Buddy Blattner

Buddy Blattner
Full name Robert Garnett Blattner
Nationality  United States
Buddy Blattner
Second baseman
Born: (1920-02-08)February 8, 1920
St. Louis, Missouri
Died: September 4, 2009(2009-09-04) (aged 89)
Chesterfield, Missouri
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 Blattner (February 8, 1920 – September 4, 2009), commonly known as "Buddy" or "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, Blattner played table tennis in his youth, winning the world men's doubles championship in 1936.[1] 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.

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.[2]

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.[3]

Death

Blattner died at his home in Chesterfield, Missouri from lung cancer, aged 89.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "ITTF_Database". Ittf.com. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
  2. ↑ "The Buddy Fund – Official website". Buddyfund.org. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
  3. ↑ Boggan, Tim (1999). "ROBERT "BUD" BLATTNER, USATT Hall of Fame Inductee (1979)". USA Table Tennis. Retrieved 27 December 2008.
  4. ↑ Buddy Blattner dies; ex-major leaguer was voice of the NBA's Hawks, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (September 4, 2009)

External links

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