Bill Pertica

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Bill Pertica.jpg

William Andrew Pertica

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 5' 9", Weight 165 lb.

BR page

Biographical Information[edit]

Bill Pertica (pronounced PURR-ticka) was a pitcher for seven years (1918-1924), four in the Majors (1918 and 1921-1923) and five in the minors (1918-1920 and 1923-1924). Pertica was born on Wednesday, August 17, 1898, in Santa Barbara, CA.

He broke into Organized Baseball at age 19 in 1918 with the Los Angeles Angels in the Pacific Coast League. After the PCL shut down for the War effort in July, he signed with the Boston Red Sox and was 19 years old when he broke into the big leagues on August 7, 1918, with the Sox. In his debut, he pitched three innings in relief of Joe Bush. It was his sole appearance for Boston. He went with the team to Chicago for the World Series, but pitched only batting practice.

After World War I, he returned to Los Angeles (1919-1921) until he was purchased by the St. Louis Cardinals. He played for St. Louis (1921-1923). The 5'9" Pertica peaked in his 1921 rookie season, and was 14-10 with 15 complete games in 31 games started, 67 strikeouts, 70 walks, 10 hit batsmen and 2 shutouts in 208⅓ innings pitched with an ERA of 3.67 and a WHIP of 1.354 in 38 games in 1921 as the Cardinals enjoyed their best season since 1899. Control problems contributed to his sophomore jinx as his ERA shot up from 3.37 to 5.91. (FJO) He played his final MLB game on April 20, 1923 at age 24.

He returned to the minors with the Houston Buffaloes in the Texas League (1923-1924), ending his baseball career at age 25.

He had a good spitball and was said to resemble the Cleveland Indians' Stan Coveleski in appearance and pitching motion. In 1920, his best year in the minors, he was 15-13 with 117 strikeouts and 84 walks in 297 innings pitched with an ERA of 2.82 in 46 games.

Overall in MLB, he was 22-18 with 17 complete games in 46 games started, 98 strikeouts, 138 walks and 2 shutouts in 331.0 innings pitched with an ERA of 4.27 and a WHIP of 1.535 in 74 games. Overall in the Pacific Coast League, he was 39-39 with 240 strikeouts and 192 walks in 603 innings pitched with an ERA of 3.03 in 116 games.

After baseball, he became a bartender. Pertica was a Private in the U.S. Army during World War II (MQ SEC HQ DET SCU 1958 CMP) (BN, [1]). He died at age 69 in a Veterans Administration Hospital in Los Angeles, CA [2] from a heart attack on December 28, 1967 and is buried at Willamette National Cemetery (Section S Site 1960) in Portland, OR. [3]

Notable Achievements[edit]

  • 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 1 (1921)
  • Won a World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 1918 (he did not play in the World Series)

Sources[edit]

Principal sources for Bill Pertica include newspaper obituaries (OB), government Veteran records (VA,CM,CW), Stars & Stripes (S&S), Sporting Life (SL), The Sporting News (TSN), The Sports Encyclopedia:Baseball 2006 by David Neft & Richard Cohen (N&C), old Who's Who in Baseballs (1923-1924) (WW), old Baseball Registers (none) (BR) , old Daguerreotypes by TSN (none) (DAG), Stars&Stripes (S&S), The Baseball Necrology by Bill Lee (BN), Pat Doyle's Professional Ballplayer DataBase (PD), The Baseball Library (BL), Baseball in World War II Europe by Gary Bedingfield (GB) and The Pacific Coast League: A Statistical History, 1903-1957 by Dennis Snelling and The Texas League: A Century of Baseball by Bill O'Neal and independent research by Walter Kephart (WK) and Frank Russo (FR) and others.

VA Hospital & Cemetery Listings[edit]

Pertica, William Andrew, b. 08/17/1898, d. 12/28/1967, PVT MQ SEC HQ DET SCU 1958 CMP, Plot: S 1960, bur. 02/05/1968, *

PERTICA, WILLIAM ANDREW PVT US ARMY WORLD WAR II DATE OF BIRTH: 08/17/1898 DATE OF DEATH: 12/28/1967 BURIED AT: SECTION S SITE 1960 WILLAMETTE NATIONAL CEMETERY 11800 SE MT. SCOTT BOULEVARD PORTLAND, OR 97266 (503) 273-5250

Related Sites[edit]