RIP, Bert
One of the more enjoyable evenings I ever spent at a ballpark was with Bert in the upper deck at Veterans Stadium in Philly, in the mid 1970s.
In his teens, growing up in Washington DC, Bert was an avid baseball autograph collector, writing to many turn of the century players. I now have a number of letters these players wrote to Bert in my own collection. His interests later turned to boxing, where he made a name for himself.
I never saw Bert without his trademark cigar, and as much as I hate to say it, when I saw that he died I said to myself "I'll bet it was lung cancer." Sorry to say, I was correct.
Rest in peace, Bert
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