Samuel Balter Jr. (October 15, 1909 – August 8, 1998) was an American
basketball player who won a gold medal at the
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...
. He was also a renowned
sportscaster.
Career
Balter was born in
Detroit, Michigan.
He went first to
Lincoln High School, and then to
Roosevelt High School, both in Los Angeles. He then attended
UCLA, where he played basketball and was an
NCAA All-American.
He competed in the
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...
. 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.
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. 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''.
[Los Angeles Radio People, Where are They Now? – B]
Retrieved March 30, 2016.
Balter was the broadcast announcer for the
Los Angeles Stars of the
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...
before the
ABA-NBA merger. 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.
Personal life
Balter was married and had a daughter. He died as a result of complications from abdominal surgery on August 8, 1998.
Filmography
* ''
Straightaway'' (1961–1962), two episodes
See also
*
List of select Jewish basketball players
References
External links
Olympics Profileat Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balter, Sam
1909 births
1998 deaths
Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players
American Basketball Association announcers
American men's basketball players
Basketball players at the 1936 Summer Olympics
Basketball players from Detroit
Cincinnati Reds announcers
College basketball announcers in the United States
Forwards (basketball)
Jewish American sportspeople
Jewish men's basketball players
Los Angeles Stars
Los Angeles Rams announcers
Major League Baseball broadcasters
Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics
Minor League Baseball broadcasters
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball
UCLA Bruins football announcers
UCLA Bruins men's basketball players
United States men's national basketball team players
20th-century American Jews