DECEMBER 7 • 2023 | 57
J
N

SPORTS

A

s summer and fall fade into 
the sunset, here are some 
accomplishments by Jewish 
athletes during those seasons that 
should not go unnoticed:

A SURPRISE HOLE-IN-ONE
Jack Shapiro made the most of the 
final time he played golf this year. He 
shot a hole-in-one on a pleasant fall 
day Oct. 26 at the nine-hole Copper 
Creek Golf Course in Farmington 
Hills.
The ace came on the 166-yard 
par-3 eighth hole. Shapiro, a 68-year-
old West Bloomfield resident, used 
a 6-iron for his first hole-in-one in 
about 25 years of playing golf.
“The eighth hole at Copper Creek 
has an uphill, elevated green,” he said. 
“I hit a high shot that day. It went up 
like a rocket. The shot landed in front 
of the pin and bounced once.”
That’s all Shapiro and playing 

partner and longtime friend Nick 
Hersh saw. It wasn’t until they got up 
to the green did they find out the ball 
was in the hole.
“I’m a hacker. I didn’t expect 
something like that to happen,” 
Shapiro said. “I don’t even know what 
I shot for that round. I don’t usually 
keep score.”
Shapiro is a little more than two 
years into his retirement from owning 
the Farmington Hills-based A-1 
Comfort Control plumbing/heating/air 
conditioning installation and service 
company.
“After 45 years of 12-hour workdays 
and being on call around the clock, 
I’m enjoying my retirement,” he said.

MORE MEDALS FOR MORT
Age is just a number for Mort 
Friedman. 
The 87-year-old ageless wonder 
from Waterford has now won 27 

MORT FRIEDMAN
JACK SHAPIRO

FRANKEL JEWISH ACADEMY

A golfer, a bowler and the Frankel Jewish 
Academy boys soccer team make news.
Trio of Triumphs

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Yep, it’s a hole-
in-one for Jack 
Shapiro, who 
retrieves his golf 
ball from the cup 
after his ace.

Here’s a familiar sight: Mort Friedman with a 
Michigan Senior Olympics medal around his 
neck.

The scoreboard says 
it all as the Frankel 
Jewish Academy 
boys soccer team 
closes in on a 
post-season victory.

continued on page 58

