Sy Berger | |
|---|---|
 Sy Berger trading card issued by Topps in 2004 | |
| Born | (1923-07-12)July 12, 1923 New York City,New York, U.S. |
| Died | December 14, 2014(2014-12-14) (aged 91) Rockville Centre, New York, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Vice-president of Sports & Licensing atTopps |
| Years active | 1947–97 |
| Known for | Topps baseball cards |
| Notable work | Co-designer of 1952 series[1] |
Seymour Perry Berger (July 12, 1923 – December 14, 2014) was an employee of theTopps company for over 50 years. He is credited as being the co-designer of the 1952 Topps baseball series,[1] as is regarded as "the father of modern baseball cards".[2][3]
Berger, who was Jewish,[4][5] was born on July 12, 1923, on theLower East Side neighborhood ofManhattan, to Louis (a furrier) and Rebecca Berger.[3] As a boy, he collected baseball cards, traded them and won some from friends by flipping for them. He served in theArmy Air Forces inWorld War II and later graduated fromBucknell University with an accounting degree. While in college, Berger met Joel Shorin, son of Philip Shorin, one of the founders of Topps.[1]
Berger died on December 14, 2014, aged 91, at home inRockville Centre, New York. He is survived by his wife of 69 years (Gloria Karpf Berger), three children, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.[2][6]
Berger's first day at Topps was also the first day that Topps began to produceBazooka Gum.[7] In the autumn of 1951, Berger, then aged 28, designed the 1952Toppsbaseball card set withWoody Gelman on the kitchen table of his apartment on Alabama Avenue inBrooklyn.[8] The card design included a player's name, photo, facsimile autograph, team name and logo on the front; and the player's height, weight, bats, throws, birthplace, birthday, stats and a short biography on the back.
In an interview, Berger noted that the cards did not contain a reference to the particular year, because, he recalls thinking, "maybe if this thing is a dud, how are we going to get rid of the cards?"[9] The basic design is still in use today. Berger would work for Topps for 50 years (1947–97), achieve the position of vice-president of sports & licensing,[5] and serve as a consultant for another five, becoming a well-known figure on the baseball scene and the face of Topps to major league baseball players, whom he signed up annually[10] and paid in merchandise, like refrigerators and carpeting.[11]
In 1960, because "nobody wanted the stuff" and Topps needed the storage space, Berger had the equivalent of three garbage trucks full of 1952 Topps baseball cards loaded onto a barge. The barge was tugged a few miles, and the cards were dumped into the Atlantic Ocean.[12][13]
At 81, Berger was still busy in various activities, including advising Topps, representing his old friendWillie Mays, playing with his grandchildren and an occasional round of golf.[14]
Since 1978, Berger was a member of theSociety for American Baseball Research (SABR).[14]
In 1988, he was honored by theNational Baseball Hall of Fame.[6]
He also earned his own baseball card, #137 in the 2004 Topps series called All-Time Fan Favorites.[6][1]
Berger was inducted into theNational Jewish Sports Hall of Fame on April 29, 2012, and acknowledged by theNew York Senate for this attainment of success and personal achievement.[11][5]
Berger was inducted into theBaseball Reliquary'sShrine of the Eternals in 2015.[15]
His wife, Gloria Berger, said he suffered respiratory distress at home after having been released from a hospital for treatment of pneumonia.
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