Listen Up!... Wally Berger was the all-time Boston Braves' home run slugger. Our veteran fans still remember him well. Here's what Complete Baseball by Microsoft says: Until Eddie Mathews and Hank Aaron arrived in the 1950s, Wally Berger was the greatest slugger ever to wear a Braves uniform. If that criterion is limited to members of the Boston Braves, Berger still comes out on top. From 1930 through 1936 the right-hander was practically the only home run threat the Braves could muster. In 1935, for example, he hammered 34 homers to lead the National League. Wally Berger was born in Chicago but grew up in San Francisco playing sandlot baseball. In high school he played third base on a team that featured future Hall of Famer Joe Cronin at second. In 1927 Berger signed his first pro contract with Pocatello of the Utah-Idaho League and became an outfielder. When he hit .385 with 24 home runs in 92 games, he was brought back home to play for San Francisco's Pacific Coast League team. Although Berger tore up Coast League pitching the next two seasons, he was not brought up to the majors for even the traditional "cup of coffee." His rights were owned by the Chicago Cubs, whose 1930 team boasted an outfield of Riggs Stephenson, Hack Wilson and KiKi Cuyler, each of whom hit .300 with more than 100 RBIs that year. Before the 1930 season opened, Berger was traded to Boston. He rewarded his new employees with one of the best rookie seasons on record in baseball history, hitting .310 with 38 home runs and 119 RBIs. His home run total as a rookie, though tied by Frank Robinson (Cincinnati Reds) in 1956, stood as the major league record until Mark McGwire (Oakland A's) bested it in 1987. It remains the National League record for freshman. Although he never surpassed his rookie home run total in any other year, Berger hit between 17 and 34 home runs for each of the next six seasons. He also batted over .300 four times with the Braves, with a career-high .323 in 1931. Four times he batted in more than 100 runs, with a league-leading 130 in 1935. He was also a reliable center fielder, leading the league's outfielders in fielding average in 1932. He started in center field for the National League in the first three All-Star games (1933, 1934, 1935) and was also named to the squad in 1936. In 1933 Wally Berger missed almost three weeks of the season due to illness but almost single-handedly pulled the Braves into first division for the first time in a dozen years. He hit .313 with 106 RBIs, and his 27 homers were exactly half of his team's total for the season. He finished third in the voting for the NL's Most Valuable Player - behind only Carl Hubbell and Chuck Klein. Two factors make Berger's record all the more impressive. first, during his entire time with Boston, he had virtually no "protection." Pitchers could always pitch around him because there was never a long-ball threat coming up behind him. The second-highest homer total for a Brave during those seven years was only 13, hit by Gene Moore in 1936, and only two other batters had seasons in which they reached double figures in home runs. Another factor working against Berger was the Braves' ballpark. Braves Field had the most distant fences in the National League. A right-handed pull-hitter like Berger was challenged by a distance of 350 feet down the left field line. Berger hit 105 homers at Braves Field, more than any other player in history. A shoulder injury in 1936 reduced Berger's hitting ability, and in 1937 he was traded to the New York Giants. Playing only part-time, he helped them win the 1937 pennant with a dozen homers. In 1938 he was sent to Cincinnati, where he helped the Reds win a pennant in 1939. Released after two games in 1940, he signed with the Phillies but didn't finish the season. Wally Berger's career numbers: .300 BA in 1350 Games, 1550 hits in 5163 at bats, 299 doubles, 59 triples, 242 home runs, 809 Runs, 898 RBIs, 435 Walks, 694 strike outs, 36 SB, a .359 on-base-pct, and a high .522 slugging pct. baseballhistorian.com - The History of Baseball