Editing Angelo Bertelli

{{Short description|American football player (1921–1999)}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name        = Angelo Bertelli
| image       = Angelo Bertelli 1946.jpg
| alt         =
| caption     = Bertelli {{circa}} 1946
| number      = 65, 66
| position    = [[Quarterback]]
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1921|6|18|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[West Springfield, Massachusetts]], U.S.
| death_date  = {{death date and age|1999|6|26|1921|6|18|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Clifton, New Jersey]], U.S.
| height_ft   = 6
| height_in   = 1
| weight_lb   = 190
| high_school = [[Cathedral High School (Springfield, Massachusetts)|Cathedral]] <br> ([[Springfield, Massachusetts]])
| college     = [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish football|Notre Dame]] (1941–1943)
| draftyear   = 1944
| draftround  = 1
| draftpick   = 1
| pastteams   = * [[Los Angeles Dons]] ([[1946 AAFC season|1946]])
* [[Chicago Rockets]] ([[1947 AAFC season|1947]]–[[1948 AAFC season|1948]])
| highlights  = * [[College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS|National champion]] ([[1943 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team|1943]])
* [[Heisman Trophy]] (1943)
* [[Sporting News College Football Player of the Year|''SN'' Player of the Year]] (1943)
* Consensus [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] ([[1943 College Football All-America Team|1943]])
* First-team All-American ([[1942 College Football All-America Team|1942]])
| statleague  = AAFC
| statlabel1  = Passing attempts
| statvalue1  = 166
| statlabel2  = Passing completions
| statvalue2  = 76
| statlabel3  = Completion percentage
| statvalue3  = 45.8%
| statlabel4  = [[Touchdown|TD]]–[[Interception|INT]]
| statvalue4  = 8–19
| statlabel5  = Passing yards
| statvalue5  = 972
| statlabel6  = [[Passer rating]]
| statvalue6  = 41.1
| pfr         = B/BertAn20
| CollegeHOF  = 1637 
}}

'''Angelo Bortolo Bertelli'''  (June 18, 1921 – June 26, 1999) was an American [[American football|football]] [[quarterback]] who played in the [[All-America Football Conference]] (AAFC). He played [[college football]] for the [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish football|Notre Dame Fighting Irish]], where he won the [[Heisman Trophy]] in 1943.

==Early life==
Bertelli was born in [[West Springfield, Massachusetts]], on June 18, 1921, to [[Italian American|Italian immigrant]] parents. At [[Cathedral High School (Springfield, Massachusetts)|Cathedral High School]] in Springfield, he won all-state honors in football, baseball, and hockey, and was senior class president.

==College career==
When Bertelli entered Notre Dame in 1940, he was 6 feet 1&nbsp;inch and 173 pounds, a skinny but highly regarded tailback in the [[single-wing formation]] used by most college teams. When Coach Elmer Layden left to become commissioner of the National Football League, Notre Dame's new coach [[Frank 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 modified [[T formation]], in which Bertelli would play under the center and take every snap.<ref name="Bertelli true hero" /> 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 sportswriter [[Grantland 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 the [[Heisman Trophy]] earning 648 votes; he was informed of his Heisman win while in [[United States Marine Corps Recruit Training|boot camp]] at [[Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island|Parris Island]].<ref name="Bertelli true hero">{{cite news|last=Denman|first=Elliott|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42928296/|title=Notre Dame QB Bertelli true hero on and off field|newspaper=[[Asbury Park Press]]|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|date=July 4, 1999|access-date=January 26, 2020}}</ref> 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, the [[Boston Yanks]] selected Bertelli as their number one draft choice in 1944. Bertelli was inducted to the [[College Football Hall of Fame]] in 1972.

==Military service==
[[File:Eleven football players who have gained national recognition on the gridiron are now undergoing Marine Corps training... - NARA - 195315.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Bertelli during Marine Corps training]]

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 at [[Marine Corps Base Quantico|Quantico]], [[Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune|Camp Lejeune]] and [[Camp Pendleton]], Bertelli embarked to participate in combat operations in the [[Pacific Ocean theater of World War II|Pacific]]. After arriving from [[Guam]] in February 1945, he served in the [[Battle of Iwo Jima]] as a liaison officer with the [[21st Marine Regiment (United States)|21st Marine Regiment]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42928511/|title=Close Call On Iwo Jima For Angelo Bertelli|agency=[[United Press|UP]]|newspaper=[[The Miami News]]|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|date=March 13, 1945|access-date=January 26, 2020}}</ref> where he was nearly killed when a Japanese [[mortar shell]] landed 15 feet away from his position; four others were also caught in the explosion, with a doctor suffering serious wounds but surviving.<ref>{{cite news|last=Andreu|first=Robbie|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42928623/|title=Growth of a Statue|newspaper=[[Sun-Sentinel]]|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|date=December 13, 1991|access-date=January 26, 2020}}</ref>

Bertelli returned to Guam in March 1945 and served in [[United States Fleet Activities Sasebo|Sasebo]], Japan. When [[World War II]] ended, Bertelli was stationed in [[Nagasaki]] with the [[2nd Marine Division]] as a second lieutenant.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42928227/|title=Play Atomic Bowl Grid Game Jan. 1|agency=[[United Press|UP]]|newspaper=[[Mansfield News Journal]]|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|date=December 29, 1945|access-date=January 26, 2020}}</ref> On January 1, 1946, he captained a Marine football team, the Nagasaki Bears, in the [[Atom Bowl]] against [[National Football League]] star [[Bill 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."<ref>{{cite news|last=Lukacs|first=John D.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/25/sports/ncaafootball/nagasaki-1946-football-amid-the-ruins.html|title=Nagasaki, 1946: Football Amid the Ruins|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 25, 2005|access-date=January 26, 2020}}</ref>

Bertelli later entered the [[United States Marine Corps Reserve]] where he was promoted to the rank of captain and served until 1957.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.heisman.com/heisman-winners/angelo-bertelli/|title=Angelo Bertelli|work=[[Heisman Trophy]]|access-date=January 26, 2020}}</ref>

==Professional career==
After returning to the United States in 1946, Bertelli signed with the [[Los Angeles Dons]] of the [[All-America Football Conference|AAFC]]; he also recruited Atom Bowl players [[Bill Joslin]] and [[Gorham Graham]], who were still stationed in Japan, to play with him.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42956153/|title=Dons Sign Mean Still in Japan|agency=[[United Press|UP]]|newspaper=[[Nevada State Journal]]|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|date=May 8, 1946|access-date=January 26, 2020}}</ref> Bertelli played for the [[Chicago Rockets]] between 1947 and 1948. After several knee surgeries, he retired prior to the 1949 season. After his retirement from professional football, Bertelli moved to [[Clifton, New Jersey]], and operated several businesses, with Bertelli Enterprises, Inc. becoming a retail liquor outlet.<ref name="Bertelli true hero" />

He was the color analyst for the [[Princeton University]] football games broadcast on radio station WVNJ, 620 AM and 100.3 FM in the 1950s and 60s.

==Death and family==
On June 26, 1999, Bertelli died at the age of 78 after a losing battle with brain cancer. He was buried in [[Immaculate Conception Cemetery, Montclair]].<ref name=nyt1>{{cite news |title= Sometimes the Grave Is a Fine and Public Place |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 28, 2004 }}</ref>

He was survived by his wife, the former Gilda Passerini whom he married in 1944, and four children.<ref name="Bertelli true hero" /> Bertelli is the father of Robert Bertelli, better known as [[Bob Bert]], a musician who played in [[Sonic Youth]] and other bands.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* {{College Football HoF|1637}}
* {{Heisman|angelo-bertelli}}
* {{Footballstats |nfl=Angelo-Bertelli |pfr=B/BertAn00 }}
* {{Find a Grave|8334}}

{{Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback navbox}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Angelo Bertelli—championships, awards, and honors
| list1 =
{{1943 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football navbox}}
{{Heisman Winners}}
{{Sporting News College Football Player of the Year}}
{{1943 College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{1944 NFL Draft}}
{{NFL NumberOne Draft Picks}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bertelli, Angelo}}
[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:1999 deaths]]
[[Category:American football quarterbacks]]
[[Category:Chicago Rockets players]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Dons players]]
[[Category:Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball players]]
[[Category:Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players]]
[[Category:Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's ice hockey players]]
[[Category:All-American college football players]]
[[Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Heisman Trophy winners]]
[[Category:First overall NFL draft picks]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps officers]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:United States Marine Corps reservists]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Clifton, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Passaic County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:People from West Springfield, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Hampden County, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Springfield, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Springfield, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Ice hockey players from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:American people of Italian descent]]
[[Category:Deaths from brain cancer in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Passaic County, New Jersey]]