Dick Bertell

Richard George Bertell (November 21, 1935 – December 20, 1999) was an American right-handed professional baseball catcher who played Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants from 1960 to 1967. Although he was a light hitter offensively, he had a strong arm, throwing out 47.74% of the base runners who tried steal on him, ranking him fourth on the all-time list.

Chicago Cubs Bertell was born in Oak Park, Illinois. The Cubs signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Iowa State University in . He made his major league debut with the Cubs in the second game of a doubleheader on September 22, 1960. Though he went hitless, Bertell knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly in his first at-bat. He recorded his first major league hit three days later, singling off Bob Grim of the St. Louis Cardinals. He went 2-for-15 in his first season, knocking in two runs in five games. Unfortunately, he could not maintain his previous season's batting prowess, dipping to .233 with 2 home runs and 14 RBI.

San Francisco Giants Bertell spent the first two months of the 1965 campaign as the Cubs' starting catcher. He batted .214 with two extra-base hits (both doubles) in 34 games. His playing time significantly decreased with the Giants, as he saw action in 22 games over the final four months of the season, hitting .188 as a backup to regular catcher Tom Haller.

Death Bertell died on December 20, 1999, in Mission Viejo, California.

In 2000, Bertell was inducted into the Iowa State Hall of Fame.