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List of Jewish American sportspeople

 
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This is a list of notable Jewish American sportspeople. For other famous Jewish Americans, see List of Jewish Americans; for sportspeople from other countries; see List of Jews in sport.

Contents

Baseball

Unless otherwise noted, all baseball players sourced from the Chicago Jewish News Online[1] and Wikipedia.

It is often stated incorrectly that Hall of Famer Rod Carew converted to Judaism, although it is true that he married a Jewish woman and they raised their children as Jews. This misconception was most famously perpetuated in two works:

  • A 1976 Esquire magazine article, "All-Time All-Star Argument Starter", by sportswriter Harry Stein, himself Jewish. Stein named Carew as the starting second baseman on his All-Jewish team.
  • "The Chanukah Song" by Jewish American comedian and actor Adam Sandler. He explicitly stated in his original 1994 version that Carew converted to Judaism, and Sandler has perpetuated this in later versions of the song.

Basketball

Boxing

Fencing

Football

Golf

Hockey

Motor sports

Power sports

Skating

Soccer

Swimming

Tennis and racquet sports

Track and Field

  • Gerald Ashworth — World record holder — 100 yards, 100 meters — 1964 Olympic track athlete-gold medal[49]
  • Louis Clarke — Olympic gold medal, 4X100-meter relay[49]
  • Lillian Copeland — 1932 Olympic gold medalist in the discus
  • Hugo Friend — long jump, Olympic bronze medal[49]
  • James Fuchs — shot put, Olympic bronze medal[49]
  • Daniel Frank — long jump, Olympic silver medal[49]
  • Marty Glickman — Sprinter/Football Player/Sportscaster[145]
  • Milton Green — was the world record holder in the high hurdles in the 1930s. He was considered sure to make the Olympic team in 1936, but chose not to participate in protest of the event being held in Nazi Germany.
  • Doug Heir — Paralympic athlete (6g2s2b)[146]
  • Charles Jacobs — Bronze medal, Olympic pole vault[49]
  • Deena Kastor — long-distance runner[147]
  • Abel Kiviat — middle-distance runner[148]
  • Margaret Bergmann Lambert — US Champion in high jump, 1937-38, and shotput, 1938. Gretel Bergmann, a Jew from Laupheim, Germany, was one of the leading high jumpers in Europe, destined for the 1936 Berlin Olympics. After the rise of Hitler, she (like all German Jews) was barred from sporting events that included non-Jewish athletes. This led to her emigration, in 1934, to England, where she won the British high jump championship in 1935. On the same day, she learned that, to avoid retribution on her family from the Nazis, she would be forced to return to Germany to train with other Olympic candidates — part of an attempt by Germany to avoid an international boycott of the games. Bergmann trained with the German Olympic team until two weeks before the games, tying the German record in high jump in the process — then received a letter dropping her from the team, supposedly for subpar performance. The following year, Bergmann emigrated to New York, where she excelled in track & field until stopping her career with the onset of World War II. Still living in New York, she is the subject of the frequently aired HBO documentary "Hitler's Pawn."[149]
  • Alvah Meyer — Silver medal, 100 meter dash, 1912 Olympics[49]
  • Lon Myers — 19th century running champion[150]
  • Myer Prinstein — Olympic jumper (4g1s)[151]
  • Steve Seymour — javelin throw, Olympic Silver medal[49]
  • Gillette Silver - 400 yd dash.

Miscellaneous Sports

  • Lewis Abelson - All-American in water polo at City College of New York and member of school's Hall of Fame
  • Jeremy Bloom — Olympic skier/model/NFL football player[84]
  • Walter Blum — jockey[152]
  • Brian Davidoff - 2003 Dart Trowing World Champion, creator of the B-Doff line of throwing darts
  • Sidney Franklin — bullfighter[153]
  • Mitch Gaylord — gymnast[154]
  • Alan Gelfand — skateboarder, inventor of the ollie[155]
  • Bill Goldberg — professional wrestler[156]
  • Jenny Hahn - dancer
  • Stuart Leffler - Ice Barrel Jumping, Rhythmic dancing [153]
  • Willie Harmatz was a jockey in the 1950s and 1960s. He was a nephew of the owners of the famous New York restaurant "Ratner's".[157]
  • Vic Hershkowitz — handball champion[158]
  • Marshall Holman — bowling champion[159]
  • Jimmy Jacobs — handball champion, boxing coach[160]
  • Jordan Jakubovitz — legendary American sports journalist
  • Scott Levy - professional wrestler
  • Mindy Glatt - professional thumb wrestler. Sadly, her career came to an abrupt ending after a minivan door closed on her prized digit [158]
  • Mark Roth — bowling champion[161]
  • Kerri Strug — gymnast[162]
  • Jarrod Morgenstern — beach volleyball player[163]
  • Ian Stockstill - curler, winner of the 2002 WCA Curling Championship in Lublin, Poland

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ Chicago Jewish News - Jewish Chicago's Hometown Newspaper
  2. ^ Jesse Baker at Baseball-Reference.com.
  3. ^ Blomberg — [1] "Ron Blomberg... Big, hulking Jewish kid from Atlanta."
  4. ^ Andy Cohen Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com
  5. ^ a b Jews in Baseball
  6. ^ [2] [3]
  7. ^ [4] "Last week, Jewish OFs Adam Greenberg..."
  8. ^ The Jewish All-Star Team | BaseballLibrary.com
  9. ^ [5] "Add Ian Kinsler to the names of Jewish major leaguers."
  10. ^ Jonathan Tobin
  11. ^ Jewish Sports Hall of Fame 1999
  12. ^ His Father May Write About It, but Newhan Plays the Game - New York Times
  13. ^ a b Chicago White Sox: Front Office
  14. ^ [6] "Olympic experience thrills Canadian Jewish ballplayer..."
  15. ^ Baseball Reference
  16. ^ [7] "Sandy Koufax isn't the only major league baseball player who refused to pitch on Yom Kippur. It was the fall of 1963, and Larry Yellen was slated to make his major league debut for the Houston Colt .45s against the New York Mets when he received a call from his mother."
  17. ^ [8] "two Jewish back-ups have had a chance to play: third baseman Kevin Youkilis and right fielder Gabe Kapler." [9]
  18. ^ Arnold "Red" Auerbach
  19. ^ Bemoras, Irv : Jews In Sports @ Virtual Museum
  20. ^ Senda Berenson
  21. ^ [10] "Jewish shooting star aims to make his mark in NBA... Bluthenthal’s late mother was Jewish and his father is black — the family name Bluthenthal originated with a slave owner David Bluthenthal believes was German-Jewish."
  22. ^ [11] "Brown is the fifth Jewish Head Coach to win an NBA title..."
  23. ^ [12] "Bruin fans call him the Jewish Jordan...He's a real, live Jewish kid from the heart of Los Angeles, whose step-father is Israeli and has visited Israel twice" [13]
  24. ^ [14] "“Even though I’m Jewish,” he says, “I joined a CYO team and became the player-coach. It’s the only thing I have in common with Bill Russell.”"
  25. ^ Friedman, Marty : Jews In Sports @ Virtual Museum
  26. ^ [15] "first 6 winners, including Dutch Garfinkel, were Jewish..."
  27. ^ Ernie Grunfeld
  28. ^ Gottlieb, Doug : Jews In Sports @ Virtual Museum
  29. ^ Hank Greenberg Movie
  30. ^ Heyman, Art : Jews In Sports @ Virtual Museum
  31. ^ [16] "Holman was always very conscious of being Jewish..."
  32. ^ [17] [18]
  33. ^ Kaplowitz, Ralph : Jews In Sports @ Virtual Museum
  34. ^ Klotz, "Red" : Jews In Sports @ Virtual Museum
  35. ^ [19] [20]
  36. ^ [21] [22]
  37. ^ [23] [24]
  38. ^ [25] [26]
  39. ^ [27] [28]
  40. ^ [29]
  41. ^ [30] [31]
  42. ^ a b c d [32]
  43. ^ [33]
  44. ^ [34] [35]
  45. ^ Jewish News, Jewish Newspapers - Forward.com
  46. ^ [36] [37]
  47. ^ [38] "...who could better serve as a contrast to the Irish Catholic family man from New Jersey than a tough, mouthy Jewish kid with a million-dollar strut named Max Baer?" [39]
  48. ^ a b [40]
  49. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Jewish Olympic Medalists
  50. ^ Jack Bernstein (John Dodick)
  51. ^ Jewish News, Jewish Newspapers - Forward.com
  52. ^ [41] [42]
  53. ^ ..."You want to make money fighting, don't you? People like to come to fights to see guys they think are tough." So Davis became known as Bummy, though he was not a bum, either as a boxer or as a person. His tragic — and violent — death was indicative of the way he lived his life. In 1945, at the age of 25, Davis was fatally shot to death while coming to the defense of a barkeep during a robbery attempt.</r>[43]
  54. ^ Benny Goldberg entry at BoxRec.com
  55. ^ Israel “Charley” Goldman
  56. ^ Jews in Boxing
  57. ^ Joe Louis and the Jews
  58. ^ Jewish News, Jewish Newspapers - Forward.com
  59. ^ [44] "The “First Lady of Boxing” is often asked what a nice Jewish girl like her is doing in a sport like that."
  60. ^ [45] [46]
  61. ^ Herbie Kronowitz - Boxrec Boxing Encyclopaedia
  62. ^ [47] [48]
  63. ^ [49] [50]
  64. ^ Battling Levinsky (Barney Lebrowitz)
  65. ^ Ted “Kid” Lewis (Gershon Mendeloff)
  66. ^ ThisNthat - Book Reviews
  67. ^ [51] [52]
  68. ^ [53] [54]
  69. ^ Olin, Bob : Jews In Sports @ Virtual Museum
  70. ^ [55] [56]
  71. ^ [57]
  72. ^ [58] [59]
  73. ^ [60] [61]
  74. ^ JewishSports.com
  75. ^ [62] [63]
  76. ^ The Cyber Boxing Zone
  77. ^ Valger, Benny : Jews In Sports @ Virtual Museum
  78. ^ Uc_Hilal : Jews In Sports @ Virtual Museum
  79. ^ :: Welcome To The Jewish Ledger ::
  80. ^ Uc_Hilal : Jews In Sports @ Virtual Museum
  81. ^ [64] [65]
  82. ^ [66] [67]
  83. ^ [68]
  84. ^ a b [69] "Jewish skier comes back to his true love — football..."
  85. ^ Jay Fiedler
  86. ^ [70] [71]
  87. ^ [72] [73]
  88. ^ [74]
  89. ^ Printable Version
  90. ^ [75][76]
  91. ^ [77] [78]
  92. ^ [79]
  93. ^ [80] [81]
  94. ^ Mix, Ron : Jews In Sports @ Virtual Museum
  95. ^ [82] [83]
  96. ^ [84] [85]
  97. ^ NFL has Jewish year - Jewish News of Greater Phoenix
  98. ^ [86] [87]
  99. ^ What Being Jewish Means To Me - American Jewish Committee
  100. ^ Wood, Gary : Jews In Sports @ Virtual Museum
  101. ^ [88]
  102. ^ JewishJournal.com
  103. ^ [89] [90]
  104. ^ [91] [92]
  105. ^ [93] "Nystrom is the highest Jewish draft pick in NHL draft history"
  106. ^ [94] [95]
  107. ^ JewishJournal.com
  108. ^ [96] "Newman self-identifies as Jewish, "because it's more of a challenge", per Earl Blackwell (1991)."
  109. ^ Jews in Sports from A to M
  110. ^ a b Jewish News, Jewish Newspapers - Forward.com
  111. ^ The Hebrew Hulk - San Diego Jewish Journal
  112. ^ [97]]
  113. ^ Jewish News, Jewish Newspapers - Forward.com
  114. ^ [98] [99]
  115. ^ [100]
  116. ^ [101] "2006 Jewish-American Olympians to watch for... Ice skater Sasha Cohen" [102] [103]
  117. ^ Galler-Rabinowitz — [104]
  118. ^ [105] "2006 Jewish-American Olympians to watch for in Turin... Melissa Gregory" [106] "Gregory is the daughter of a Jewish mother and a non-practicing Catholic father. She now lives in Connecticut to train and Gregory recently spoke to the Connecticut Jewish Ledger about her religious background: "We [my brother and I] were brought up with the feeling that you have to believe in G-d. You have to believe in right and wrong. The rest they kind of left up to us. We celebrated everything-Christmas, Hanukkah, all the Jewish holidays, Easter. They taught us both traditions. Then when we got older they said whatever we chose and whatever we wanted was good with them. I identify that my heritage is Jewish. I feel proud of it.""
  119. ^ [107] "Emily Hughes—whose sister Sarah won the 2002 Olympic gold medal in women's figureskating—also is Jewish."
  120. ^ [108] [109]
  121. ^ Jews In Sports: Exhibit Page @ Virtual Museum
  122. ^ [110] "2006 Jewish-American Olympians to watch for in Turin! Ice dancer Jamie Silverstein"
  123. ^ JewishJournal.com
  124. ^ Bornstein — named as on "Jewish Sports Review Men's All-America First-Team" at [111]; [112] ""It was amazing. It was great. I loved it. It made me realize how fulfilling and enriched Jewish culture really is," Bornstein said. "So in the past couple years, I've felt more Jewish than ever." His father is Jewish and his mother is a non-Jew from Mexico. Bornstein grew up celebrating Passover and Rosh Hashanah with relatives. He did not have a bar mitzvah, and he doesn't consider himself observant. The Maccabiah experience was a way for him to connect with Judaism."
  125. ^ Winter News
  126. ^ Feilhaber — [113] "Outside of my UCLA teammate Benny Feilhaber, I never really thought there were other high-class Jewish soccer players out there"
  127. ^ AJHS: Archive of American Jews in Sports
  128. ^ Messing, Shep : Jews In Sports @ Virtual Museum
  129. ^ Major League Soccer: Home: The Official Site of Major League Soccer
  130. ^ Women In Sports
  131. ^ JewishJournal.com
  132. ^ [114]
  133. ^ Jews in the Olympics
  134. ^ Lenny Krayzelburg
  135. ^ [115] [116]
  136. ^ Spitz — [117] "Spitz became the first Jewish recipient of the James E. Sullivan Award..."
  137. ^ Amazon.com: Jewish Sports Legends: The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, 4th Edition: Books: Joseph M. Siegman
  138. ^ This article is unavailable - HighBeam Research
  139. ^ [118] ""He knows he's Jewish and the values are there with him," said Clark Goldstein, Paul's father."
  140. ^ Brian Gottfried
  141. ^ [119] [120]
  142. ^ [121]
  143. ^ Victor Niederhoffer Hall of Fame Profile
  144. ^ Savitt, Dick : Jews In Sports @ Virtual Museum
  145. ^ Jews and the Games
  146. ^ [122]
  147. ^ The Jewish Chronicle
  148. ^ Abel Kiviat
  149. ^ Uc_Hilal : Jews In Sports @ Virtual Museum
  150. ^ [123] [124]
  151. ^ [125] [126]
  152. ^ Celebrity Jewish Speakers - Famous Jews in Sports Jewish Athletes
  153. ^ This article is unavailable - HighBeam Research
  154. ^ Mitch Gaylord Speaker Bio - Find booking agent contact to book top speakers bureau and celebrities
  155. ^ [127]
  156. ^ [128] "The man who made his name as a Jewish pro wrestler talks about his recent religious awakening"
  157. ^ Jews In Horse Racing
  158. ^ Victor “Vic” Hershkowitz
  159. ^ [129] [130]
  160. ^ [131] [132]
  161. ^ Mark Roth
  162. ^ [133] [134]
  163. ^ LJWorld.com / 6Sports video: KU volleyball squad hoping for return to NCAA Tourney

Russell Mathias, University of Arizona Lacrosse, champion in 2005


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Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "List of Jewish American sportspeople".  Read more