Extra,
Extra!

COURTESY OF PETER S. HORVITZ

S

Rudolph Kalish played third base in 1870 for the
Live Oak of Cincinnati, an amateur club that lost
twice to the fabled Cincinnati Red Stockings.

Moe Berg’s c. 1930s catcher’s mask and a photo of Berg, who led
a double life as a renowned MLB catcher and as a spy for the U.S.
during WWII. Loaned from the collection of Robert Matthews.

and other materials.
“This exhibit combines seri-
ous historical issues with the fun
and playfulness of baseball,” says
Ergas, a Tigers fan who checks
team statistics every day and gets
to a couple of games each season.
“It expresses important aspects
of American history with a light-
hearted touch.
“While the initial focus of the
initiative was on Jews, references
also are made to experiences
of the Irish, Italians, Germans,
Asians, African Americans and
Latinos, among others. There are
several basic themes, including
shaping identity, overcoming
adversity, family and community,

and Americanization.”
Networking turned out to be
the best resource for finding the
local artifacts to personalize the
traveling pieces, and she worked
closely with committee members
Irwin Cohen, Jim Deutschman,
Daniel Golodner, Jim Grey and
Robert Matthews.
“This exhibit shows how waves
of immigrants with different
backgrounds faced the same
issues and how baseball helped
them learn about American val-
ues,” Ergas says. “Teamwork and
community were at the forefront
of what they found in baseball.”
Robert Matthews, a lifelong
baseball fan with an extensive

Detroiter Bernie Sloan grips the bat
at age 18 in 1930

collection of sports memora-
bilia exhibited rotationally at the
Jewish Community Center, has
volunteered some pieces for the
upcoming museum display.
He gives visitors the opportuni-
ty to see a white yarmulke signed
by Sandy Koufax, Tiger pennants
from 1968 when the team won
the World Series and baseballs
signed by Detroit’s World Series
players in 1935, 1940, 1968 and
1984.
Matthews, a resident of
Farmington Hills, researches the
backstories represented in the
objects he owns and readily talks
about Moe Berg, a Jewish catcher
and coach who secretly spied for
the United States during World
War II and managed to change
teams.
A Berg mask will be part of
the local artifacts, and Matthews
alerts baseball fans that a movie
he
about the catcher-spy is in the
works.
men-
“My collection grew incremen-
ns
tally,” says Matthews, who owns
art
a picture of Berg that will be part
of a scrapbook included in the
es
display. “I enjoy sharing the pieces
m
in my collection by showing them
on exhibit.”

pecial programming
enhances the experi-
ence of seeing “Chasing
Dreams: Baseball & Becoming
American” at the Detroit
Historical Museum. For details
about each: (248) 432- 5517;
michjewishhistory.org.
Chasing Dreams: Season
Opener The exhibition will
be launched at 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 8, with a stroll-
ing dinner and a variety of
programming. $125.
Nosh Gen: Chasing Dreams A
conversation about baseball
and baseball history features
Mike “Stoney” Stone of “The
Ticket” on WXYT FM (97.1).
Exhibition tours will be ongo-
ing as baseball-themed food
is served. 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 27. $40.
Chasing Dreams: Family Day
Sunday, Nov. 6. Pack up the
family for kosher baseball
foods and a chance to sit in a
broadcasting booth to pres-
ent your play-by-play skills,
hang out with Paws from the
Detroit Tigers and listen to
a late-afternoon program of
“Old Jews Talking Baseball”
featuring Max Lapides, Bob
Matthews, Irwin Cohen and
Jim Grey.
Private Tours The Jewish
Historical Society will offer
docent-led tours of the exhibit
and the Detroit Historical
Museum for groups of 10 or
more.

*

*

details

“Chasing Dreams: Baseball and
Becoming American” will be
on view Sept. 9-Nov. 27 at the
Detroit Historical Museum. (313)
833-1805; detroithistorical.org.

FACING PAGE: A Tigers pin from the 1968 World Series-winning year, from the collection of Alan A. May
RIGHT: Baseball cards (courtesy of Irwin Cohen and Alan A. May) include Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Famer Harry
Eisenstat and Anita Foss, who, as pitcher and second-basewoman for the Grand Rapids Chicks and Muskegon Lassies
in the late 1940s, had “blazing speed on the base paths and mastered the art of hitting the curve.” Also pictured are
Detroit Tigers catcher Joe Ginsberg, c. 1953, and Winnipeg’s Tammany Tigers catcher Sam Perlman, c. 1927.

One of a set of 19 comics
on Baseball Legends, from
the collection of Dr. Robert
Matthews

September 1 • 2016

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