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Sam Balter papers
2266
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Title: Sam Balter papers
Collection number: 2266
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
10.4 linear ft.
(15 boxes, 1 shoe box, 2 cartons, and 3 flat boxes)
Date (bulk): Bulk, 1943-1964
Date (inclusive): circa 1930s-circa 1970s (bulk 1943-1964)
Abstract: Sam Balter was a sportscaster, hosting
One for the Book feature sports commentary on the Mutual Network and sports columnist for the Los Angeles Herald-Express. The collection consists
of materials related to Sam Balter's career, including scripts from his KLAC radio sports program One for the Book and clippings
of his newspaper sports column, One for the Book, written for the Los Angeles Herald Express. Also included is correspondence
from listeners and readers and a small amount of ephemera, books, sports-related wire service and newspaper clippings, and
audio recordings.
Physical Location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Creator:
Balter, Sam, 1909-
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Conditions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
COLLECTION CONTAINS AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS: Audio materials in this collection will require assessment and possible digitization
for safe access. To review these audiovisual materials, you must notify the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk
in advance of your visit.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
7853425
[Identification of item], Sam Balter Papers (Collection 2266). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Sam and Mildred Balter, 1994
Sam Balter was born October 15, 1909 in Detroit, Michigan. He was selected as a UCLA all-American basketball player (1929)
and was chosen for first U.S. Olympic Basketball Team, which won the gold medal in 1936. He was the only Jewish American gold
medalist at Games in Berlin. In 1938, he broadcast the first U.S. coast-to-coast radio sports commentary on the Mutual Network.
During World War II, he worked as a broadcaster for the Los Angeles-based KFWB and KFI. He broadcast play-by-play for the
Cincinnati Reds baseball team (1942), was known as the voice of the UCLA Bruins football and basketball radiocasts (1945-1952),
and was an announcer for baseball Pacific Coast League Hollywood Stars and Los Angeles Angels, and the Los Angeles Stars of
the American Basketball Association.
From 1946 to 1962 he was sports director for KLAC and roughly during the same time he broadcast a weekly
One for the Book radio feature that covered a wide range of sports. From 1955-1962, Balter published a daily
One for the Book newspaper column for the
Los Angeles Herald-Express, and in 1955 published the book,
One for the Book of Sports with co-author Cy Rice. He was the recipient of numerous professional honors, among them Variety’s Top Sportscaster in the
Country (1953). He was also elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame (1970), the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (1994),
the Southern California Broadcasters Hall of Fame, and UCLA Athlete Hall of Fame. Sam Balter died August 8, 1998.
The collection consists of materials related to the career of broadcaster and newspaper columnist Sam Balter. Included are
scripts from his KLAC radio sports program
One for the Book as well as clippings of his newspaper sports column,
One for the Book, written for the Los Angeles Herald-Express. Also included is correspondence from listeners and readers and a small amount
of writings by Balter (outside of his radio and newspaper columns), ephemera, books, sports-related wire service and newspaper
clippings, and audio recordings. The bulk of correspondence documents Balter's work as a news commentator for KFWB and KFI
radio stations during the mid-1940s. Additionally, there is a small amount of correspondence with clippings regarding the
Pacific Coast Conference's probation and penalties imposed on UCLA's athletic program in 1956. Most of the ephemera, books,
newspaper clippings, and audio recordings are sports related.
Notably absent from the collection are materials related to Balter's participation in the 1936 Berlin Olympics as a member
of the first U.S. basketball team and material representing his play-by-play radio and television sports broadcasting.
Arranged in the following series:
- Series 1. One for the Book
- Series 2. Correspondence
- Series 3. Writings by Balter
- Series 4. Sports Ephemera and Publications
- Series 5. Books and Record Albums.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Balter, Sam, 1909- -- Archives
Radio broadcasters--Archives.
Sports journalism--United States.