1963 Broadcasting Debuts

I got a little off track what with the Post Season being local and all, and I overlooked a Broadcasting Debut, that being of Buddy Blattner. Buddy joined Don Wells in the booth for the 1963 thru 1968 seasons. Wells and Blattner held down the Angels KMPC broadcasting duties for a solid 6 years together.


Robert Garnett Blattner
Second Baseman, Third Baseman and Shortstop
Bats: Right, Throws: Right
Height: 6' 0", Weight: 180 lb.
Born: February 8, 1920 in St. Louis, MO
Debut: April 18, 1942 St. Louis Cardinals
Final Game: October 2, 1949 Philadelphia Phillies
Died: September 5, 2009 in Chesterfield, MO

Years broadcasting Angels games: 1963 - 1968


INTERSTING FACTS:
- Won the World Men's Doubles Table Tennis Championship in 1936.
- Served in the U.S. Navy (42-45) in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II.
- Hit .247 with 16 HR, 84 RBI and 102 walks in 5 years with the Cardinals, Giants, and Phillies.
- Led league in hit-by-pitch (6) in 1946.
- Teamed with Dizzy Dean on St. Louis Browns radio as well as nationally on the Liberty and Mutual networks.
- Broadcast the televised Baseball Game of the Week on ABC (53-54) and CBS (55-59).
- Broadcast baseball for the Cardinals (1960-61), Los Angeles/California Angels (1963-68), 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.
- Founded the "Buddy Fund" in 1962, a charitable organization that supplies athletic equipment to disabled and underprivileged children in the St. Louis area.
- Died at his home in Chesterfield, Missouri from lung cancer, aged 89.