Reno Bertoia
| Reno Bertoia | ||
|---|---|---|
Runs batted in | 171 | |
| Teams | ||
| ||
Reno Peter Bertoia (January 8, 1935 – April 15, 2011) was an Italian Canadian professional baseball player.
Career
Born Pierino,
In 10 major league seasons he played in 612 games and had 1,745 at bats, 204 runs, 425 hits, 60 doubles, 10 triples, 27 home runs, 171
On May 7, 1958, Bertoia hit a grand slam against the Washington Senators at Griffith Stadium, making him the first Italian-born MLB player to do so. [3]
In January 1964, Bertoia signed to play in the Japanese Central League with the Hanshin Tigers. He asked for his release a few months into the season because his wife was pregnant and had been ill during most of the family's stay in Japan.
After his retirement as a player, Bertoia received his full high school teaching credentials and returned to Windsor, where he worked as a teacher for 30 years with the Windsor Catholic School Board.[2] He was inducted into the Windsor/Essex County Sports Hall of Fame in 1982, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988[2] and the University of Windsor Alumni Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.
Bertoia died on April 15, 2011, of lymphoma in Windsor.[2]
References
- ^ "L'Italiano BERTOIA nei 'Tigers', di Detroit". Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). September 4, 1953. p. 2. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
- ^ a b c d Caton, Mary (April 15, 2001). "Former Detroit Tiger Reno Bertoia dies". Archived from the original on April 20, 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
- ^ ITALIAN BORN RENO BERTOIA HITS GRANDSLAM – THE FIRST IN HISTORY Retrieved January 27, 2023
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- SABR bio
- Prince George Newspapers