“The Catcher Was a Spy” is a thrilling American war film about Moe Berg, a former professional baseball catcher who became a US spy during WWII. Ben Lewin directed the film, which stars Paul Rudd as the intriguing Moe Berg.
Nicholas Dawidoff wrote the book. Moe Berg's sexuality in “The Catcher Was a Spy” sparked debate and questions about his personal life.
In real life, many began to question Moe Berg's sexuality because he was not married and little was known about his personal life.
Who was Moe Berg?
Berg was born in Harlem, New York, to Jewish parents on March 2, 1902. His mother, Rose Tashker, was a homemaker, while his father, Bernard Berg, was a chemist.
Berg grew up in Newark, New Jersey, and excelled academically and athletically. He attended Barringer High School and played basketball and baseball there.
Berg attended Princeton University and studied modern languages there. He excelled in both baseball and basketball at Princeton. In 1923, Princeton awarded Berg magna cum laude.
Berg's professional baseball career included stints with the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, and Washington Senators. The catcher was praised for his defense but was a poor hitter.
Berg stood out from his friends since he was intelligent and spoke more than one language. He was often observed reading books in multiple languages.
Was Moe Berg Gay?
Moe Berg kept his sexuality a secret. There have been allegations that he is gay or bisexual, but there is no proof to support these claims. “He [Moe] was always a guy who wrapped his arm around you and hugged you.
Occasionally, he'd say, ‘Just a little feel.' He did this with a lot of guys. Some took offense and shoved or jabbed him. You wondered a little bit, but you knew he was flirting with women,” Moe's Red Sox teammate Bobby Doerr recalled Nicholas Dawidoff for ‘The Catcher Was a Spy: The Mysterious Life of Moe Berg,' the film's primary text.
“Some folks assumed he (Moe) was homosexual. Guys on other teams would comment, ‘You've got a queer bastard. He never made a pass at me or Jimmie Foxx, despite having numerous opportunities.
Jack Wilson, another buddy, told Dawidoff, “I'll be damned if I believe it.” The author of the former baseball catcher's biography recounted an Englishman who wrote to Moe, “Would to God I have taken your advice and stayed the night with you?”
The meaning and intention of the words remain unknown. There were rumors that Moe was drawn to mathematician and scientist H. P. Robertson's son, Duncan, but he denied them.
“I suppose he [Moe] was in the closet without realizing it. I do not believe he was a practicing gay. I believe he was simply attracted to people. I don't think he was more drawn to women than men.
Duncan told Dawidoff, “I don't think he knew his identity.” Aviva Kempner, who directed the documentary ‘The Spy Behind Home Plate,' also does not believe he was gay.
“The players who played with him talked about all of his girlfriends, and then Babe Ruth's daughter testified, ‘I danced with him; he came onto me.”
“He was in a long-term relationship,” she told the Los Angeles Times.
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In an interview with The New York Times, screenwriter Robert Rodat addressed the film's strong indication that Moe had at least one same-sex encounter.
“The criteria of veracity I used in the film were different. As a historian, I know that where there is smoke, there is not always fire. As a playwright, when there's a lot of smoke, there's probably fire,” Rodat explained.
