Buddy Blattner


Robert Garnett "Buddy" Blattner, 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 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 and Philadelphia Phillies ; 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. 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.

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 and CBS.
Blattner was replaced on CBS by Pee Wee Reese following a dispute with Dean. Blattner continued to broadcast baseball for the Cardinals, Los Angeles/California Angels, and Kansas City Royals 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.

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.

Death

On September 4, 2009, Blattner died at his home in Chesterfield, Missouri from lung cancer, aged 89.