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

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

player who spent ten seasons, from 1899 to 1909, 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), ...

. Barry was a utility player, 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 ca ...

and

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

during his career.

Early life

Barry was born in

Newburgh, New York Newburgh is a city in the U.S. state of New York, within Orange County. With a population of 28,856 as of the 2020 census, it is a principal city of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area. Located north of New York City, a ...

. Barry attended Niagara University.

Career

Barry began his major league career with the Washington Senators in 1899. On February 11, 1900, Washington sold him (along with

Bill Dineen William Patrick "Foxy" Dineen (September 18, 1932 – December 10, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and head coach. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks between 1953 a ...

and

Buck Freeman John Frank "Buck" Freeman (October 30, 1871 – June 25, 1949) was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball at the turn of the 20th century. Listed at and , he both batted and threw left-handed. Freeman was one of the top sluggers of ...

) to the Boston Beaneaters for $7500. On a Boston team that included several .300 hitters, Barry was relegated to a utility player 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 five days later. He remained with Philadelphia until he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Frank Corridon on July 20, 1904. Chicago later sold him to the Cincinnati Reds 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 The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

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

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

. He played for Milwaukee until 1910 when he was granted a release from his contract. He contacted

Walt McCredie Walter Henry McCredie (November 9, 1876 – July 29, 1934) was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager. McCredie played for the Brooklyn Superbas of the National League and managed in the minor leagues for 18 seasons, mostly for ...

, manager of the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams ...

in the Pacific Coast League (PCL), and secured a contract for the 1911 season. Barry started wearing

eye glasses Glasses, also known as eyeglasses or spectacles, are vision eyewear, with lenses (clear or tinted) mounted in a frame that holds them in front of a person's eyes, typically utilizing a bridge over the nose and hinged arms (known as temples ...

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 they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and pra ...

, 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, 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. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...

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 five seasons: 1879, 1883–1884, and 1886–1887. After the 1887 season, the league was replaced by the We ...

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 Daniel Edward Dugdale (October 28, 1864 – March 9, 1934) was a Major League Baseball catcher. He played for the 1886 Kansas City Cowboys and 1894 Washington Senators in the National League. He continued to play ball in the minor leagues through ...

. 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 largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Cana ...

. 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 Catholic college in Moraga, California. Established in 1863, it is affiliated with the Catholic Church and administered by the De La Salle Brothers. The college offers undergraduate and graduate ...

. James was sold to the Boston Braves in 1913 and led the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage 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 total number of match ...

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 (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, coordinating baseball programs for the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought along ...

Death

After his baseball career, Barry provided security for a bank. He developed prostate cancer and died from it at Verdugo Hills Sanitarium in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

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

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barry, Shad 1878 births 1936 deaths 19th-century baseball players Washington Senators (1891–1899) players Boston Beaneaters players Philadelphia Phillies players Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Reds players St. Louis Cardinals players New York Giants (NL) players Major League Baseball first basemen Baseball players from New York (state) 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)