← Famous Detroiters
Sports / Press & broadcasting
Sam Balter
1909–1998 · basketball player and sportscaster
Detroit-born guard who won the first Olympic gold medal in basketball history at the 1936 Berlin Games and later became a noted sportscaster.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Died
Los Angeles, California
aged 88- Birth name
- Samuel Balter Jr.
- Field
- Sports, Press & broadcasting
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Balter was born in Detroit and went on to play college basketball for UCLA before joining the U.S. men's basketball team at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, the first Games to include basketball as a medal sport. The American team won the gold medal, making Balter and his teammates the first Olympic basketball champions in history. After his playing days he built a long career as a sportscaster. He died in Los Angeles in 1998.
Highlights
- Born in Detroit in 1909
- Played college basketball for UCLA
- Won the first Olympic basketball gold medal at the 1936 Berlin Games
- Later worked as a sportscaster