Hank DeBerry

John Herman DeBerry (December 29, 1894 – September 10, 1951), was an American professional baseball player, and scout. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball, most notably for the Brooklyn Robins during the 1920s.

Baseball career DeBerry was born in Savannah, Tennessee and attended the University of Tennessee. DeBerry made his major league debut with the Cleveland Indians on September 12, 1916, at the age of 21. DeBerry returned to professional baseball after the war, playing for the New Orleans Pelicans of the Southern Association from to . Ironically, the Robins wanted to acquire DeBerry, but the Pelicans would not complete the deal unless Vance was included in the transaction. He finished the year with a career-high .301 batting average and was third among National League catchers in range factor. With DeBerry as his catcher, Vance led the National League in strikeouts for seven consecutive seasons between and . Vance also twice led the league in wins. By 1930, the 35-year-old DeBerry was in decline and Al López had emerged as his successor. He played in his final major league game on September 28. Later that year he signed to play for the Dallas Steers, but only appeared in five games and was released in July of that same year at the age of 36.

Career statistics In an eleven-year major league career, DeBerry played in 648 games, accumulating 494 hits in 1,850 at bats for a .267 career batting average, along with 11 home runs, 234 runs batted in and an on-base percentage of .323. He ended his career with a .982 fielding percentage, which was 7 points higher than the league average during his playing career.

Later life After his active playing career had ended, DeBerry became a manager in minor league baseball before becoming a scout for the New York Giants. He served as a scout for the Giants until his death on September 10, at the age of 56 in Savannah, Tennessee.