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