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Sam Balter

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Olympic medal record
Representing  United States
Men's basketball
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1936 Berlin Team competition

Samuel Balter, Jr. (October 15, 1909 – August 8, 1998) was an American basketball player and sportscaster.

Career

He competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics. As a Jew, he had some hesitation about playing in the Olympics hosted by Hitler's Germany, but was persuaded when he was assured by Avery Brundage that there would be no Nazi propaganda at the games.[1]

He was part of the American basketball team, which won the gold medal. He played two matches, but not the final match in which the US team won the gold medal. He was one of a number of Jewish athletes who won medals at the Nazi Olympics in Berlin in 1936.[2]

Before the Olympics, Balter played college basketball at UCLA and for an amateur basketball team sponsored by Universal Pictures.

Balter later turned his celebrity into a career as a Los Angeles sportscaster, announcing at radio station KLAC from 1946 to 1962, and starting his TV career on a local station in 1950. He was known as the "voice of UCLA football and basketball" and also wrote sports columns for the Los Angeles Herald-Express.[3][4]

Balter was the broadcast announcer for the Los Angeles Stars of the American Basketball Association before the ABA-NBA merger.[5] He also appeared in a number of movies and television shows, always portraying a radio announcer or sportscaster.

Personal life

Balter was married and had a daughter. He died as a result of complications from abdominal surgery on August 8, 1998.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ Kahn, Carrie (August 8, 2008). "My Jewish Grandpa's Triumph At Hitler's Olympics". Retrieved August 3, 2009.
  2. ^ "The Nazi Olympics (Berlin 1936)—Jewish Athletes; Olympic Medalists". United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "UCLA Hall of Famer Sam Balter Dead at 88". Los Angeles Times. August 10, 1998. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  4. ^ Los Angeles Radio People, Where are They Now? – B. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
  5. ^ Los Angeles Stars Team Memories at RememberTheABA.com


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