Byrum Saam

Byrum F. Saam Jr.
(By)

• School Texas Christian University
• High School Fort Worth Central High School

• Born September 11, 1914 in Fort Worth, TX USA
• Died January 16, 2000 in Devon, PA USA

Biographical Information

Byrum Saam was an American broadcaster. His primary focus in his career was announcing baseball and football games in Philadelphia, PA.

It is said by many that By Saam called more losses than any broadcaster in baseball history. Born in Fort Worth, Texas, he began his career broadcasting football at Temple University. He was soon noticed by the owners of both major league ball clubs in Philadelphia, the A's and the Phillies.

In 1938, Saam called A's and Phillies home games. He would continue this double duty for 12 seasons. Saam called just A's games from 1950 until the club moved to Kansas City after the 1954 season. Ironically, after so many losing seasons, Saam worked exclusively for the A's the season the Phillies won their first pennant in 35 years (1950).

After the A's moved to Kansas City, Saam returned to the Phillies in 1955. He teamed first with Bill Campbell. The pair was joined by former Phillies outfielder Richie Ashburn in 1963. After Campbell left the Phillies in 1970, this created the Hall of Fame broadcasting team of Saam, Ashburn, and Harry Kalas. They broadcast Phillies games until Saam's retirement in 1976.

In 1990, Byrum Saam was awarded the Ford Frick Award by the Hall of Fame for excellence in broadcasting. Ashburn was later honored by the Hall of Fame as a player, and Kalas would win the Frick Award in 2002.

Saam died at age 85 in 2000.

Further Reading

• Neal Poloncarz: "By Saam", in Mel Marmer and Bill Nowlin, eds.: The Year of Blue Snow: The 1964 Philadelphia Phillies, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2013, pp. 314-318. ISBN 978-1-933599-51-9

Related Sites

• Byrum Saam at the SABR Bio Project