*I’m excited to present a new guest article, written by T206 collector Josh Buckley.
John Joseph “Jack” Barry was born April 26th 1887 in Meriden Connecticut. He was the oldest child of Patrick and Mary Doohan Barry. Patrick and Mary were immigrants from County Kerry Ireland.
Patrick Barry owned a Saloon where the family lived at 24 Hillside Avenue. In the corner of the property there was a barn where Jack first honed his speed, agility, arm, and glove-work. He would throw the ball high in the air over the top of the barn and run as quickly as he could to get to the other side to catch it.
Jack attended a Catholic School in Meriden called St. Rose Parochial School and then went to Meriden High. While in High School, Jack’s teams won the state championship twice. He was getting noticed for his infield play. Holy Cross attempted to recruit him but he eventually chose professional baseball. The White Sox were the first major league club to try and extend any sort of offer towards Jack, or so they thought. They spoke with a citizen of Meriden, Ed Walsh about Jack. He told them the unfortunate news that they had missed their chance. Connie Mack’s brother Tom had been scouting Jack for two years from 1905 to 1907. It was in 1907 when Tom approached and invited Jack to a hotel room to meet his brother. During the meeting Jack requested a signing bonus of $500. Mack agreed to the bonus but said that it wasn’t part of his policy to give a signing bonus and he asked Jack not to tell anyone.
Connie Mack took a liking to Barry immediately. He was the type of player Mack tried to mold his boys into; smart, hardworking, non-drinking, church-going. His plans were to slowly ease Jack into the lineup and the young player would sit beside him on the bench and learn. But he quickly changed his mind and for the rest of the season Jack played Second, Short, and Third Base. Mack decided the position that fit best for Jack was Short Stop.
Jack was the second player of the “$100,000 infield” to arrive with the Athletics. The other was Eddie “Cocky” Collins. Jack and Eddie developed a great friendship which lasted well beyond their playing careers. They often practiced plays in the field and ended up with results no other double-play combo could emulate.
Jack’s range at short stop was so great Frank Baker would be able to hug the line at third and Eddie Collins could position himself towards the first base side of second. Famed Chicago sportswriter Hugh Fullerton stated that Barry was the best in the game at taking throws, blocking the base and holding runners close to second.
Barry’s career numbers at the plate are not all that exciting. He never hit above .275 in a season. In his eleven-year career he averaged 134 hits, 1 home run, and 57 RBI per season. Looking at these numbers, you wouldn’t imagine he was ever a feared hitter. However, teammates and fans alike have stated that they wouldn’t want anyone other than Barry up in a clutch situation! Jack Barry was said to have been one of the league’s most dangerous clutch hitters. Connie Mack gave Jack the green light to call a squeeze bunt whenever he wanted.
In the 1910 World Series against the Cubs, Jack batted just .235, while Collins and Baker hit .429 and .409 respectively. Talk amongst the Cubs players suggested that it was Barry’s glove rather than his teammates’ offense that won the series for the Athletics. Cubs skipper Frank Chance even said Jack Barry was the best defensive short stop he had ever seen, better even than Honus Wagner.
In 1914, Mack started a fire-sale. First, Collins was sold to the White Sox. When it came time to part with Jack there were primarily three teams interested in him: The Yankees, the Red Sox, and the team that originally missed their opportunity to get him, the White Sox. Jack wished to play as close to home as possible. That weighed heavily in his decision to play for Boston, who purchased his contract from Philadelphia in 1915. Baker was sold to the Yankees in 1916. In Boston, Jack won two more World Series in 1915 and 1916. This made him the first player ever to win four World Series. With the Red Sox, he moved from short stop to second base. He would only play one more inning for the rest of his career at short stop. When long-time manager and Boston great Bill Carrigan resigned after the 1916 season, Jack took over the role of player/manager for the 1917 season. He and the Red Sox finished in second place with a record of 90-62, trailing only the White Sox (100-52).
Jack didn’t return to baseball in 1918. Rather, he enlisted in the Naval Reserve as the United States was entering World War I. Like many of the baseball players who “went off to war” Jack was not going to be invading or seeing any gunfire. He was called up as a yeoman at Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston Massachusetts where he ran track and managed the baseball team. He was discharged in December of 1918.
Jack played his final season in 1919 for the Boston Red Sox. When he returned to Boston after missing an entire year he found his job as skipper had been given to future Hall of Fame manager Ed Barrow who had won the World Series in 1918 while Barry was in the service. He also lost his second base job to Dave Shean. In June of 1919, the Red Sox traded Jack back to Philadelphia. At this point Jack was only thirty-two. However, his knees and legs had been abused by fielding grounders for twelve years, and he felt felt much older. He decided to retire rather than report back to Philadelphia.
In retirement Jack and his wife, Margaret McDonough, moved to Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. Shrewsbury is close to Worcester, where Barry had helped coach the Holy Cross baseball team since 1912. In 1921, he became the full-time coach and stayed for an astonishing forty and 1/2 years. He compiled an impressive record of 619-147, good for an .806 winning percentage. In his spare time Jack played cards, played the piano, and sang to his wife. When singing “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” he would improvise the lyrics to “root, root, root for the Red Sox.”
Jack died on April 23, 1961 of Lung Cancer. Survived by his wife Margaret, he left no children behind. He is buried at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Meriden Connecticut. A square is dedicated to him in Shrewsbury.
Currently in Meriden, Connecticut there is a little league named for him known as “Jack Barry Little League”.
*Written by Josh Buckley
