Freddy Buchner

Franz Albert Buchner

• Born June 6, 1933
• Died January 20, 2015

Biographical Information

Freddy Buchner was a key figure in early German baseball. His brother Helmut Buchner was a teammate on the first editions of the German national team.

Buchner played for and managed the Frankfurt Juniors when they won the first German pennant in 1952. He was on the first German national team, in the 1954 European Championship. He went 2 for 9 with two walks and a RBI, fielding .714. He pitched three innings, allowing four walks, one hit and three runs (one earned). He was 1 for 2 with a walk in the 1955 European Championship, when Germany won the Bronze for the first time in a European Championship. He started one game, taking a loss (6 H, 3 BB, 6 K, 7 R, 4 ER in 3 1/3 IP) to host Spain.

Freddy was on Der Mannheimer B.C. Knights that won the 1955 and 1956 German titles. He was president of the Amateur Baseball Föderation Deutschland from 1955-1957. In the 1956 European Championship, he was 1 for 9 with two walks, two runs and a RBI, with 11 error-free chances afield. He tied for the team lead in runs. In the 1957 European Championship, he was 0 for 2 with a hit-by-pitch and fielded .909; he allowed 7 hits, 3 walks and 4 runs in 4 innings on the mound, saving a win over Spain. Germany won the Silver Medal, their best finish in a Euros (through 2015). In the 1960 European Championship, he went 0 for 8 with 3 walks and a steal, fielding .929.

he hit .103/.308/.103 in 15 games for Germany, fielding .886. He had two runs and two RBI. On the mound, he was 0-1 with a save and a 7.84 ERA.

Sources

• Death notice from German baseball federation
• German national team stats
• Mannheim baseball history