looking back

“Art Israel,” an exhibit of modern paintings, drawings and sculptures, opened at the Detroit Institute of Arts in September 1965. It was not an exhibit
of art from Israel; rather art by Israelis. The exhibit’s content was not without controversy, but as the Detroit Jewish News reported, “When the exhibit
puzzles, it is because modern art puzzles.” Opening night of the exhibit brought out crowds, including Milton J. Miller, William M. Day, Hyman
Safran, Stanley Winkelman, Max J. Pincus, Jacob Barmore (Consul General of Israel to the Midwest) and DIA Director Willis F. Woods. •

Courtesy Leonard N. Simons Jewish Community Archives, JF.123B.1.

From the DJN

Davidson Digital Archive

I

t’s summer now and the baseball season is well under way.
The roster of our beloved home team, the Detroit Tigers, is
much different from last year. Jewish second baseman Ian
Kinsler was traded over the winter and, soon after last year’s sea-
son concluded, the Tigers’ Jewish manager, Brad Ausmus, was
fired. This is a stark reminder that Major League Baseball is a
business; success is a matter of production and
wins. And that there are still only a few Jewish
players in the game.
Kinsler is still playing baseball for the Los
Angeles Angels, and Ausmus had a long career
in the big leagues, so I don’t feel too sorry for
them.
Recently, in the Davidson Digital Archives,
a
photo
on the front page of the May 27, 1932,
Mike Smith
Jewish
Chronicle
caught my eye and reminded
Detroit Jewish News
Foundation Archivist
me that some players are not as lucky.

66

June 21 • 2018

jn

The photo was that of Detroit Tigers pitcher Isadore “Izzy”
Goldstein, who had just made his first appearance in the Big
Leagues. The tagline read: “Will He Make Good After Debut?”
After working hard for seven years in the minor leagues,
Goldstein only played in 16 games, all with the Tigers, compiling
a 3-2 record and a 4.47 earned run average. Not so good. He was
also one of the few Jewish baseball players in the majors at the
time. Goldstein retired in 1938 and worked in the clothing indus-
try in New York for the rest of his life, with a short hiatus when
he served in the South Pacific during World War II.
Izzy Goldstein had a shot at the Big Leagues, a chance that
only a few ever attain. And, for at least 16 games, he was a Jewish
Detroiter. •

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation archives,
available for free at www.djnfoundation.org.