Norman Burt Sherry (July 16, 1931 – March 8, 2021) was an American baseball

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

, and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

who played five seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He played for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

and

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

from 1959 to 1963. He batted and threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

, and was noted for helping

Sandy Koufax Sanford Koufax (; born Sanford Braun; December 30, 1935) is an American former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966. He has been hailed as one of t ...

with his pitching control. Sherry went on to coach and manage the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

, and also served as coach of the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

, and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

Early life

Sherry was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on July 16, 1931. He was the second of four sons of Harry Scharaga Sherry and Mildred "Minnie" (Walman) Sherry. His father worked in the dry cleaning business, while his mother was employed as a seamstress and milliner. Both sides of the family were Jewish immigrants from Russia, and his maternal great-grandfather was a

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

. The families escaped separately from

anti-semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

pogrom A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russia ...

s. Some of his relatives who settled in Europe were killed in

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

. His paternal grandparents, Max and Sarah Scharaga, came to the United States in 1898, and around 1920 his father changed their surname to Sherry. The Sherry family moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

during the early 1930s. Sherry attended Fairfax High School, graduating in 1950. He was initially intending to study at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, having been awarded a full baseball scholarship. He was signed as an amateur free agent by the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

before the 1950 season. His brother

Larry Sherry Lawrence Sherry (July 25, 1935 – December 17, 2006) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed relief pitcher from 1958 to 1968, most prominently as a member of the Los Angeles D ...

also played in Major League Baseball (MLB).

Professional career

A right-handed hitter who stood tall and weighed , Sherry spent seven years working his way up through the Dodger

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

. He spent another two years in military service with the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

in the 4th Infantry Division. By the time he reached the Dodgers, in 1959 for a two-game "

cup of coffee A "cup of coffee" is a North American sports idiom for a short time spent by a minor league player at the major league level. The idea behind the term is that the player was only in the big leagues long enough to have a cup of coffee before bei ...

," he was 28 years of age and the team had moved to his home city of Los Angeles. He made the team as second-string backstop (behind

John Roseboro John Junior Roseboro (May 13, 1933 – August 16, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1957 until 1970, most prominently as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. A four ...

) from 1960 through 1962. In 1961, Sherry's advice contributed to the career turnaround of

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

pitcher

, who later became the youngest player elected to the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

at age 36. Sherry and Koufax were the Dodger battery against the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

in a

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

game in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

, and Koufax was struggling with his control, up to then a career-long problem. After Koufax had walked the first three hitters he faced, Sherry went out to the

mound A mound is a heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded area of topographically higher el ...

and said: "'Why don’t you take something off the ball and just put it in there? Don’t try to throw it so hard. Just put it in there and let them hit it.' I went back behind the plate. Good God! He tried to ease up, and he was throwing harder than when he tried to. We came off the field, and I said, 'Sandy, I don’t know if you realize it, but you just now threw harder than when you were trying to.'" As for Sherry, he batted .283 with eight

home run 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 i ...

s in a part-time role in 1960, His average dropped to .256 (1961), and then to .182 (1962). The Dodgers sold Sherry's contract to the

on October 14, 1962. He batted only .136 in a career-high 63 games played (and 147

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a bat ...

s) in New York in 1963, and his major league playing career ended. All told, in 194 games over parts of five seasons, Sherry batted .215 with 18 home runs, and .288 with runners in scoring position. He collected 107 total

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

Manager and coach

In 1965, Sherry began his managerial career in the Dodger organization, scouted for a year with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

, and returned to managing in the California Angels' system in 1969. He coached for the Angels in 1970 and 1971 under skipper

Lefty Phillips Harold Ross "Lefty" Phillips (May 16, 1919 – June 12, 1972) was an American coach, manager, scout, and front office executive in Major League Baseball. As manager of the California Angels from May 27, 1969, through the season, Phillips was ...

, and returned to the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

to manage their Double-A and Triple-A affiliates from 1972 through 1975 before rejoining the California coaching staff for 1976 under

Dick Williams Richard Hirschfeld Williams (May 7, 1929 – July 7, 2011) was an American left fielder, third baseman, manager, coach and front-office consultant in Major League Baseball. Known especially as a hard-driving, sharp-tongued manager from 1967 to 1 ...

. Williams had been extremely successful in his previous terms with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

and

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

, but his cold and hard-edged demeanor did not go over well with a losing Angels club. The Halos were 18 games under the .500 mark on July 23, 1976, when Williams was given his walking papers. Sherry, named his replacement, salvaged the season somewhat with a 37–29 record as skipper. That winter, the Angels signed high-profile free agents such as

Bobby Grich Robert Anthony Grich (born January 15, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a second baseman for the Baltimore Orioles (–) and the California Angels (–). In 1981, Grich led the ...

and

Joe Rudi Joseph Oden Rudi (born September 7, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left fielder between and , most prominently as an integral member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won thre ...

and expected to contend in the

American League West The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams curr ...

in 1977. But the team struggled and was only 39–42 and in 5th place on July 11 when Sherry was released in favor of his third-base coach,

Dave Garcia David Garcia (September 15, 1920 – May 21, 2018) was an American coach, scout and manager in Major League Baseball who spent over 65 years in professional baseball. He served as manager of the California Angels (1977–78) and Cleveland Indians ...

. The firing marked the end of his major league managing career, with a career ledger of 76 wins and 71 defeats (.517). Through 2018, he was one of nine Jewish managers in MLB history. The others were

Gabe Kapler Gabriel Stefan Kapler (born July 31, 1975), nicknamed "Kap", is an American former professional baseball outfielder, and current manager of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). Kapler was a 57th-round draft pick (1,487th ove ...

Bob Melvin Robert Paul Melvin (born October 28, 1961) is an American former professional baseball player and coach, who is the manager of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has been named Manager of the Year three times. Selected in t ...

Brad Ausmus Bradley David Ausmus (; born April 14, 1969) is an American former professional baseball manager and catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). In his 18-year MLB playing career, Ausmus played for the San Diego Padres, Detroit Tigers, Houston Ast ...

, Jeff Newman,

Lou Boudreau Louis Boudreau (July 17, 1917 – August 10, 2001), nicknamed "Old Shufflefoot", "Handsome Lou", and "The Good Kid", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 15 seasons, primarily as a ...

, Lipman Pike,

Larry Rothschild Lawrence Lee Rothschild (born March 12, 1954) is an American professional baseball pitcher, coach, and manager. Rothschild played for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1981 and 1982. He has coached for the Cincinnati Reds, A ...

and

. However, Sherry returned to the coaching ranks, ultimately as an "official" pitching coach, working with Williams with the

and

, and with another ex-Dodger, Roger Craig, with the

. Sherry's brothers, George and

, were pitchers in professional baseball. Larry had a 11-season MLB career as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

and was the Most Valuable Player of the

1959 World Series The 1959 World Series featured the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers beating the American League champion Chicago White Sox, 4–2. Each of the three games played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum drew record crowds, Game 5's atte ...

; he was Norm's teammate from 1959 through 1962, and on May 7, 1960, they became the first Jewish brothers to be Major League Baseball batterymates.

Later life

After retiring from baseball, Sherry returned to

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. He underwent open heart surgery in November 1978, and had a heart attack less than three years later in March 1981. He was inducted into the

Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, in Beverly Hills, California, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring American Jewish athletes, other sports personalities, and teams from Southern California who have distinguished themselves ...

in 1994. Sherry addressed the

San Diego Jewish Film Festival The San Diego Jewish Film Festival (SDJFF) is an annual eleven-day-long film festival held in San Diego, California. Established in 1990, the festival is managed by the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture, at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community ...

as a guest speaker when it screened '' Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story'' in February 2011. He often went to Padres games, and was present in 2014 for the 30th anniversary celebration of the team's first championship. Sherry died on March 8, 2021, at an assisted living facility in

San Juan Capistrano, California San Juan Capistrano (Spanish for "St. John of Capistrano") is a city in Orange County, California, located along the Orange Coast. The population was 34,593 at the 2010 census. San Juan Capistrano was founded by the Spanish in 1776, when St. ...

. He was 89, and died of natural causes.

References

External links