Richie Ashburn

Richie Ashburn was a Major League Baseball player from 1948 to 1962, primarily with the Philadelphia Phillies. He was born on March 19, 1927 in Tilden, Nebraska. Ashburn became an announcer for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1963 and was teamed with legendary sportscaster Harry Kalas beginning in 1971. Ashburn was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1995 and passed away in 1997.http://baseballhall.org/hof/ashburn-richie

Richie Ashburn began his Major League Baseball career in 1948 as a centerfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies. He batted .333, was named an All-Star and was third in the voting for Rookie of the Year Award. He was part of the 1950 National League Championship winning Phillies team known as the Whiz Kids. While playing for the Phillies, Ashburn made four All-Star appearances, won two batting titles, lead the league in hits and walks three times each and lead the league in triples twice.http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/ashburi01.shtml He was traded to the Chicago Cubs following the 1959 season. In his first season with the Cubs, Richie Ashburn lead the league in walks and on base percentage. In 1962, he was drafted by the expansion New York Mets. He batted .306 for the season but the Mets were the worst team in baseball and won only 40 games and lost 120. Richie Ashburn retired following the 1962 season with .308 average and 2,574 hits.http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/ashburi01.shtml

Richie Ashburn spent the next 34 years as a television and radio broadcaster for the Philadelphia Phillies. He worked with legendary announcers Bill Campbell, Byrum Saam and Harry Kalas, who he became best friends with. Ashburn was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1995 along with legendary Phillies third baseman Mike Schmidt.http://baseballhall.org/hof/ashburn-richie Ashburn died suddenly of a heart attack in 1997. Richie Ashburn Home Runs for Heart was founded in 1998 in honor of the broadcaster. At the annual event, over 100 batters take swings to raise money for heart disease research.http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070522&content_id=1979816&vkey=news_phi&fext=.jsp&c_id=phi The Phillies honored Richie Ashburn with a center-field entertainment area at Citizens Bank Park named Ashburn Alley and the radio booth at the stadium was named The Richie 'Whitey' Ashburn Broadcast Booth.

• All-Star Appearances: 5 (1948, 1951, 1953, 1958, 1962)
• Batting Championships: 2 (1955, 1958)
• Hall of Fame Induction: 1995
• Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame Induction: 2004