 Bertellic. 1946 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 65, 66 | |||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | (1921-06-18)June 18, 1921 West Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Died: | June 26, 1999(1999-06-26) (aged 78) Clifton, New Jersey, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | Cathedral (Springfield, Massachusetts) | ||||||||||||||
| College: | Notre Dame (1941–1943) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1944: 1st round,1st pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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| Career AAFC statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Angelo Bortolo Bertelli (June 18, 1921 – June 26, 1999) was an Americanfootballquarterback who played in theAll-America Football Conference (AAFC). He playedcollege football for theNotre Dame Fighting Irish, where he won theHeisman Trophy in 1943.
Bertelli was born inWest Springfield, Massachusetts, on June 18, 1921, toItalian immigrant parents. AtCathedral High School in Springfield, he won all-state honors in football, baseball, and hockey, and was senior class president.
When Bertelli entered Notre Dame in 1940, he was 6 feet 1 inch and 173 pounds, a skinny but highly regarded tailback in thesingle-wing formation used by most college teams. When Coach Elmer Layden left to become commissioner of the National Football League, Notre Dame's new coachFrank Leahy immediately noticed Bertelli's passing talents.
As a sophomore, Bertelli, still a single-wing tailback, led the nation with a 56.9 percent passing average, completing 70 of 123 attempts. In 1942, Leahy switched to a modifiedT formation, in which Bertelli would play under the center and take every snap.[1] As he told his budding star, "Bert, you're the finest passer and the worst runner I've ever coached." That summer, preparing for his new role, Bertelli said he took "a thousand snaps...maybe a million." Bertelli and the T-formation were an immediate success. He passed for 1,039 yards and 10 touchdowns. Celebrated sportswriterGrantland Rice referenced Bertelli as "the T-formation magician."
During his senior year in 1943, the Marine Corps activated Bertelli after six games of Notre Dame's 10-game season. In the six games Bertelli started in, he threw 36 passes, completing 25 with 10 touchdowns. Bertelli's six-game 1943 performance was enough to win theHeisman Trophy earning 648 votes; he was informed of his Heisman win while inboot camp atParris Island.[1] During Bertelli's three seasons, Notre Dame lost only three games. In 1943, Notre Dame won 43 to 5 on average.
Bertelli's collegiate career earned him multiple awards. He was named to the 1942 and 1943 All-American teams. In the Heisman voting for America's outstanding college football player, Bertelli finished second in 1941 and sixth in 1942 before capturing the trophy in 1943. Though he was on active duty with the Marine Corps, theBoston Yanks selected Bertelli as their number one draft choice in 1944. Bertelli was inducted to theCollege Football Hall of Fame in 1972.
While at Notre Dame, Bertelli enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves in 1942 prior to his activation to active duty in the fall of 1943. In 1944, Bertelli was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant, where he served as an infantry and recreation officer. After stops atQuantico,Camp Lejeune andCamp Pendleton, Bertelli embarked to participate in combat operations in thePacific. After arriving fromGuam in February 1945, he served in theBattle of Iwo Jima as a liaison officer with the21st Marine Regiment,[2] where he was nearly killed when a Japanesemortar shell landed 15 feet away from his position; four others were also caught in the explosion, with a doctor suffering serious wounds but surviving.[3]
Bertelli returned to Guam in March 1945 and served inSasebo, Japan. WhenWorld War II ended, Bertelli was stationed inNagasaki with the2nd Marine Division as a second lieutenant.[4] On January 1, 1946, he captained a Marine football team, the Nagasaki Bears, in theAtom Bowl againstNational Football League starBill Osmanski and his Isahaya Tigers, where he threw two touchdown passes in the first half; although the two had promised to ensure the game end in a tie to promote unit morale, Osmanski scored the game-winning extra point in the 14–13 Tiger win. Bertelli's son Mike quipped in 2005, "My dad didn't lose any sleep over it, but of all the games he played in, he remembered that incident."[5]
Bertelli later entered theUnited States Marine Corps Reserve where he was promoted to the rank of captain and served until 1957.[6]
After returning to the United States in 1946, Bertelli signed with theLos Angeles Dons of theAAFC; he also recruited Atom Bowl playersBill Joslin andGorham Graham, who were still stationed in Japan, to play with him.[7] Bertelli played for theChicago Rockets between 1947 and 1948. After several knee surgeries, he retired prior to the 1949 season. After his retirement from professional football, Bertelli moved toClifton, New Jersey, and operated several businesses, with Bertelli Enterprises, Inc. becoming a retail liquor outlet.[1]
He was the color analyst for thePrinceton University football games broadcast on radio station WVNJ, 620 AM and 100.3 FM in the 1950s and 60s.
On June 26, 1999, Bertelli died at the age of 78 after a losing battle with brain cancer. He was buried inImmaculate Conception Cemetery, Montclair.[8]
He was survived by his wife, the former Gilda Passerini whom he married in 1944, and four children.[1] Bertelli is the father of Robert Bertelli, better known asBob Bert, a musician who played inSonic Youth and other bands.
