Richard Walther Siebert (February 19, 1912 – December 9, 1978) was an American

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

who had an 11-year career from 1932, 1936–1945. He played for the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

, both of the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

, and the Philadelphia A's of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

. He was elected to the American League

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team in 1943. Born in

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States census, making it the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, tenth-largest city in the state, and the second- ...

, he grew up in Cass Lake and

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

.A round-up of worthy books by Minnesotans
Retrieved 2017-05-30. In an 11-year major league career, Siebert compiled a .282

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(1104-3917), scoring 439 runs, with 32

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

and 482 RBI in 1035

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Associat ...

. His

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

was .332 and

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at-bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at-bats for a given player, an ...

was .379. Primarily a first baseman, he recorded a .990

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

. Following his playing career, Siebert became head baseball coach at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

in 1948, where he would remain until his death. The "Chief" went on to become one of the greatest coaches in college baseball history and helped develop baseball at all levels in Minnesota. He finished with a 754–361–6 record and a .676 winning percentage, far and away the most in school history at the time; he has since been passed by current coach

John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * John Anderson (jazz trumpeter) (1921–1974), American musician * Jon Anderson (John Roy Anderson, born 1944), lead singer of the British band Yes * John Anderson (producer) (1948–2024 ...

. He sent five different teams to the

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is a baseball tournament held each June in Omaha, Nebraska. It is the culmination of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament—featuring 64 teams in the ...

and brought home three NCAA titles in 1956, 1960 and 1964. His teams also captured 12 Big Ten titles, and he endured only three losing seasons. In addition to coaching the Minnesota Gophers, during the 1950s Siebert was a player/coach for the Litchfield Optimists, the Willmar Rails, and the Minneapolis Kopps Realty teams in Minnesota amateur Town Team Baseball. This arrangement allowed Siebert to evaluate talent and coach his Gophers players during the collegiate off-season. Siebert served as the president of the American College Baseball Coaches Association. Among his many honors and accolades, Siebert was twice named as college baseball's Coach of the Year, was a member of the College Baseball Hall of Fame, and was a recipient of college baseball's highest award, the Lefty Gomez Trophy, which recognizes an individual who has made an outstanding contribution and given service to the development of college baseball. Siebert died at age 66 in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. His son, Paul Siebert, pitched for the

Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

Padres {{About, the Roman Catholic priests' organization, other uses, Padres (disambiguation) ''Padres Asociados para Derechos Religiosos, Educativos, y Sociales'' ( Spanish for "Priests Associated for Religious, Education, and Social Rights") is a Chica ...

and

Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They are one of two major l ...

from 1974 to 1978. On April 21, 1979, Minnesota renamed its baseball stadium Siebert Field in Siebert's honor.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Siebert, Dick 1912 births 1978 deaths American League All-Stars Brooklyn Dodgers players Philadelphia Athletics players 20th-century American sportsmen St. Louis Cardinals players Major League Baseball first basemen Minnesota Golden Gophers baseball coaches Baseball players from Fall River, Massachusetts National College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Waynesboro Red Birds players Dayton Ducks players York White Roses players Albany Senators players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Indianapolis Indians players Columbus Red Birds players People from Cass Lake, Minnesota Baseball players from Saint Paul, Minnesota