Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History 

accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

62 | JUNE 8 • 2023 

Hank Greenberg Invitational 
is an Annual Local Tradition
I

n the March 16 issue of the JN, our 
longtime sports reporter, Steve Stein, wrote 
about the 32nd annual Hank Greenberg 
Memorial Golf, Tennis and Pickleball 
Invitational that will be held on June 12 at the 
Franklin Hills Country Club in Farmington 
Hills. The Greenberg Invitational 
is presented by the Michigan 
Jewish Sports Foundation. 
As Steve reported, the 
Greenberg Invitational is one 
of the top events on the Jewish 
sports calendar in Michigan. 
This year is no exception. 
Baseball Hall of Famer Roger 
Clemens will receive the Hank Greenberg 
Lifetime Achievement Award; ESPN’s 
Adam Schefter will receive the Dick Schaap 
Memorial Award for Media Excellence; and 
the late District Court Judge Jamie Wittenberg 
will be honored with the Barry Bremen 
Memorial Inspiration Award.
The Greenberg Invitational has thrived for 
32 years. This is not an insignificant run, so I 
thought I should go into the William Davidson 
Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History to 
see what I could find about the tournament.
The Greenberg Invitational itself is 
mentioned on 255 pages of the JN. It is named 
after Hank Greenberg, perhaps the greatest 
Jewish baseball player in history (although, 
fans of Sandy Koufax and the Dodgers might 
debate this conclusion with me). Greenberg 
was on the cover of the first issue of the JN 
in 1942, and he is mentioned on over 1,000 
pages afterward, including reports about his 
namesake tournament.
The first Hank Greenberg Memorial Golf 
and Tennis Invitational was in 1991, and it 
was a rousing success (June 14, 1991, JN). A 
pickleball competition was recently added to 
the tournament and its title.
The list of sports dignitaries attending 
the Greenberg Invitational over the years is 
impressive. The roll call of sports stars began 

with the first invitational in 1991, which 
was attended by Greenberg’s son, Stephen, 
who was a former baseball player and chief 
operating officer of Major League Baseball at 
the time. Also among the crowd were seven 
of Greenberg’s Detroit Tiger teammates and 
legendary University of Michigan Football 
Coach Bo Schembechler. 
Over the years, many other sports legends 
came to town for the Greenberg. Sports 
announcer Dick Schaap was the master of 
ceremonies at several Invitationals. Over 
the past few years, baseball Hall of Famers 
Tommy Lasorda, Goose Gossage and Cal 
Ripken Jr. have attended. Ted Williams, Joe 
Namath, Gale Sayers and Al Kaline, all Hall 
of Famers in their respective sports, were 
on-hand in 1999 (May 21, 1999).
The tournament also has another mission 
besides honoring sports heroes. It is a 
fundraiser for the many charitable efforts of 
the Michigan Jewish Sports Foundation. Over 
the years, these include the Hank Greenberg 
Oncology Funds, Hall of Fame Games for 
developmentally challenged people, the 
Maccabi Games for youth, children’s camp 
scholarships and the Lawrence & Idell 
Weisberg Cancer Treatment Center at the 
Karmanos Cancer Institute, to name just 
a few. 
In 1995, Sinai Hospital of Detroit was 
the Greenberg’s beneficiary (June 23, 
1995). A JN article in 2009, “Hitting an 
Ace,” noted that, in the Foundation’s 25-year 
history, the invitational had raised more than 
$1 million for cancer research (June 11, 2009). 
 The Hank Greenberg Invitational is indeed 
a top Michigan sporting event. It does honor 
to one of Major League Baseball’s all-time 
greats and supports so many charitable 
causes. I think “Hammering Hank” would 
approve. 

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

Mike Smith
Alene and 
Graham Landau 
Archivist Chair

