Bert Price
Birthdate: June 11, 1939
Birthplace: Cleveland
High School: Cleveland Heights (1957)
College: Wittenberg University
Year Inducted: 2015
Bert Price, a graduate of Cleveland Heights High School in 1957, started his college career at Kent State, but transferred to Wittenberg during his freshman year to play for Coach Ray Mears. Price’s first start was against Akron in the last game of the 1958-1959 season. He scored a game-high 18 points leading Wittenberg to a win over Akron, the Ohio Conference Championship, and Wittenberg’s first trip to an NCAA national tournament. Wittenberg lost to the eventual 1959 College Division National Champion, Evansville.
In the 1959-1960 season, Price led Wittenberg to a 22-2 won-loss record and the Ohio Conference Championship. He was Wittenberg’s leading scorer, a first team all-Ohio Conference pick, the Ohio Conference Player of the Year, and an Honorable Mention College Division All-American.
In the 1960-1961 season, Price was Wittenberg’s leading scorer and rebounder. He was a first team all-Ohio Conference pick and College Division All-American. He led Wittenberg to the Ohio Conference Championship and the NCAA College Division National Championship.
During Price’s two and one half seasons, Wittenberg’s won-loss record was 52-7; the team was undefeated at home and in Ohio Conference play. Price was inducted into the Wittenberg Athletics Hall of Honor in 1989.
After graduation from Wittenberg, Price was selected to play for the US basketball team in the 1961 Maccabiah Games held in Tel-Aviv, Israel. He was named team captain and was on the starting five with Larry Brown (North Carolina), Art Heyman (Duke), Stan Greenberg (Dayton), and Mike Cingiser (Brown). The US team was undefeated, winning the Gold Medal game against Israel’s National Team.
Price was drafted by the NBA Detroit Pistons. He did not play in the NBA; he continued his education at Ohio State where he received a PhD in mathematics and statistics. For the past 30 years he has run his risk assessment consulting firm, Price Associates, Inc.
