Dick Bartell
Encyclopedia
Richard William Bartell (November 22, 1907 – August 4, 1995), nicknamed "Rowdy Richard," was an American
shortstop
in Major League Baseball
. One of the most ferocious competitors of his era, he won both admirers and critics at each stop during a career which saw him traded every few seasons, often under acrimonious circumstances. While hitting .300
over a full season five times, he led the National League
in double play
s four times and in putout
s and assists
three times each. From through , Bartell played for the Pittsburgh Pirates
(1927–30), Philadelphia Phillies
(1931–34), New York Giants
(1935–38, 1941), Chicago Cubs
(1939) and Detroit Tigers
(1940–1941). After two years of military service in World War II
, he played briefly in 1946 before retiring. At 5'9" and 160 pounds, he batted and threw right-handed.
A native of Chicago, Illinois, Bartell played in three World Series
and the 1933 All-Star Game
, the first to be played. He had one year in the minors, 1926, with the class A Bridgeport Bears in the Eastern League, where he hit .280 in 148 games. At 19, Bartell was the youngest player in the National League. He appeared in only one game at the end of the season, drawing two walks in four plate appearances. He played flawlessly in the field with five chances and one double play. It was the Pirates' misfortune to face the New York Yankees, one of the strongest teams in baseball history, in the World Series that year, 1927. The Pirates lost to the Yankees in four games and the team had to wait until 1960 to make amends.
With an aggressive style of play and fiery attitude which earned him his nickname, Bartell was a competent shortstop with good hands and a strong throwing arm. A skillful hitter, he batted a career-high .320 in . After three seasons over .300 with Pittsburgh, he was traded to the Phillies in , and had collected seasons of 40 doubles
and 100 runs
three times each by 1934. Bartell helped Philadelphia's perennial cellar-dwellers finish in fourth place in the season, for the only first-division finish by a Phillies team in a span of 32 seasons (1918–42). In he was elected to the first All-Star Game, and again in .
Traded to the New York Giants before the 1935 season, Bartell helped the team win two NL pennants (1936–37), and hit .381 in the 1936 World Series
. Leading off for the Giants in the Brooklyn Dodgers
' home opener in 1937, he complained when the first pitch was called a strike – and was promptly hit in the chest with a tomato thrown from the stands. He later played with the Chicago Cubs in 1939. In 1940, his first season in the American League
, he teamed up with second baseman
Charlie Gehringer
to give the Tigers an AL pennant. Bartell started 1941 with Detroit but returned to the Giants in the midseason as a player-coach.
In an 18-season career, Bartell posted a .284 batting average with 79 home run
s and 710 RBI
in 2016 games played
. He also finished with 1,130 runs, 2,165 hits
, 442 doubles, 71 triples
and 109 stolen base
s.
Bartell later managed in the minor leagues and coached for the Tigers and Cincinnati Redlegs. He died in Alameda, California
at age 87 after suffering from Alzheimer's Disease
. He is interred at the Chapel of the Chimes
columbarium.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
. One of the most ferocious competitors of his era, he won both admirers and critics at each stop during a career which saw him traded every few seasons, often under acrimonious circumstances. While hitting .300
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
over a full season five times, he led the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
in double play
Double play
In baseball, a double play for a team or a fielder is the act of making two outs during the same continuous playing action. In baseball slang, making a double play is referred to as "turning two"....
s four times and in putout
Putout
In baseball statistics, a putout is given to a defensive player who records an out by one of the following methods:* Tagging a runner with the ball when he is not touching a base...
s and assists
Assist (baseball)
In baseball, an assist is a defensive statistic, baseball being one of the few sports in which the defensive team controls the ball. An assist is awarded to every defensive player who fields or touches the ball prior to the recording of a putout, even if the contact was unintentional...
three times each. From through , Bartell played for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
(1927–30), Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
(1931–34), New York Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
(1935–38, 1941), Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
(1939) and Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
(1940–1941). After two years of military service in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he played briefly in 1946 before retiring. At 5'9" and 160 pounds, he batted and threw right-handed.
A native of Chicago, Illinois, Bartell played in three World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
and the 1933 All-Star Game
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
, the first to be played. He had one year in the minors, 1926, with the class A Bridgeport Bears in the Eastern League, where he hit .280 in 148 games. At 19, Bartell was the youngest player in the National League. He appeared in only one game at the end of the season, drawing two walks in four plate appearances. He played flawlessly in the field with five chances and one double play. It was the Pirates' misfortune to face the New York Yankees, one of the strongest teams in baseball history, in the World Series that year, 1927. The Pirates lost to the Yankees in four games and the team had to wait until 1960 to make amends.
With an aggressive style of play and fiery attitude which earned him his nickname, Bartell was a competent shortstop with good hands and a strong throwing arm. A skillful hitter, he batted a career-high .320 in . After three seasons over .300 with Pittsburgh, he was traded to the Phillies in , and had collected seasons of 40 doubles
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
and 100 runs
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...
three times each by 1934. Bartell helped Philadelphia's perennial cellar-dwellers finish in fourth place in the season, for the only first-division finish by a Phillies team in a span of 32 seasons (1918–42). In he was elected to the first All-Star Game, and again in .
Traded to the New York Giants before the 1935 season, Bartell helped the team win two NL pennants (1936–37), and hit .381 in the 1936 World Series
1936 World Series
The 1936 World Series matched the New York Yankees against the New York Giants, with the Yankees winning in six games to earn their fifth championship....
. Leading off for the Giants in the Brooklyn Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
' home opener in 1937, he complained when the first pitch was called a strike – and was promptly hit in the chest with a tomato thrown from the stands. He later played with the Chicago Cubs in 1939. In 1940, his first season in the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
, he teamed up with second baseman
Second baseman
Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...
Charlie Gehringer
Charlie Gehringer
Charles Leonard Gehringer , nicknamed “The Mechanical Man,” was a German-American Major League Baseball second baseman who played 19 seasons for the Detroit Tigers...
to give the Tigers an AL pennant. Bartell started 1941 with Detroit but returned to the Giants in the midseason as a player-coach.
In an 18-season career, Bartell posted a .284 batting average with 79 home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s and 710 RBI
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
in 2016 games played
Games played
Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,...
. He also finished with 1,130 runs, 2,165 hits
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
, 442 doubles, 71 triples
Triple (baseball)
In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
and 109 stolen base
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
s.
Bartell later managed in the minor leagues and coached for the Tigers and Cincinnati Redlegs. He died in Alameda, California
Alameda, California
Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...
at age 87 after suffering from Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
. He is interred at the Chapel of the Chimes
Chapel of the Chimes (Oakland, California)
Chapel of the Chimes was founded in 1909 as a crematory and columbarium in Oakland, California. The present building dates largely from a 1928 redevelopment based on the designs of the architect Julia Morgan. The Moorish- and Gothic-inspired interior is a maze of small rooms featuring ornate...
columbarium.
See also
- Bay Area Sports Hall of FameBay Area Sports Hall of FameThe Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame honors sports figures who have made a significant impact in the San Francisco Bay Area. The organization is a section 501 non-profit, that was created by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce in 1979.-Inductees:...
- List of major league players with 2,000 hits
- List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
External links
- BaseballLibrary - career highlights
- The Dead Ball Era - obituary
- Dick Bartell at Find a GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...