fog-
144a.
Son remembers his
dad, a hotdog vendor
for the Tigers for
41"\
more than 40 years.
i
Vendors relax at Tiger Stadium circa 1960. Leon Maloff is in the upper left.
Larry Maloff
Special to the Jewish News
0
pening day is only a short
week away. The Detroit Tigers
and the BoSox will play April
5 at the beautiful Comerica Park. But
for me, opening day never fails to
conjure up memories of my late father,
Leon Maloff, who worked part-time
for more than 40 years as a vendor at
Tiger Stadium and the former Briggs
Stadium.
My dad used to go straight to the
stadium from his job as a cab driver
Downtown. Then he would change
into his blue uniform and get ready to
please the crowd by selling delicious
Hygrade Ball Park Franks. He appeared
in TV, radio and print ads for Hygrade
in the 1960s.
He began his career as a vendor as a
boy in Syracuse, N.Y., where he would
buy a ticket to Syracuse University
football games, smuggle in 20 boxes of
candy and walk around the stadium
selling them. "Vending is a good job. It's
fast money:' my dad used to say.
He was thrilled to work as a vendor
during the 1968 and 1984 Tigers World
Series seasons. He enjoyed getting
to know the late Ernie Harwell and
many of the Detroit Tigers. He also
got to serve many celebrities hotdogs,
including Joe Louis, Hubert Humphrey,
Dick Vitale, and one of his favorites —
Milton Berle.
During our high school years, my
brother, Howard, and I also worked as
vendors on weekends. We sold Pepsi
and popcorn and felt it was a real treat
.
to be working at Tiger Stadium.
With the Tigers recently obtaining
Prince Fielder and already having the
great Justin Verlander, I am looking
forward to another exciting season of
baseball.
And... it's funny, but I can still hear
my father yelling to the crowds, "Get
your hotdogs! Red hot hotdogs!
Its hard to believe that when my dad
started, hotdogs at the ballpark were 30
cents. Now, they're $2.75!
Go Tigers! ❑
award and
`'Larry Maloff
at Dodger
Stadium in-
LAOS Anijeles
1 4\2010.,._
-
•
411
\V
AI CONTENTS
theJEWISHNEWS.com
March 29-April 4, 2012 I 6-12 Nisan 5772 I Vol. CXLI, No. 8
Shabbat Lights / Passover
Arts/Entertainment
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Next Generation
38
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68
Obituaries
82
Robert Sklar
48
Out & About
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Shabbat: Friday, March 30, 7:39 p.m.
Shabbat Ends: Saturday, March 31, 8:41 p.m.
Shabbat/Passover Night 1: Friday, April 6, 7:47 p.m.
Shabbat Ends: Saturday, April 7, 8:50 p.m.
Passover Night 2: Saturday, April 7, 8:51 p.m.
Passover Night 7: Thursday, April 12, 7:53 p.m.
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Shabbat: Friday, April 13, 8:02 p.m.
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Elizabeth Orman moved to our area
from Belarus with her husband,
Mikhail, their children and Mikhail's
parents. Elizabeth's parents had
already been here ten years when
they arrived. "Shortly after we
came," Elizabeth said, "we needed
a car to get to work and then we
needed to establish our home. My
parents suggested Hebrew Free
Loan. HFL helped us, we worked,
and we paid off our loan."
The experience, Elizabeth said,
was emotional but also rewarding.
"Asking for help is an uncomfortable
feeling, but it was what we needed
to do, and they were so kind. You
never know what's going to happen
in life, so having the support of Hebrew
Free Loan was a huge help."
Later, the Ormans received addi-
tional help for critical dental work
through HFL's Project HEAL, health
care loans funded in part with a
matching grant from The Jewish Fund.
Elizabeth and Mikhail have taken
HFL's support and paid it forward
many times over as friends have
needed financing, and they became
co-signers for those HFL loans.
"It's such a good feeling, even
when you don't have a lot yourself,
to be able to help others."
The story doesn't end here.
Health. A fresh start
A good education.
The next great business idea.
Hebrew Free Loan gives interest-
free loans to members of our
community for a variety of
personal and small business
needs. HFL loans are funded
entirely through community
donations which continually
recycle to others, generating
many times the original value
to help maintain the lives of
local Jews.
www.hfldetroit.org
248.723.8184
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hfidetroitiorg
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March 2 2012
3