P hotos by Glenn Triest

SPORTS

Irwin Cohen checks the seating at Tiger Stadium.

Irwin Cohen hawks tickets and baseball lore
for the Tigers

STEVE STEIN

Special to The Jewish News

I

rwin Cohen leads a
double life.
It's nothing sinister,
however. One look at
the slightly-built, be-
spectacled 49-year-old Oak
Park resident will confirm
that.
Cohen, dubbed "Mr. Base-
ball" by sports columnist Joe
Falls many years ago, is a
fountain of knowledge about
the game. He founded Base-
ball Bulletin magazine in 1975
and just completed his eighth
season as director of group
sales for the Detroit Tigers.
He's also an Orthodox Jew
who is president of Beth
Jacob-Mogain Abraham shul
in Southfield. An avid photog-
rapher, Cohen has put
together a four-hour slide
presentation entitled, "A
History of Detroit and Its
Jewish Community" which
he'll show to groups at no
charge.
It may be a double life, but
it's also a perfect life for Irwin
Cohen. He works for a major
league baseball team in the ci-
ty where he grew up, he at-

54

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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1991

tends shul every day and he's
able to enjoy Shabbat and
other Jewish holidays with his
family and friends.
Sure, he misses many Tigers
home games, he doesn't get to
eat the free food the club pro-
vides its employees (it isn't
kosher) and he declined an all-
expense paid trip to San Diego
for the 1984 World Series
because he would have had to
return on Sukkot.
But you won't find him
complaining.
"When I get to that big
stadium in the sky, I want a
seat in a luxury box, not
behind a post," the soft-spoken
Cohen said with a laugh,
drawing an analogy from his
two worlds.
"Many people ask if it's dif-
ficult being Orthodox," he add-
ed, getting more serious. "I
tell them no. It's very easy. In
fact, Shabbat is my favorite
time of the week.

"To be able to go from Fri-
day night to Saturday night
without answering the phone,
listening to the radio, wat-
ching TV or driving a car
means you create a closer
bond with your family:"
Cohen and his wife of 20

years, Davida, have a
daughter — Chani, 19. Davida
is a fourth-grade teacher at
Yeshiva Beth Yehudah's
Joseph Tanenbaum School for
Boys in Southfield.
His father's love of baseball
got Cohen interested in the
sport. He attended his first
Tigers home game in 1950
with a group from the Yeshiva
Beth Yehudah day camp. The
Tigers beat the Chicago
White Sox 6-2 at Briggs
Stadium.
"I expected the game to be
broadcast over the P.A. system
and I was surprised there was
a grass (and not a dirt) in-
field," Cohen recalled, smiling
at his innocence. "Who saw
games on TV back then?"
Cohen's Baseball Bulletin
was a labor of love. He put out
the monthly publication in his
spare time from 1975 until
1980, when he sold it because
he had neither the time nor
the money to continue it.
During those five years,
Cohen interviewed hundreds
of ballplayers, including stars
Pete Rose and Thurman Mun-
son. He also covered the World
Series and the All-Star Game.
Up-and-coming baseball

writers like Peter Gammons
and Moss Klein wrote for
Cohen, as did Hall of Fame
broadcaster Ernie Harwell
and colorful relief pitcher Tug
McGraw.
Also, Cohen was a frequent
guest on Ron Cameron's
popular radio sports talk show
on WXYZ (now WXYT).

Cameron did an umpire's col-
umn for the Baseball Bulletin.
"You won't find a more loyal
guy than Irwin Cohen,"
Cameron said. "And he really
knows baseball."
Jack Belen agrees with the
last statement. Belen, a
Southfield sports medicine
doctor, and Cohen have been
friends for several years
(Belen also belongs to Beth

Jacob-Mogain Abraham) and
they've attended many base-
ball card shows together.
Cohen writes occasionally for

Baseball Cards Magazine.

"Walking into a card show
with Irwin is like walking in-
to a room with President
Bush," Belen said. "Everyone
knows him and they're in awe
of him because of his
knowledge of baseball.
"I call him a doctor of base-
ball cardiology. He's trying to
make me into one, but there's
no way I can learn as much as
Irwin knows.
"He's very modest about it.
He's just a nice guy. He hasn't
let a little fame go to his head.
Kids at our shul and in his
neighborhood love him. I
guess you could say he's rubb-
ed shoulders with the big
shots and the little shots."

Cohen joined the Tigers late
in 1983 after working for 21
years in the Wayne County
treasurer's office. Because he
loves baseball and the Tigers
and he's in tune with Detroit's
fans (Cohen often speaks to
groups and he gives tours of
Tiger Stadium), he isn't shy
about expressing his opinions