Newspaper Page Text
The Years in
By BILL WOLF
The biggest event of the year for
fans interested in Jews in sports
takes place from Sept. 20-29 in
Israel.
Some 1,000 athletes from all parts
of the world will gather in Israel
to compete in the Maccabiah
Games, held every three years.
A team of 100 athletes from the
United States will participate, in
cluding a number of leading non-
Jewish Olympic champions who are
going along to give exhibition per
formances. There will be large
teams from England, South Africa,
and as at the previous Maccabiah,
Israel is expected to field the larg
est aggregation.
In all, there will be competition
in 19 sports. The eyes of athletic
enthusiasts from all over the world
will be on Israel during the period
of the Maccabiah, which has all the
trappings of a “little Olympics.”
It is expected that the American
team, sponsored by the U. S. Com
mittee for Sports in Israel, will re
turn with plenty of motion pictures
in color so that some of the spirit
of the games can be recaptured for
audiences in this country.
* * *
BASEBALL —The biggest base
ball news of this year’s season was
the tremendous performance of A1
Rosen. Al, playing one of his best
years, was hitting practically every
thing in sight. He showed promise
of being the American League
leader in both the home run divi
sion and the runs batted in com-
petion, as well as finishing high in
the batting average column.
Other baseball notes: “Cal
Abrams did better after being
switched to a Pittsburgh uniform
in a trade from the Cincinnati Reds
. . . Joe Ginsberg likewise improved
and saw more action as a catcher
for the Cleveland Indians. Joe has
been traded from the Detroit Tigers
. . . Sid Gordon continued a valu
able player for the Boston Braves
. . . Sol Rogovin failed to hit the
stride that was expected of him
as he got off to a slow start hurling
for the Chicago White Sox. . .
* * *
BASKETBALL — Top basketball
story of the year was the ordeal
suffered by Nat Holman, one of
the leading figures in basketball.
Holman, who piloted the City Col
lege of New York cage squad, was
suspended following the basketball
scandals. College authorities ac
cused Holman of neglect of duty
and improper conduct. Holman pro
tested vigorously, said he was being
made a scapegoat and fought back
in a departmental trial. . . .
Abe Saperstein’s Harlem Globe
trotters, celebrated Negro basket
ball team, kept going at its history
making pace, playing throughout
the world and setting many new
attendance records. Saperstein was
Jewish Sports
portrayed in a Hollywood film
about the Globetrotters. . . .
There were many Jewish stars,
too numerous to mention, on col
lege and university basketball
teams throughout the country. One
of the outstanding coaches was
Tubby Raskin, who had a leave
of absence from Brooklyn College
to pilot the Israel basketball team
at the 1952 Olympics in Finland. . .
Israel’s basketball team did itself
proud by making a powerful show
ing in the European basketball
tournament held in Moscow. Com
peting against some of the best
court clubs in Europe, the Israelis
placed filth and astonished obser
vers by their ability. The team from
Israel had learned much since the
days when basketball was not very
popular in the country. A lot of
credit goes to Nat Holman and
Tubby Raskin for furthering the
sport to the point that it is one of
the top games in Israel at the
moment.
# * *
CHESS This isn’t usually a
sport that attracts a lot of attention.
Matches are usually held minus a
lot of fanfare with only those who
closely follow the game paying at
tention. But this year the game of
chess suddenly shot into the head
lines with plenty of interest for
Jewish sports fans. The reason: A
match was scheduled between the
U. S. chess team and the Russian
chess team, with Jewish players as
the chief contenders. For the U. S.
team there was Samuel Reshevsky,
backed up by several other Jewish
stars. For the Soviet club there was
world’s champion Milhail Botvin-
nik, with several other Jewish play
ers also starring on the Russian
team. The match appeared slated to
be a good opportunity to improve
international sports relations and
see some Jewish sportsmen from
Russia in action.
However, the match never came
off. For some reason the U. S. State
Department ruled that Russian
players could not live at the Rus
sian Embassy home at Glen Cove,
Long Island. They would have to
live in a New York hotel. The Rus
sians resented the restrictions, said
they were insulting, and called off
the trip.
♦ * *
HERE AND THERE—There were
numerous Jewish athletes holding
down important positions on col
lege gridiron teams across the
country last fall . . . Sam Gerson
of Philadelphia, who is a former
Olympic star and a believer in
keeping up friendships between the
athletes of many nations, continued
his organizational efforts. Gerson
worked to expand the United States
Olympians, an organization for past
Olympic stars, and started work
on a new project — a similar or
ganization on an international
scale . . .
Tragedy struck a promising base-
a world of
beautiful fashions
at your fingertips
Serving Southern Investors for 59 Years
The Robinson-Humphrey Co., Inc.
MUNICIPAL & CORPORATE BONDS & LOCAL STOCKS
Robinson, Humphrey & Co.
MEMBERS OF NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE
1901 RHODES-HAVERTY BUILDING
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
WAInut 0316 Long Distance 421
A Definite Rate of Interest
GEORGIA SAVINGS BANK
74 PEACHTREE STREET, N. E.
- Member Federal Deposit Insurance Corp
The Southern Israelite
(19)