, 10

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

, 391 RBI, 140 stolen bases and 279 bases on balls. Barry was offered a

player-manager A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

role with the

Northwestern League The Northwestern League was a sports league that operated in the Central United States during the early years of professional baseball for six seasons: 1879, 1883–1884, 1886–1887, and 1891. After the 1887 season, the league was replaced by t ...

Seattle Giants in 1912. Beavers manager Walt McCredie granted Barry his release to sign with the Giants. His tenure with Seattle was tumultuous as he feuded with the team owner Dan Dugdale. According to Barry, his attempts to strengthen the roster with new players was thwarted by Dugdale, who refused to allocate money for the contracts. Barry also accused Dugdale of overstepping his role by making transactions without Barry's knowledge. He resigned his position as manager in May 1912 following an argument with Dugdale in the lobby of the Ridpath Hotel in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

. Dugdale claimed the disagreements stemmed from Barry's lack of leadership. Among Barry's accomplishments at the helm of the Giants was signing "Seattle" Bill James out of

Saint Mary's College of California Saint Mary's College of California is a Private college, private Catholic college in Moraga, California, United States. Established in 1863, it is administered by the De La Salle Brothers. The college offers undergraduate and graduate programs w ...

. James was sold to the

Boston Braves The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...

in 1913 and led the National League in

winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage or Copeland score is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the to ...

in 1914. The La Grande Pippins of the Western Tri-State League hired Barry as manager for the remainder of the 1912 season for a salary of $300 () per month. Barry was fond of regaling his teammates with stories. During the off-seasons, Barry was a

freelance writer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

who submitted his works to various periodicals. He used his baseball experience to contribute to

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 ...

, coordinating baseball programs for the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

Death

After his baseball career, Barry provided security for a bank. He developed

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

and died from it at Verdugo Hills Sanitarium in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He was interred at the Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barry, Shad 1878 births 1936 deaths 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American sportsmen Washington Senators (1891–1899) players Boston Beaneaters players Philadelphia Phillies players Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Reds players St. Louis Cardinals players New York Giants (baseball) players Major League Baseball first basemen Baseball players from Orange County, California Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball right fielders Niagara Purple Eagles baseball players Minor league baseball managers Rochester Blackbirds players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Scranton Red Sox players Montreal Royals players Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Portland Beavers players Seattle Giants players Troy Trojans (minor league) players Sportspeople from Newburgh, New York Burials at Calvary Cemetery (Los Angeles)