Jewish Major Leaguers in Their Own Words
Jewish Major Leaguers in Their Own Words

Author: Peter Ephross

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2014-01-10

Total Pages: 229

ISBN-13: 0786489669

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Between 1870 and 2010, 165 Jewish Americans played Major League Baseball. This work presents oral histories featuring 23 of them. From Bob Berman, a catcher for the Washington Senators in 1918, to Adam Greenberg, an outfielder for the Chicago Cubs in 2005, the players discuss their careers and consider how their Jewish heritage affected them. Legends like Hank Greenberg and Al Rosen as well as lesser-known players reflect on the issue of whether to play on high holidays, responses to anti-Semitism on and off the field, bonds formed with black teammates also facing prejudice, and personal and Jewish pride in their accomplishments. Together, these oral histories paint a vivid portrait of what it was like to be a Jewish Major Leaguer.

American Jews and America's Game
American Jews and America's Game

Author: Larry Ruttman

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 2013-04-01

Total Pages: 544

ISBN-13: 0803264755

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Discusses the history of Jewish participation in America's pastime, including players, team owners, and sportswriters.

The Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, 2017-2018
The Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, 2017-2018

Author: William M. Simons

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2019-03-11

Total Pages: 229

ISBN-13: 1476636311

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Widely acknowledged as the preeminent gathering of baseball scholars, the annual Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture has made significant contributions to baseball research. This collection of 15 new essays selected from the 2017 and the 2018 symposia examines topics whose importance extend beyond the ballpark. Presented in six parts, the essays explore baseball's cultural and social history and analyze the tools that encourage a more sophisticated understanding of baseball as a game and enterprise.

Matzoh Balls and Baseballs
Matzoh Balls and Baseballs

Author: Dave Cohen

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 177

ISBN-13: 9780982285343

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As "America's favorite pastime," perhaps no sport has chronicled the rise of an immigrant nation like baseball. From German-American parents came Babe Ruth, Italian-Americans proudly point to Joe DiMaggio, and Jackie Robinson shattered the color barrier for African Americans that had kept them out of the game since the 1880s. Certainly, almost every Jewish baseball fan knows the names of Hall of Famers Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax, but Jews have played professional baseball in the United States since the earliest days of the sport. Indeed, over 160 Jews are known to have played professional baseball during the modern era, contributing significantly to the game on every level. But who, other than Koufax, is the only other Jewish pitcher to win the Cy Young Award? Which Jewish ballplayer's place in baseball history is assured, as he has the distinction of being the first major leaguer to play a game as a DH? In his landmark book Matzoh Balls and Baseballs, popular sportscaster Dave Cohen uncovers this hidden history and goes right to the source for answers, interviewing 17 former Jewish MLB players to hear, in their own words, what it was like to play in the Majors - the triumphs, frustrations, and everything in between. Foreword by Steve Greenberg. Interviewees include: Larry Yellen, Ron Blomberg, Elliott Maddox, Jim Gaudet, Richie Scheinblum, Joe Ginsberg, Ross Baumgarten, Mike Epstein, Ken Holtzman, Norm Sherry, Steve Stone, Steve Hertz, Don Taussig, Norm Miller, Barry Latman, Morris Savransky, and Al Rosen.

American Jewish Year Book 2012
American Jewish Year Book 2012

Author: Arnold Dashefsky

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-09

Total Pages: 609

ISBN-13: 9400752040

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The 2012 American Jewish Year Book, “The Annual Record of American Jewish Civilization,” contains major chapters on Jewish secularism (Barry Kosmin and Ariela Keysar), Canadian Jewry (Morton Weinfeld, David Koffman, and Randal Schnoor), national affairs (Ethan Felson), Jewish communal affairs (Lawrence Grossman), Jewish population in the United States (Ira Sheskin and Arnold Dashefsky), and World Jewish population (Sergio DellaPergola). These chapters provide insight into major trends in the North American and world Jewish community. The volume also acts as a resource for the American Jewish community and for academics studying that community by supplying obituaries and lists of Jewish Federations, Jewish Community Centers, national Jewish organizations, Jewish overnight camps, Jewish museums, Holocaust museums, local and national Jewish periodicals, Jewish honorees, major recent events in the American Jewish community, and academic journals, articles, websites, and books. The volume should prove useful to social scientists and historians of the American Jewish community, Jewish communal workers, the press, and others interested in American and Canadian Jews.​

Historical Dictionary of Baseball
Historical Dictionary of Baseball

Author: Lyle Spatz

Publisher: Scarecrow Press

Published: 2012-12-21

Total Pages: 505

ISBN-13: 0810879549

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Dating back to 1869 as an organized professional sport, the game of baseball is not only the oldest professional sport in North America, but also symbolizes much more. Walt Whitman described it as “our game, the American game,” and George Will compared calling baseball “just a game” to the Grand Canyon being “just a hole.” Countless others have called baseball “the most elegant game,” and to those who have played it, it’s life. The Historical Dictionary of Baseball is primarily devoted to the major leagues it also includes entries on the minor leagues, the Negro Leagues, women’s baseball, baseball in various other countries, and other non-major league related topics. It traces baseball, in general, and these topics individually, from their beginnings up to the present. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 900 cross-referenced entries on the roles of the players on the field—batters, pitchers, fielders—as well as non-playing personnel—general managers, managers, coaches, and umpires. There are also entries for individual teams and leagues, stadiums and ballparks, the role of the draft and reserve clause, and baseball’s rules, and statistical categories. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the sport of baseball.

Baseball Rebels
Baseball Rebels

Author: Peter Dreier

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 2022-04

Total Pages: 440

ISBN-13: 1496231775

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In Baseball Rebels Peter Dreier and Robert Elias examine the key social challenges—racism, sexism and homophobia—that shaped society and worked their way into baseball’s culture, economics, and politics. Since baseball emerged in the mid-1800s to become America’s pastime, the nation’s battles over race, gender, and sexuality have been reflected on the playing field, in the executive suites, in the press box, and in the community. Some of baseball’s rebels are widely recognized, but most of them are either little known or known primarily for their baseball achievements—not their political views and activism. Everyone knows the story of Jackie Robinson breaking baseball’s color line, but less known is Sam Nahem, who opposed the racial divide in the U.S. military and organized an integrated military team that won a championship in 1945. Or Toni Stone, the first of three women who played for the Indianapolis Clowns in the previously all-male Negro Leagues. Or Dave Pallone, MLB’s first gay umpire. Many players, owners, reporters, and other activists challenged both the baseball establishment and society’s status quo. Baseball Rebels tells stories of baseball’s reformers and radicals who were influenced by, and in turn influenced, America’s broader political and social protest movements, making the game—and society—better along the way.

Hebrew Hammer
Hebrew Hammer

Author: Joseph Wancho

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2022-01-04

Total Pages: 231

ISBN-13: 1476643938

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This first biography of four-time all-star Al Rosen covers the career of perhaps the best player on the fabulous Cleveland Indians' teams of the 1950s. From 1951 to 1956, the Tribe won one American League pennant (1954) and finished second to New York the other five seasons. Rosen was selected as the League's Most Valuable Player in 1953, the last Indians player to be so honored. He led the League in home runs (43) and RBI (145). Washington's Mickey Vernon edged Rosen by a single percentage point (.337 to .336) for the league batting championship. His play between the white lines was not the only place where Rosen left his mark on the game. He spent 14 seasons as a president or general manager for the New York Yankees (1978-1979), Houston Astros (1981-1985) and the San Francisco Giants (1986-1992). Under his guidance, those teams won two pennants and one world championship. Rosen is the only person in Major League Baseball history to win an MVP award as a player and to be recognized as Executive of the Year by The Sporting News (1987).

The Baseball Talmud
The Baseball Talmud

Author: Howard Megdal

Publisher: Triumph Books

Published: 2022-05-03

Total Pages: 227

ISBN-13: 163727033X

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Updated and expanded edition! From the icons of the game to the players who got their big break but never quite broke through, The Baseball Talmud provides a wonderful historical narration of Major League Jewish Baseball in America. All the stats, the facts, the stories, and the (often unheralded) glory. This delightful compmendium reveals that there is far more to Jewish baseball than Hank Greenberg's powerful slugging and Sandy Koufax's masterful control. From Ausmus to Zinn, Berg to Kinsler, Holtzman to Yeager, and many others, Howard Megdal draws upon the lore and the little-known details that increase our enjoyment of the game. This new, expanded edition of The Baseball Talmud rewrites the history of Jewish baseball and is a book that every baseball fan should own.

The Spy Who Played Baseball
The Spy Who Played Baseball

Author: Carrie Jones

Publisher: Kar-Ben Publishing ™

Published: 2018-03-01

Total Pages: 35

ISBN-13: 154151713X

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Moe Berg is not a typical baseball player. He's Jewish—very unusual for the major leagues in the 1930s—has a law degree, speaks several languages, and loves traveling the world. He also happens to be a spy for the U.S. government. When World War II begins, Moe trades his baseball career for a life of danger and secrecy. Using his unusual range of skills, he sneaks into enemy territory to gather crucial information that could help defeat the Nazis. But he also has plenty of secrets of his own. . .