Sam Balter

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Sam Balter
Personal information
Born(1909-10-15)October 15, 1909
Detroit, Michigan
DiedAugust 8, 1998(1998-08-08) (aged 88)
Los Angeles, California
NationalityAmerican
Listed height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Listed weight150 lb (68 kg)
Career information
High school
  • Lincoln (Los Angeles, California)
  • Roosevelt (Los Angeles, California)
CollegeUCLA (1926–1929)
PositionForward
hide
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1936 Berlin Team competition

Samuel Balter Jr. (October 15, 1909 – August 8, 1998) was an American basketball player who won a gold medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics. He was also a renowned sportscaster.[1]

Career[]

Balter was born in Detroit, Michigan.[1] He went first to Lincoln High School, and then to Roosevelt High School, both in Los Angeles.[2] He then attended UCLA, where he played basketball and was an NCAA All-American.[1][3]

He competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics. As a Jew, he had some hesitation about playing in the Olympics hosted by Hitler's Germany, but was persuaded when he was assured by Avery Brundage that there would be no Nazi propaganda at the games.[4]

Balter was part of the American basketball team which won the gold medal. He played in two matches, but not the final match in which the U.S. team won the gold medal. He was one of a number of Jewish athletes who won medals at the Nazi Olympics in Berlin in 1936.[5] Before the Olympics, Balter played college basketball at UCLA and for an amateur basketball team sponsored by Universal Pictures.

Balter later turned his celebrity into a career as a Los Angeles sportscaster, announcing at radio station KLAC from 1946 to 1962, and starting his TV career on a local station in 1950. He was known as the "voice of UCLA football and basketball" and also wrote sports columns for the Los Angeles Herald-Express.[6][7]

Balter was the broadcast announcer for the Los Angeles Stars of the American Basketball Association before the ABA-NBA merger.[8] He also appeared in a number of movies and television shows, always portraying a radio announcer or sportscaster.

Balter is a member of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Hall of Fame, the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, the Southern California Broadcasters Hall of Fame, the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, and the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame.[3][9]

Personal life[]

Balter was married and had a daughter. He died as a result of complications from abdominal surgery on August 8, 1998.[6]

Filmography[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Sam Balter Bio, Stats, and Results | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com
  2. ^ Sam Balter: His Life and Times - Barbara Balter Kahn - Google Books
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Sam Balter
  4. ^ Kahn, Carrie (August 8, 2008). "My Jewish Grandpa's Triumph At Hitler's Olympics". Retrieved August 3, 2009.
  5. ^ "The Nazi Olympics (Berlin 1936)—Jewish Athletes; Olympic Medalists". United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "UCLA Hall of Famer Sam Balter Dead at 88". Los Angeles Times. August 10, 1998. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  7. ^ Los Angeles Radio People, Where are They Now? – B. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
  8. ^ Los Angeles Stars Team Memories at RememberTheABA.com
  9. ^ [1]

External links[]

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