Buddy blattner biography

Buddy Blattner

American athlete and broadcaster (1920–2009)

Baseball player

Buddy Blattner

Blattner, circa 1941

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

April 18, 1942, for the St. Louis Cardinals
October 2, 1949, for the Philadelphia Phillies
Hits176
Batting average.247
Games played272
Stats at Baseball Reference 
Buddy Blattner
Full nameRobert Garnett Blattner
Nationality United States

Robert Garnett"Buddy"Blattner (February 8, 1920 – September 4, 2009) was an American table tennis and professional baseball player. He played five seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the New York Giants. After his retirement as a player, he became a radio and television sportscaster.

Sports career

Table tennis

Blattner played table tennis in his youth, winning the gold medal in the men's doub

Stat Capsuleabrhhrrbisbavgops
MLB Career713112176168418.247.731
yearteam nameleaguelevelmlb#ageposgabrh2b3bhrrbisbcsbbsohbpshsfiwdptbpaxbh1bavgobpslgopssecaisobabipbb%so%so_bbab_hr
1942St. Louis CardinalsNLMLBSLN222SS192331000100361000112701.043.185.043.228.000.000.00011.1122.222.000.00
1946New York GiantsNLMLBNY115262B1264206310718611491205652660061704883572.255.351.405.756.000.150.00011.4810.660.9338.18
1947New York GiantsNLMLBNY112272B5515328409201340211901001531751129.261.351.346.697.000.085.00012.0010.860.900.00
1948New York GiantsNLMLBNY117282B82034100020320100052413.200.304.250.554.000.050.00012.508.330.670.00
1949Philadelphia Phi

Buddy Blattner

Boxing and college football were regular fixtures on network television by 1953, but baseball was confined to local TV, with only the All-Star Game and World Series seen nationwide. While every team except Pittsburgh televised some games, the minor leagues were screaming that those telecasts were killing their attendance, and Congress was threatening legislation to limit them. Major league baseball had no television policy, leaving each team to decide how to deal with growing new medium.

In 1953 ABC-TV began the Game of the Week with the outrageous former Cardinals pitching star Dizzy Dean announcing alongside a little-known ex-infielder, Buddy Blattner. No recordings exist, but the first voice heard on baseball’s first weekly network television series was probably Blattner’s.

Buddy Blattner parlayed a short major-league career into a 26-year run as a broadcaster. His work as Dean’s “podner” on the Game of the Week was the highlight, but the partnership ended when he thought Dean stabbed him in the back. Blattner called play-by-play for four teams, showcasi

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