Moe Berg ( You Think You Know and You Don't)

As a young adult in my late teens and early 20's I use to patronize an ice cream parlor on Orange Street in Newark, New Jersey by the name of Grunning's in which I stopped in every day. There was a gentleman that use to sit at the counter in the same seat, at the time, not to far from the entrance. He was tall, dark hair, middle aged, intelligent and always had a newspaper with him.

Many times I would sit next to him and the conversations were about sports, medicine, college and basic community affairs. At the time I knew him I believe he lived at the McEvoy Apartments on Roseville Avenue.

He seemed to be very knowledgeable also about world affairs but he always had a no affect expression on his face. When he talked he seemed to be pragmatic but had a lack of passion on the topics in which he was talking about.

He graduated from the same high school I did, Barringer High School, in 1918 at the age of sixteen. He went to NYU for two semesters and in 1919 transferred to Princeton University where he graduated from in 1923. He later attended law school at Columbia University.

He played professional baseball over a period of fifteen years with the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators and Boston Red Sox.

Recently I received a phone call from one of my true and old friends, Richard Evans, about an old book he found about the gentleman who use to sit at the counter in the ice cream parlor. My old friend sent me the book. I started reading the book about the gentleman who sat at the counter in the ice cream parlor, who never revealed anything other than the fact that he was a lawyer and he played baseball. He was very humble.

The gentleman was Morris Berg also known as Moe Berg.

At the time I knew him it was in the late 1950's and early 1960's but I did not know any of the things that were revealed in the book about him and the work he did for the United States Government while playing professional baseball for over fifteen years and more.

He was a man of principle. He did in his heart what he believed was right and JUST and not what his family or associates thought was the proper thing to do. He seemed to have a way with being able to talk to everybody about anything (he spoke about seventeen languages) and he made everybody comfortable talking to him.

It is interesting -now- after reading the book about Moe and not realizing until- now- that the many conversations I had with him may have had a subliminal affect on me in my life. I believe the way he was treated after all he did for America and the lives he may have saved because of what he did for America in Europe and Asia has not been truely appreciated and recognized. Thank You, Moe.