Notable Jewish Athletes Break Barriers in Professional Sports

By Noma Faingold

There is an organization called the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame of Northern California (JSHFNC), just one of at least a dozen such regional non-profit entities in the United States determined to recognize and make the public more aware of the contribution Jews have made to the sporting world.

The old jokes and images about Jews being wimps and/or brainiacs are passe and maybe never actually had a basis in reality, according to philanthropist Tad Taube, one of five people being inducted into the Jewish Hall of Fame at the its annual induction banquet May 4, which will be held at the Mission Bay Conference Center. Several Bay Area student athletes will also be awarded scholarships.

"It's stereotyping that Jews are only associated with intellectual activities, like medicine and law. People would be surprised at the amount of Jewish personalities in professional sports. I was surprised when I did some research," Taube said.

Taube, 76, president of the Koret Foundation and chairman of Taube Philanthropies, has deduced that if Jews make up only two percent of the U.S. population (according to official statistics), then their mark on the sporting field "is quite remarkable."

Some of the most illustrious Jewish athletes include baseball's Sandy Koufax and Hank Greenberg (both of whom refused to play ball on Yom Kippur), current New York Mets outfielder Shawn Green, former Oakland A's pitcher Ken Holtzman and 1953 MVP and former San Francisco Giants General Manager Al "Hebrew Hammer" Rosen, who is also being inducted into the Hall at this year's ceremony.

In football, standouts include quarterback Sid Luckman, former San Francisco 49ers tight end John Frank (also being inducted this year) and offensive lineman Harris Barton, who was inducted in the first JSHFNC ceremony in 2006.

Other famous Jewish athletes include Mark Spitz, an Olympic gold medal winner, pro tennis players Brad Gilbert and Justin Gimelstab, figure skaters Sarah Hughes (2002 Olympic gold medalist) and U.S. Champion Sasha Cohen, and numerous boxers, including Max Baer, Benny Leonard and Barney Ross.

In fact, Jews dominated boxing both inside and outside of the ring for decades, especially from the '30s to the '50s, as fighters, trainers, managers, agents, promoters and other entrepreneurs.

"It was a way for Jewish immigrants to propel themselves out of the ghetto," says Jack Anderson, President of the JSHFNC board of directors. "Not everyone can be a great athlete, but there's always been a great deal of interest in sports on the part of Jews."

Indeed. But it's clear Jews have made the biggest impact on sports off the field as team owners, commissioners, executives, agents, coaches, philanthropists, members of the media and entrepreneurs. The head count alone is undeniable. The commissioners of the National Basketball Association (David Stern), Major League Baseball (Bud Selig) and National Hockey League (Gary Bettman) are all Jewish. By 1999, nearly half of the NBA's 29 team owners were Jewish.

The Bay Area's own Leigh Steinberg, the super-agent who was the inspiration for the Tom Cruise movie vehicle, "Jerry McGuire," represented the largest number of NFL athletes (70) by 1995.

Agent David Falk has had the same kind of success with NBA stars. Because of his representation of numerous stars, including Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Morning, Falk has been called the most powerful person in the NBA after its commissioner, Stern.

Taube's first high-profile venture into sports was as an organizer and founder of the United States Football League (USFL), which existed for three springtime seasons (1983-85). He also became the owner of the Oakland Invaders. He had been used to great success running a real estate investment and management organization and was not pleased about losing $500,000 per week with the upstart league. Nor did he enjoy losing games, including nine in a row during the second season.

"I took a lot of heat from the media and the fans," he says. "I remember walking through the stadium tunnel at a game and was greeted by a chorus of boos."

It proved to be a much more satisfying experience when Taube became a major supporter of athletics at Stanford, his alma mater, and served as chair of the Stanford Athletic Board. His family foundation was the principal donor for Stanford's world class Taube Family Tennis Stadium and complex, which has hosted a women's pro tour stop for several years, the Federation Cup and both the men's and women's NCAA championships. He also contributed significantly toward the football stadium rebuilt in 2006.

"Now I'm just a fan," Taube says.

As San Francisco Giants executive vice president and chief operating officer, Larry Baer was the most driving force behind every phase of building the downtown ballpark known as AT&T Park. He's had a huge influence on the transformation of the South of Market Area (SOMA).

"Having a downtown ballpark lends a sense of community," says the 49-year-old Baer, a fourth generation San Franciscan. "My most treasured moments with the ballpark were at the first exhibition games (in 2000), seeing people come to the ballpark on the N Judah, the train, walking, on skateboards and bikes - all wearing smiles on their faces.

" Baer loved sports growing up and played competitively through high school.

"I never really saw myself as having the skills to be a pro athlete but I wanted to be involved in some way."

He started out with the Giants as marketing director before getting an MBA at Harvard Business School. After a stint in broadcasting, he returned to the Giants in 1992.

Does being Jewish have anything to do with how he performs his job and how he got there?

"What I do is consistent with Jewish values and human values. Those values lend themselves to this sort of work," says Baer. "I think that's true for a lot of other Jews who are involved in sports."

The San Francisco Giants will be holding a Jewish Heritage Night on Aug. 25, at 7:15 p.m. For more information, go to the Giant's Web site at www.sfgiants.com. The Jewish Sports Hall of Fame of Northern California's Second Annual Induction Banquet, May 4, 6 p.m., at Mission Bay Conference Center, 1675 Owens St. For more information, call (408) 374-1600.