28 | OCTOBER 15 • 2020
Jewish Sports Hall of
Fame Needs New Home
quick hits
BY STEVE STEIN
Frankel Jewish Academy basketball teams play their home games at the
Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit in West Bloomfield.
But that arrangement has a cloudy future because of the JCC’
s recent
announcement that it’
s closing its health club.
JCC CEO Brian Siegel told the Jewish News the JCC will honor its lease
agreement with FJA, which includes use of the fitness center.
FJA athletic director Rick Dorn said last week he hadn’
t had any discus-
sions with the JCC about the lease.
JCC announcement leaves location of plaques in limbo.
STEVEN STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
T
he Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of
Fame is much more than just a col-
lection of plaques on walls.
And there are a lot of plaques.
Since 1985, there have been 130 induct-
ees into the Hall of Fame.
Since 1987, there have been 36 recip-
ients of the Alvin and Shirley Foon
Humanitarian Award.
Since 1991, there have been 69 Jewish
News High School Athletes of the Year.
Since 2012, there have been 41 Pillars of
Excellence recipients.
Since 2016, there have been 18 recipients
of Dr. Steven and Evelyn Rosen Stars of
Tomorrow scholarships.
Each honoree is celebrated with a
plaque at the Jewish Community Center of
Metropolitan Detroit in West Bloomfield.
But those plaques need a new venue now
that the JCC has closed its health club in the
D. Dan and Betty Kahn Building.
The JCC has been the Hall of Fame’
s only
home. The Hall of Fame has been there
since 1985.
Stuart Raider, president of the Michigan
Jewish Sports Foundation, which oversees
the Hall of Fame, wants the Hall of Fame
to remain at the JCC. He’
s cautiously opti-
mistic that will happen.
“The majority of the Hall of Fame
inductees have a connection to the JCC,
”
he said. “I hope the JCC also appreciates
the fact that the Hall of Fame is like the
Michigan Jewish sports historical society,
and it needs to be preserved.
“The Hall of Fame is very much a part
of our community. If the Hall of Fame can’
t
stay at the JCC, we hope we can find a
home in another Jewish venue, like a syna-
gogue.
”
As someone who has had the privilege
of informing several Hall of Fame induct-
ees about their induction, Raider said, he
knows what the honor means to them.
“One man told me it made his life,
”
Raider said.
West Bloomfield resident Maynard
Flusty’
s life is intertwined with the JCC and
two Hall of Fame inductees.
Flusty, 88, has been using JCC sports and
fitness facilities since he was 10, back when
the JCC was located at Woodward and
Holbrook in Detroit. The building is now
the Considine Recreation Center.
Before COVID-19 shut down the JCC
health club in West Bloomfield in March,
Flusty was working out there for an hour in
the morning seven days a week, then taking
a steam bath, showering, shaving and kibb-
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Bowling alleys across the state can
host organized events like leagues
as long as recommended COVID-19
safety measures are in place, but two
weekly B’
nai B’
rith bowling leagues
don’
t plan to begin their season in
2020.
Justin Kaplan, president of the
Downtown Fox-MLZG League, which
bowls Tuesday
nights at
Hartfield Lanes
in Berkley, said
league members
will assess the
situation in
January and
see if they want
to start a short
season that month.
“If it’
s safe, we’
d love to bowl,”
Kaplan said. “Our league is not just
about bowling. It’
s about camaraderie.”
Kaplan said league members, in a
majority vote,
decided not to
bowl in 2020
even though
Hartfield Lanes
provided infor-
mation and a
video about its
safety measures.
“Things are
just too unpredictable right now,”
Kaplan said.
Gary Klinger, from the
Brotherhood-Eddie Jacobson League,
said league play is scheduled to begin
Jan. 4 at Country Lanes in Farmington
Hills. The league bowls on Monday
nights.
Each league ended last season a
month early in March because of the
pandemic.
Read more Quick Hits at
thejewishnews.com.
Gary Klinger
Justin Kaplan
SHAEF led the Inter-Congregational Men’
s Club Summer Softball League’
s fall
season through four weeks of the five-week season, posting an 8-0 record.
The Jeters (5-3), Marble Rye (4-4), Kosher Ribs (3-4-1), The Sandlot (2-6)
and Bad News Jews (1-6-1) followed the leader.
Regular-season play in the league ended this past Sunday. Single-
elimination playoffs will be held this Sunday.
Teams in the weekly fall league are made up of players from different Inter-
Congregational summer league teams. Games are being played this fall at
Keith Sports Park in West Bloomfield.
SHAEF is the acronym for the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary
Force commanded by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower during World War II.
A bust of former Detroit Tigers star Hank Greenberg
and plaques honoring Pillars of Excellence recipients
are on display in the Michigan Jewish Sports
Hall of Fame at the Jewish Community Center of
Metropolitan Detroit.