Media - 1990

Sam Balter was a UCLA basketball All-America and team captain in 1929, and a member of the 1936 USA Olympic gold medal basketball team. But he is probably best known as the west coast's first premiere radio sports commentator. For four decades, Balter hosted daily radio and/or television sport shows for local stations and the major networks.

Often controversial, his "One For The Book" nightly broadcasts became an institution for radio listeners. Among his many other notable media assignments were: UCLA Bruins basketball and football radio play-by-play from 1945 to 1952; Los Angeles Angels and Hollywood Stars (Pacific Coast League teams) broadcasts during the 1940's and 1950's; and, for ten years, he wrote a sports column for the L.A. Herald-Express. Sam also did the play-by-play of the first telecast of a football game in Southern California (USC vs Utah) in 1950.

Sam is a member of the Amateur Athletic Foundation AAU Hall of Fame.