40 | AUGUST 19 • 2021

sports HIGHlights

There’s some serious busi-
ness to attend to before the
playoffs begin each year
in the Inter-Congregational
Men’s Club Summer Softball
League.
The recipients of
the league’s Jeff Fox
Sportsmanship and Michael
Yendick Pure Heart awards
are announced.
This year, for the sec-
ond straight time since the
league went to a divisional
setup in 2017, each of the
league’s three divisions had
an honoree for each award.
The Jeff Fox Award has
been presented since 2012
to honor the memory of a
Temple Shir Shalom softball
player who died Dec. 22,
2011.
This year’s Jeff Fox Award
recipients, honored Aug.
1, were Seth Schmitz from
the Greenberg Division,

Glenn Scher from the Koufax
Division and Max Flam from
the Rosen Division.
The Michael Yendick
Award, presented by the
B’nai B’rith Softball League
starting in 2001 and the Inter-
Congregational League start-
ing in 2017 after the B’nai
B’rith league folded, honors
a former B’nai B’rith soft-
ball player who was “a true
sportsman, an accomplished
athlete and a dedicated
teammate … a mensch,
always.”
Yendick died of cancer in
2000 at age 36 after playing
in B’nai B’rith softball, basket-
ball and volleyball leagues
for more than 20 years.
This year’s Michael
Yendick Award recipi-
ents, also honored Aug.
1, were Bruce Kaye from
the Greenberg Division,
Jeff Hollander from the

Koufax Division and Howard
Fershtman from the Rosen
Division.
The league’s umpires
select the Michael Yendick
Award winners.
Umpire-in-chief Rob
Landaw praised this year’s
award recipients for their
conduct on and off the soft-
ball diamond.
“Do they ever cause any
problems for umpires? Never.
Never. Never,” he said.

Men’s Club Softball League Announces
Sportsmanship, Pure Heart Award Winners

Temple Israel No. 2. Temple
Beth El. Congregation Shir
Tikvah.
They’re the regular-sea-
son division champions of
the Inter-Congregational
Men’s Club Summer Softball
League.
Temple Israel No. 2 won
the Greenberg Division
with a 16-4 record, ahead
of three teams that tied for
second place in the five-
team division.
Temple Beth El’s 15-5
record was the best
in the Koufax Division.
Congregation Shir Tikvah
topped the Rosen Division
with a 13-7 record.
Those three teams

earned the No. 1 seed in
their division for the two-
week, double-elimination
playoffs that began Aug. 15,
a week later than planned
because of rainouts during
the season.
This is the second con-
secutive year the 26-year-
old league has had dou-
ble-elimination playoffs.
Here are the complete

regular-season standings
for the divisions (ties were
broken by tie-breakers):

GREENBERG DIVISION
1. Temple Israel No. 2 16-4
2. Temple Israel No. 5 14-5-1
3. Temple Israel No. 6 14-5-1
4. Temple Shir Shalom No.
2 14-5-1
5. Temple Israel No. 4 4-16

KOUFAX DIVISION
1. Temple Beth El 15-5
2. Temple Israel No. 3 12-8
3. Congregation Shaarey
Zedek 8-11-1
4. Temple Israel No. 1 8-12
5. Adat Shalom Synagogue
No. 1 7-12-1

ROSEN DIVISION
1. Congregation Shir Tikvah
13-7
2. Congregation Beth Ahm
10-10
3. Adat Shalom Synagogue
No. 2 6-13-1
4. Temple Shir Shalom No.
3 4-16
5. Bais Chabad Torah
Center 2-18

League games are played
at Drake Sports Park and
Keith Sports Park in West
Bloomfield.
Playoff results are on the
league’s website,
mensclubsoftball.org.

Regular-Season Champs Crowned in Men’s Club Softball League

Michael Yendick Pure Heart Award
winner, Jeff Hollander, (fourth from
left) joins Bernice and Al Yendick,
Michael Yendick’s parents, and Inter-
Congregational Men’s Club Summer
Softball League organizers Mitch Klein
(left), Steve Achtman and Michael
Betman after the award presentation.

STEVE ACHTMAN

Jeff Fox Sportsmanship Award
winner, Glenn Scher, (second
from left) celebrates with
Inter-Congregational Men’s
Club Summer Softball League
organizers Mitch Klein, Steve
Achtman and Michael Betman.

Michael Yendick Pure Heart
Award winner, Bruce Kaye,
(right) and his son Andrew
Kaye.

STEVE ACHTMAN

STEVE ACHTMAN

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