Buddy Blattner
Buddy Blattner | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Robert Garnett Blattner | |||||||||||||||||||
Nationality |
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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 89) Chesterfield, Missouri | (aged|||
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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 baseball player and radio and television sportscaster.
Playing career
A graduate of Beaumont High School in St. Louis, he started his baseball 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), playing primarily at second base.
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. He 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
Blattner died at his home in Chesterfield, Missouri from lung cancer, aged 89.[5]
See also
References
- ↑ "ITTF_Database". Ittf.com. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
- ↑ "Profile". Table Tennis Guide.
- ↑ "The Buddy Fund – Official website". Buddyfund.org. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
- ↑ Boggan, Tim (1999). "ROBERT "BUD" BLATTNER, USATT Hall of Fame Inductee (1979)". USA Table Tennis. Retrieved 27 December 2008.
- ↑ Buddy Blattner dies; ex-major leaguer was voice of the NBA's Hawks Archived 2009-09-11 at WebCite, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (September 4, 2009)
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
- Missouri State High School State Tennis Championship History
- 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