Cornelius John "Neil" Berry (January 11, 1922 – August 24, 2016) was a

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), ...

infielder who played seven seasons in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

(1948–1952), St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles (1953, 1954), and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

(1953). Born in

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

, Berry attended

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

and signed with the

in 1942 at age 20. He made it to the major leagues in 1948 as a utility infielder for Detroit, playing 41 games at shortstop and at 26 games at second base. With the retirement of

Eddie Mayo Edward Joseph Mayo (born Edward Joseph Mayoski; April 15, 1910 – November 27, 2006), nicknamed "Hotshot" and "Steady Eddie", was an American professional baseball player. He played as an infielder in the Major League Baseball from to , most no ...

, Berry became the Tigers' starting second baseman in 1949, hitting only .237 with 18 RBIs in 329 at bats. In 1950, Berry lost the starting second baseman job to

Jerry Priddy Gerald Edward Priddy (November 9, 1919 – March 3, 1980) was an American professional baseball player and a second baseman in Major League Baseball for 11 years. He played for the New York Yankees (1941–1942), Washington Senators (1943, 194 ...

and had only forty (40) at bats. Berry continued as a utility infielder for Detroit in 1951 and 1952, playing mostly as a shortstop. At the end of the 1952 season, the Tigers traded Berry to the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

. He played in 57 games for the Browns in 1953, but was released in late August and claimed off waivers by the

on September 1, 1953. He played in only five games for the White Sox and finished his playing career playing five games with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

in 1954. In his major league career, Berry played in 442 games with a .244

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 ...

, 835 assists, 612 putouts, 177 double plays, 265 hits, 148 runs scored, 74 RBIs, 28 doubles and no home runs.

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Berry, Neil 1922 births 2016 deaths Major League Baseball infielders Detroit Tigers players St. Louis Browns players Chicago White Sox players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Michigan Sportspeople from Kalamazoo, Michigan Western Michigan University alumni