Bert Wilson

Bert Wilson
born Ralph Bertram Puckett

• School University of Iowa

• Born February 5, 1911 in Columbus, OH USA
• Died November 5, 1955 in Mesa, AZ USA

Biographical Information

Bert Wilson was the play-by-play broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs from 1943 to 1955.

He got his start in radio in Cedar Rapids, IA, then moved to Indianapolis, IN before settling in Chicago, IL. His first season as the Cubs' broadcaster on WGN, he was the junior partner of Tom Flanagan, but then took over for him the next year. He was known as an unabashed "homer", with no pretension of given a fair or balanced account of the game he was describing, but instead openly rooting for the Cubbies. He also broadcast the games of the National Football League's Chicago Bears. On April 20, 1946 he also did the commentary for the first Cubs game to be televised on WBKB.

He left the Cubs after the 1955 season, as he found the extensive travel too exhausting, and instead took a job with the Cincinnati Reds, who promised him a less demanding schedule, as he would only work on television broadcasts. However, while spending time at his winter home in Mesa, AZ, he died of a heart attack at age 44.