En route to spring training with his young family in 1965, Butters suffered a severe whiplash injury in an automobile accident.[2] He spent most of 1965 on the disabled list and cut short an attempted comeback in 1966 when the effects of his injury proved insurmountable. In 43 career MLB games pitched, Butters compiled a 2–3 record, striking out 85 batters and issuing 56 bases on balls in 95+2⁄3innings pitched with a 3.10 ERA.[3]
College sports administratoredit
A United States Army veteran, Butters had also spent baseball off-seasons working in admissions for his alma mater, Ohio Wesleyan. In 1967, he joined Duke University as director of special events, then served three years (1968–1970) as head baseball coach before moving into administration.
Butters served as the athletic director at Duke from 1977 to 1997. Three years into that tenure, he hired Mike Krzyzewski as coach of the Duke Blue Devils men's basketball program; Krzyzewski went on to become the winningest coach in men's Division I history. During his two decades as head of Duke intercollegiate athletics, Butters supervised programs that won 40 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) team titles.[1]
In addition to serving as athletic director, Butters was director of the "Iron Dukes" (the fundraising organization for the school's athletics), associate athletic director, assistant to the chancellor, and vice president of the university.[4] During Butters' 1989–1994 tenure on the NCAA's basketball committee, including two years as chairman, he was part of the negotiating team that brokered a $1 billion contract with CBS Sports to televise the annual "March Madness" men's basketball tournament.[1]
Butters was elected to the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Duke Sports Hall of Fame in 1999,[5] and received the Robert Strimer Honor Award from Ohio Wesleyan in 1998.[6] Butters died in 2016; he was survived by his wife and two children.[7]
Referencesedit
^ abc"Former Duke VP/AD Tom Butters Passes Away". wralsportsfan.com. April 1, 2016.
^"Tom Butters 2008". ncshof.org. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
^"Robert Strimer Honor Award". battlingbishops.com. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
^Lord, Rich (April 4, 2016). "Tom Butters: Onetime Pirate turned Duke AD and hired Coach K". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. B4. Retrieved September 24, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tom Butters.
Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
February 16, 2024
butters, athletic, director, thomas, arden, butters, april, 1938, march, 2016, american, professional, baseball, player, spent, parts, four, seasons, major, league, baseball, with, pittsburgh, pirates, then, lengthy, career, college, sports, administrator, duk. Thomas Arden Butters April 8 1938 March 31 2016 was an American professional baseball player who spent parts of four seasons in Major League Baseball MLB with the Pittsburgh Pirates then had a lengthy career as a college sports administrator at Duke University He is best remembered for his time at Duke and for being a key figure in the financial success of the NCAA Division I men s basketball tournament 1 Tom ButtersButters as Duke s athletic director in 1983PitcherBorn 1938 04 08 April 8 1938Delaware Ohio U S Died March 31 2016 2016 03 31 aged 77 Durham North Carolina U S Batted RightThrew RightMLB debutSeptember 8 1962 for the Pittsburgh PiratesLast MLB appearanceMay 20 1965 for the Pittsburgh PiratesMLB statisticsWin loss record2 3Earned run average3 10Strikeouts85TeamsPittsburgh Pirates 1962 1965 Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Baseball career 1 2 College sports administrator 2 References 3 External linksBiography editBaseball career edit Butters was a native of Delaware Ohio who attended Ohio Wesleyan University in his native city In baseball he was a 6 ft 2 in 1 88 m 195 lb 88 kg right handed pitcher He signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1957 after being scouted by retired Pirates general manager Branch Rickey 2 also an Ohio Wesleyan alumnus Butters required almost six full years of minor league seasoning before being called up by the Pirates in September 1962 He then spent parts of the next three seasons in Major League Baseball MLB including most of 1964 In 28 games pitched for the 1964 Pirates including four starts Butters had a 2 2 win loss record and posted a 2 38 earned run average ERA 3 En route to spring training with his young family in 1965 Butters suffered a severe whiplash injury in an automobile accident 2 He spent most of 1965 on the disabled list and cut short an attempted comeback in 1966 when the effects of his injury proved insurmountable In 43 career MLB games pitched Butters compiled a 2 3 record striking out 85 batters and issuing 56 bases on balls in 95 2 3 innings pitched with a 3 10 ERA 3 College sports administrator edit A United States Army veteran Butters had also spent baseball off seasons working in admissions for his alma mater Ohio Wesleyan In 1967 he joined Duke University as director of special events then served three years 1968 1970 as head baseball coach before moving into administration Butters served as the athletic director at Duke from 1977 to 1997 Three years into that tenure he hired Mike Krzyzewski as coach of the Duke Blue Devils men s basketball program Krzyzewski went on to become the winningest coach in men s Division I history During his two decades as head of Duke intercollegiate athletics Butters supervised programs that won 40 Atlantic Coast Conference ACC team titles 1 In addition to serving as athletic director Butters was director of the Iron Dukes the fundraising organization for the school s athletics associate athletic director assistant to the chancellor and vice president of the university 4 During Butters 1989 1994 tenure on the NCAA s basketball committee including two years as chairman he was part of the negotiating team that brokered a 1 billion contract with CBS Sports to televise the annual March Madness men s basketball tournament 1 Butters was elected to the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Duke Sports Hall of Fame in 1999 5 and received the Robert Strimer Honor Award from Ohio Wesleyan in 1998 6 Butters died in 2016 he was survived by his wife and two children 7 References edit a b c Former Duke VP AD Tom Butters Passes Away wralsportsfan com April 1 2016 a b Costello Rory Tom Butters sabr org Society for American Baseball Research a b Tom Butters Stats Baseball Reference com Retrieved September 24 2022 Tom Butters Obituary The Columbus Dispatch April 3 2016 via Legacy com Tom Butters 2008 ncshof org Retrieved September 24 2022 Robert Strimer Honor Award battlingbishops com Retrieved September 24 2022 Lord Rich April 4 2016 Tom Butters Onetime Pirate turned Duke AD and hired Coach K Pittsburgh Post Gazette p B4 Retrieved September 24 2022 via newspapers com External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tom Butters Career statistics and player information from MLB or Baseball Reference or Baseball Reference Minors or Retrosheet Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tom Butters athletic director amp oldid 1169892000, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
