Buddy Blattner
Buddy Blattner | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Robert Garnett Blattner | ||||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | ![]() | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Buddy Blattner | |
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Second baseman | |
Born: St. Louis, Missouri | February 8, 1920|
Died: September 4, 2009 Chesterfield, Missouri | (aged 89)|
Batted: Switch Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
April 18, 1942, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
Last MLB appearance | |
October 2, 1949, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |
MLB statistics | |
Hits | 176 |
Batting average | .247 |
Games played | 272 |
Teams | |
Robert Garnett "Buddy" Blattner (February 8, 1920 – September 4, 2009), known also as "Bud" Blattner, was an American table tennis and professional baseball player and radio and television sportscaster.
Playing career
A graduate of Beaumont High School in St. Louis, Blattner started his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the St. Louis Cardinals, making his big league debut in the 1942 season. Following a stint in the U.S. Navy, Blattner played for the New York Giants (1946–48) and Philadelphia Phillies (1949); he played primarily as a second baseman.
Table tennis career
Blattner played table tennis in his youth, winning the gold medal in the men's doubles with James McClure at the 1936 World Table Tennis Championships.[1] The following year he won double gold at the 1937 World Table Tennis Championships in the men's team event and in the men's doubles with McClure.[2]
Broadcasting career
Blattner turned to broadcasting after his retirement as a player, teaming with Dizzy Dean on St. Louis Browns radio as well as nationally on the Liberty and Mutual networks, and on the televised baseball Game of the Week on ABC (1953–54) and CBS (1955–59).
Blattner was replaced on CBS by Pee Wee Reese following a dispute with Dean. Blattner continued to broadcast baseball for the Cardinals (1960–61), Los Angeles/California Angels (1962–68), and Kansas City Royals (1969–75) as well as on NBC in 1969. He also called games for the St. Louis Hawks of the National Basketball Association in the '50s.
Charity work
In 1962, Blattner founded the "Buddy Fund", a charitable organization that supplies athletic equipment to disabled and underprivileged children in the St. Louis area.[3]
Awards and honors
Blattner was inducted into the U.S. Table Tennis Association Hall of Fame in 1979, and the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 1980.[4]
Death
On September 4, 2009, Blattner died at his home in Chesterfield, Missouri from lung cancer, aged 89.[5]
See also
References
- ^ "ITTF_Database". Ittf.com. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
- ^ "Profile". Table Tennis Guide.
- ^ "The Buddy Fund – Official website". Buddyfund.org. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
- ^ Boggan, Tim (1999). "Hall of Fame Profile: Robert "Bud" Blattner (1979)". teamusa.org. USA Table Tennis. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
- ^ Buddy Blattner dies; ex-major leaguer was voice of the NBA's Hawks Archived September 11, 2009, at WebCite, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (September 4, 2009)
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Buddy Blattner at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
- Missouri State High School State Tennis Championship History[permanent dead link]
- Noland, Claire. "Buddy Blattner dies at 89; former major leaguer and longtime sportscaster", Los Angeles Times, Saturday, September 5, 2009.
- Buddy Blattner at Find a Grave
- 1920 births
- 2009 deaths
- American male table tennis players
- American naval personnel of World War II
- American radio sports announcers
- American television sports announcers
- Baseball players from Missouri
- California Angels broadcasters
- Deaths from cancer in Missouri
- Deaths from lung cancer
- Kansas City Royals broadcasters
- Major League Baseball broadcasters
- Major League Baseball second basemen
- National Basketball Association broadcasters
- National Football League announcers
- New York Giants (NL) players
- Philadelphia Phillies players
- Sportspeople from St. Louis
- St. Louis Browns broadcasters
- St. Louis Cardinals broadcasters
- St. Louis Cardinals players
- St. Louis Cardinals (football) broadcasters
- St. Louis Hawks broadcasters