Tom Butters

Thomas Arden Butters

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 195 lb.
• School Ohio Wesleyan University
• High School Scioto Valley High School
• Debut September 8, 1962
• Final Game May 20, 1965
• Born April 8, 1938 in Delaware, OH USA
• Died March 31, 2016 in Durham, NC, USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Tom Butters pitched parts of four years in the bigs with the Pittsburgh Pirates. In his finest, also most substantial, season of 1964, Tom made 28 appearances (4 starts) with a 2-2 record, 2.38 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 64 1/3 innings. He only pitched 9 more innings in the bigs; his career ended as a result of an auto accident which impeded his pitching.

Butters was the head baseball coach at Duke from 1968 to 1970 and served as athletic director from 1977 to 1998. In that role, he hired coaches for various sports and thus played a role in the great success of Duke's basketball team. He hired Mike Krzyzewski and withstood pressure to fire him after some early struggles with Duke. He also expanded the school's athletic offerings, adding several new sports.

Related Sites

• Tom Butters at the SABR Bio Project
• Butters obituary