The Shortstop from Kalamazoo: The Life and times of Neil Berry by William Christiansen Zoom Video Recording

“Baseball Books on Deck with William Christiansen” was recorded by KPL Head of Community Engagement Librarian Kevin King on April 8, 2021.

The Shortstop from Kalamazoo: The Life and times of Neil Berry by William Christiansen About the book: Neil Berry grew up on Walter Street in Kalamazoo across the street from Upjohn Park. He went from playing in a city park to winning state basketball championships at Kalamazoo Central High School. While playing American Legion ball (Dr. Homer Stryker was his manager), Berry caught the eye of a Detroit Tigers scout but did not sign with the team until after attending one year at Western State Teachers College, where he played in three sports. After a few years in the minor leagues, and over two years in the Army during WWII, Berry became the starting shortstop for the Tigers in 1948. Hear about a from Kalamazoo, not named Jeter, and his many brushes with baseball immortals like Jackie Robinson, Satchel Paige, Yogi Berra, Ted Williams, Bob Feller, and Hal Newhouser. About the Author: William Christiansen ([email protected]) is a local author, photographer, and life-long Tiger fan. Bill wrote his first book, The Perfect Calm, The Titanic Disaster: A Case Study in Root Cause Analysis, after his retirement following a forty-year career with The Upjohn Company and successor companies, including Pfizer. Born and raised in the Kalamazoo area, Bill currently lives in the Schoolcraft, Michigan with his wife and “Out of the Zoo” publisher, Deb, and their cat, Mitchell.

Recorded 04/08/2021

Categories: Entertainment; Family; Information

Tags: baseball; kalamazoo baseball history