Lou Berberet

From BR Bullpen

Louis Joseph Berberet

Bats Left, Throws Right
Height 5' 11", Weight 212 lb.
School Santa Clara University
Debut September 17, 1954
Final Game September 25, 1960
Born November 20, 1929 in Long Beach, CA USA

[edit] Biographical Information

Lou Berberet was signed by the New York Yankees out of Santa Clara University, where he was a lineman on the football team. In brief trials with the 1954, '55 Yankees, he hit .400 both times going 2 for 5. But he wasn't going to replace Yogi Berra or Elston Howard and was traded to the Washington Senators where he hit .261 in both 1956 and '57.

Lou finished up with a .230 lifetime average in 1960 after also playing for the Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers. Berberet missed the 1951-1952 seasons due to military service.

Longtime Washington Senators announcer Bob Wolff tells of the time Berberet, the teams catcher, settled under a pop fly, threw away the glove and attempted to make the catch with his mask but never touched the ball.

In another instance, he was catching and chewing a chaw of tobacco when a player came down the line and collided with him. Berberet swallowed the tobacco and almost choked. He had to be revived on the field.

Aside from the humor in Lou's career, he was a good defensive receiver who made just one error in 59 games in 1956. He then became one of the few catchers to field 1.000 with no errors in 77 games in 1957.

Berberet spent several years as a sales manager for a liquor distributor in Long Beach, CA. He then moved to Las Vegas in the mid-seventies where he was a general manager for the Nevada Liquor Company.