Page Two

DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and The Legal Chronicle

Jewish Stars Glow Brilliantly in the Big
League Firmament of Organized Baseball

of all this was his being able to not finish at the top at the end
When the fabulous John Mc-
make so brilliant a comeback af- of the season.
Graw was alive and managing the ter four years in uniform. The
This phenomenal slugging
New York Giants baseball team,
experts had counted him out, said clinched him a spot on the All-
the one ambition of his life was
he was all washed up after being American team several months
to discover a Jewish star and
away so long, But Hank showed later.
have him cavort at the Polo
that clean living plus determina-
It is fitting that the Giants,
Grounds. Ever alive to the tre-
tion could overcome this obstacle.
which under McGraw had so in-
mendous box-office appeal such a
Rosen this year was paid a dustriously sought a Jewish star,
star would have, McGraw scoured
the country. But in all the years great tribute by the baseball should be the one that has fea-
he went after such a player, he writers of America. When the tured more Jews than any other
succeeded in unearthing only one time came to select the All- team. Hank Denning and Phil
American Major League All-Star Weintraub for a while played
—Andy Cohen.
team, he was named in a poll to
Cohen duly arrived in New occupy one of the three outfield with the New Yorkers. The for-
mer was one of the best catchers
York and was stationed at short- positions. It was a climax to
a
stop with the team. He did not grand uphill struggle. Rosen, a in the business. Following his dis-
last long, and McGraw never did small, chunky fellow, did not look charge from the Army he an-
fully realize his ambition. Mc- like a budding ace when he first nounced his retirement from the
Graw did not live to see the day came up, and he had heart-break- game. Weintraub played with the
when not one, but many Jewish ing reverses, Unlike Greenberg, Giants after coming up with the
players would become firmly en- he was turned down twice before Phils but had an in-and-out rec-
ord. His future with the club is
trenched in the great national he finally won his spot.
dim.
pastime. And this season, with
Born in Toronto, Canada,
However, other Jewish players
several of them returning from
the wars, Jewish stars will make where he dabbled at first in ama- replaced them, notably Sid Gor-
their appearance as they have teur hockey, Goody got his big don, Harry Feldman, Moe Arno-
chance when Larry MacPhail was vich, and Mike Schemer. Gordon
never done before.
The spotlight, in particular, replaced by Branch Rickey as is a product of sandlot teams in
will be upon two of them—ham- executive of the Dodgers. Mac- East New York, in Brooklyn, and
mering Hank Greenberg of the Phail had looked Rosen over when he first attracted attention when
world champion Detroit Tigers he ran the Brooklyn team and he he starred at third base for the
and Goody Rosen of the Brook- decided that Goody was too small championship Tilden High School
lyn Dodgers, both outfielders. and didn't hit hard enough. Rosen nine. He then went on to acquire
Greenberg is returning for his then dawdled around minor polish with industrial and semi-
first full season of baseball since leagues, waiting for another shot pro teams, finally winning a con-
tract with the Giants. He served
1941, when he entered the armed at the big time.
That opportunity arrived last his apprenticeship with Milford
forces. As an enlisted man, he
had as distinguished a career in year after Rickey came from St. and Jersey City before becoming
the Army as he did on the dia- Louis to take charge of the a fixture at the Polo Grounds. He
mond. He rose to the rank of cap- Brooklyn Club. Goody at the is ticketed for a spot in the out-
tain, held an important assign- time was playing with Syracuse field this season.
ment in the China theatre of in the International League. Rick-
Harry Feldman is another Jew-
operations with the B-29 com- ey desperately needed a spar out- ish player who attracted attention
mand and was cited for merito- fielder and decided that Rosen through good work with the
was the man. Perhaps he was also Giants' farm in Jersey. A steady
rious service.
Released late in the 1945 sea- motivated by the thought that Ro- pitcher who combines "stuff"
son, Hank nevertheless was able sen being Jewish, the Jewish pa- with "brains," he was one of the
to come back to play a decisive trons would turn out in droves to stalwarts on last year's club. He,
role in the American League see him play. At any rate, he like Gordon, is one of the young-
pennant race. An inspiring hus- paid $20,000 for him and brought er crop Mel Ott is grooming for
tler, an invaluable asset to his him to Ebbets Field last year. the future.
team's morale, Hank could al- But Goody had trouble hitting,
Moe Arnovich is an exception
ways be depended upon to come and he was so discouraged he to the rule in that he does noc
through when needed. Without was on the verge of quitting.
come from New York or from
The decisive "break" came sud- the East. He spent his boyhood in
him Detroit was just another
club. Before he ; went into the denly. One of the Dodger players Superior, Wisc., and manned the
Army, he earned $55,000 a year, had eaten fish that did not agree pumps after school at one of his
a figure surpassed only by Babe with him and he reported sick. father's auto service stations. He
Ruth. When he came back last He was a first baseman and Goo- always kept a couple of gloves
year, he smote a mighty homer dy, the outfielder, was pressed around and when the gas trade
that clinched the pennant for the into service. He made good with lagged, he'd play catch with the
Tigers and in the World Series a bang and slugged sensationally, other boys. That served to de-
with the Cubs was acclaimed by following the advice of one of the velop his great throwing arm.
the writers as the hero because Dodger coaches to "loosen up" at Dave Bancroft, a great shortstop
the plate. For a while he led both in his day, also lived in Superior
of his great hitting.
But what was most significant leagues in batting, though he did and watched Moe play. He ad-
vised him to switch from the in-
field to the outfield.

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When Moe played with the
Phils in 1939, after "breaking in"
in 1937, he was a sensation, bat-
ting .370 at one time to lead the
league. The Giants became in-
terested in him and bought him,
but in '42 he went into the
Army. He is due back in the
game this year and much will be

Friday, April 12, 1946

heard from him.
Schemer is the fourth Jewish
Giant, a first-sacker who relieved
Weintraub last August. A few
days after he had been called up
from Jersey City to step into the
breach, he wrecked the league-
leading Cubs with four straight
hits, handing the New Yorkers a
4-3 victory. He finished out the
campaign in good stride but his
fate with this year's club, in view
of the GIs coming back, is still
undetermined.
The Dodgers have lately been
on the lookout for Jewish stars
and even before they acquired
Rosen they sponsored talent from
their own backyard. Harry Eisen-
stat, a left-handed pitcher, was
with them for a while before be-
ing traded, and so was Sam Na-
hem, a Brooklyn College righty

product, who went later to Phila.
delphia and St. Louis. Another
player was Cy Block, who was
sold to the Chicago Cubs. Cy, a
second baseman, was sent to the
Macon farm and he made good
with a bang. He led the league
in batting with a .377 mark and
drove in 93 runs. At the end of
the season he was voted the most
valuable player of the South At-
lantic League, The Cubs, cogniz-
ant of his skill, called him up but
his big-league career was nipped
when he went into the Coast
Guard.

Last September, however, he
was discharged and immediately
reported for action. He played
with the Cubs briefly in the World
Series and is looked upon us
promising material for this corn-
ing campaign.

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