1961 Topps #441 Dick Bertell
About Dick Bertell
Card #441 is Bertell's rookie card, a fifth-series issue whose back has almost nothing to report: a five-game September callup in 1960, two hits in 15 at-bats for a .133 average, and a run driven in on a sacrifice fly in his first at-bat on September 22. In the season the card came out he grew into the job, sharing it with Sammy Taylor in a platoon but handling the bulk of the work, 90 games behind the plate, and hitting .273 with 33 RBI for a Chicago club that went 64-90 and finished seventh in its first year under the College of Coaches.
Richard George Bertell was born in Oak Park, Illinois, went to high school in Des Moines, Iowa, and signed with the Chicago Cubs as an undrafted free agent out of Iowa State in June 1957. A right-handed catcher, he reached the majors on September 22, 1960, driving in a run with a sacrifice fly in his first at-bat, and played parts of seven big-league seasons. All but 22 of his 444 games came with the Cubs; the exception was the last four months of 1965 with the San Francisco Giants after a May trade. He was a light hitter, finishing at .250 with 327 hits, 10 home runs and 112 RBI, but the arm was why he played: he threw out 47.74 percent of the runners who tried to steal on him, fourth on the all-time list. His final major league hit was a triple off Hall of Famer Jim Bunning in April 1967. Bertell died on December 20, 1999, in Mission Viejo, California, and his old college put him in the Iowa State Hall of Fame the next year.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 346 | 5 | 48 | 171 | 85 | 23 | 5 | 9 | 0 |
| SGC | 15 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Data as of 2026-09-04. PSA counts are straight grades only; PSA half grades (PSA 1.5 among them) and qualified slabs are not included. SGC half grades fold down (8.5→8). Slabs of the two cards printed #463 are joined by description, never by number alone.
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Shop 1961 Topps cards Live auctions Buy It Now on eBay Sold prices
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Related cards
Team card: #122 Chicago Cubs Team
More Chicago Cubs cards:
- #12 Moe Thacker
- #27 Jerry Kindall
- #35 Ron Santo
- #58 Joe Schaffernoth
- #88 Richie Ashburn
- #107 Seth Morehead
- #141 Billy Williams
- #169 Don Elston
- #196 Ed Bouchee
- #214 Danny Murphy
- #231 Dick Drott
- #253 Sammy Taylor
- #264 Glen Hobbie
- #283 Bob Anderson
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1961 Topps #441 card?
It is card #441 of the 587-card 1961 Topps Baseball set, picturing Dick Bertell of the Chicago Cubs.
Is 1961 Topps #441 a rookie card?
Yes - #441 is the 1961 Topps rookie card of Dick Bertell.
How many cards are in the 1961 Topps Baseball set?
587 cards, tracked as 596 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 589, but #426, #587 and #588 were never issued and two different cards were printed #463 - Jack Fisher and the Milwaukee Braves Team card, catalogued 463b - and eight cards carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, The Topps Archives, Baseball-Reference, the SABR BioProject and the National Baseball Hall of Fame, PSA & SGC population reports. Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-10-05.