About Richie Ashburn
Don Richard Ashburn (March 19, 1927 – September 9, 1997), also known by the nicknames "Putt-Putt", "the Tilden Flash", and "Whitey" (due to his light-blond hair), was an American professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from 1948 to 1962, most prominently as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, where he was a four-time All-Star player and member of the 1950 National League pennant winning team known as the Whiz Kids. Ashburn was a two-time National League (NL) batting champion, and finished with a.308 career batting average. He also excelled as a defensive player, routinely leading the league in putouts. His 5,803 career putouts ranks third among center fielders in Major League Baseball history behind only Willie Mays and Tris Speaker. He ended his playing career with the Chicago Cubs and the New York Mets. Following his playing career, from 1963 until his death in 1997, Ashburn was a color commentator for television broadcasts of Philadelphia Phillies games, and developed into one of the most beloved sports figures in Philadelphia sports history. In 1995, following a lengthy fan-led effort for his inclusion, Ashburn was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1997, he was inducted into The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame. He was posthumously inducted into the inaugural class of the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. He was allowed to finish the season, however, in which the Blue Sox won the Eastern League pennant. He served with the Army in Alaska in 1946, then returned to the Blue Sox in 1947, where his team once again won the Eastern League championship. His 191 hits (in 137 games) set a league record for the most hits in a season.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.