Mr. Baseball

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Mel Allen's funeral revealed a Jewish side
and the universal nature of the man
fans knew as the "Voice of the Yankees."

LENN ZONDER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

hey came to pay homage to the
"Homer of Homers," the epic poet of
baseball's greatest era.
Joltin' Joe, Whitey, Joe Pepitone and
Stick, Scooter and Yogi.
Phil Linz came without his harmonica,
and so did former New York Giant catch-
er Sally Yvars. They sat behind George
Steinbrenner.
From the media came Marty Glickman,
Bob Costas, Mary Albert, Burt Sugar and
others. They sat with close to 600 friends,
family and fans attending Mel Allen's fu-
neral at Temple Beth El in Stamford,
Conn., June 19.

Lenn Zonder writes for the Connecticut
Jewish Ledger, where this article first
appeared. ©Lenn Zonder, 1996.

Beth El wasn't chosen because of its im- which lived and breathed through him,
posing grandeur, but because it was Mel's but only inasmuch as it expressed the dra-
synagogue.
ma, beauty and poetry of life. It wasn't the
"Thirty years ago this week," Rabbi game that mattered; it was the living and
Emeritus Alex Goldman said in his eulo- the breathing.
gy, "I sat with the officers of the synagogue
"It was on that night that the Voice of
to discuss my affiliation here. As the the Yankees enabled this Red Sox fan to
evening drew to a close ; I asked for a copy understand that ultimately we are all on
of the membership list. I scanned it and the same team."
saw the name Mel Allen.
Mel left behind his sister, Esther Kauf-
"Startled, I asked cautiously, 'Is this the man, with whom he lived; a brother, Lar-
Mel Allen?' They responded in the affir- ry Allen; and nieces and nephews.
mative. Wow!,' I declared. 'Let's cut a
Some will tell you that Mel died wife-
deal.' "
less and childless, but that was not true.
Few in the congregation that morning He left a wife to whom he was faithfully
didn't know about the Mel Allen of base- married 57 years. Her name was the New
ball. But on June 19, Rabbis Goldman and York Yankees.
Joshua Hammerman unveiled a side of
And even when they broke apart in
the man, a very Jewish side, we knew lit- 1964, he remained ever faithful through
tle about.
their 12-year separation.
Mr. Allen's paternal grandfather found-
In 1976, the oft-maligned owner of the
ed the first synagogue in Alabama. His Yankees, George Steinbrenner, reunited
maternal grandfather was a rabbi and re- them. It gladdened our hearts to see Mel
ligious leader in Cincinnati.
home where he belonged.
"His family tree," said Rabbi Hammer-
As for children, there are just too many
man, "includes William Levine, the first to enumerate. But we know who we are.
Jew to sit in the Russian Duma,
We are the legions of Yankees
and the great historian Simon Dub-
fans that he raised on baseball.
now.
His rich Alabama tenor kept us
Mel Allen:
"Mel Allen loved this synagogue.
on the edge of our chairs, leaning
Voice of the
He was part of it, and every year
forward toward our radios to catch
Yan kees.
he stood on this pulpit at the be-
each word and nuance of his ex-
ginning of Yom Kippur holding a
citing delivery, his wit and his wis-
sacred Torah scroll during the Kol Nidre dom.
prayer. His presence meant so much to us.
Mel Allen had the common touch. He
We knew that with his help our prayers could talk to a Rhodes Scholar and a 5-
would have a far better chance of making year-old child and leave both thrilled and
it over that wall — going, going, gone."
cheering.
Rabbi Hammerman also described Mr.
We craved his insight so much we car-
Allen as a loving son who took care of his ried radios to Yankee Stadium to hear him
parents in their old age.
describe the action we were watching. As
"When his father was ill, Mel said to knowledgeable as some of us might have
them, 'I need you to make a home for me been, he enabled us to see more.
up here.' Through his sensitivity, he led
It was through his eyes, wisdom and
his parents to believe that they were mov- unbounded enthusiasm that Mr. Allen saw
ing up from Alabama to help, him.
the best in baseball and the best in men.
"And after they passed on, they contin-
As a graduate-teaching assistant at the
ued to be in his thoughts. Every year, at University of Alabama, he once failed Bear
our memorial service in the cemetery next Bryant, but the two remained friends
door, Mel would be there, with his sister through Bryant's own illustrious career.
Esther, to remember.
Once, a former assistant football coach
"You see," Rabbi Goldman said, "the who was contemplating a career in sports
man millions admired in the world arena announcing solicited Mr. Allen's opinion.
was a man of his family first. That's where Instead of brushing the young man off, Mr.
he came from; that's where he drew his Allen talked to him for about an hour. That
strength and vigor."
grateful young man grew up to be George
In truth, both rabbis let their "sox" down Steinbrenner.
at the funeral. Rabbi Hammerman, who
Mel Allen told me several times that he
came to Beth El from Boston, admitted to did not share the low opinions others had
being an avid Red Sox fan. Rabbi Gold- of the Yankees owner. But then, it was not
man went to school two blocks from Mel Allen to look for the negative, only the
Comiskey Park and still holds his White positive.
Sox dear to his heart. But it took the Voice
Someday soon, the Yankees will erect
of the Yankees to make them see they a plaque in Monument Park, behind cen-
were all on the same team.
terfield in Yankee Stadium, in Mel Allen's
It happened erev Yom Kippur two years
honor. Once again, the Baseball Hall of
ago when the lords of baseball canceled Fame announcer will take the field with
the World Series. Rabbi Hammerman the men whose exploits he made famous.
thought this was a deep tragedy, calling
Does Mel Allen belong with such men?
it "such a sad day."
"Absolutely," says former Yankees an-
"And Mel, in his matter-of-fact way, nouncer Fran Healy. "One day I found
which could often mask deep wisdom as myself sitting in the announcing booth,
plain common sense, replied, 'This is not Mel on one side of me and Joe DiMaggio
a tragedy. War, now that's tragic. Pover- on the other. And I thought to myself 'On
ty and hunger, that's a tragedy. This is not this side is the Joe DiMaggio of an-
a tragedy.'
nouncers. And on this side the Mel Allen
"And I ascended the pulpit that night a of hitters.' "
Mr. Allen will always be known for base-
whole lot wiser. Mr. Baseball made me un-
derstand that it was just a game, a game
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