DECEMBER 21 • 2023 | 39
The fifth annual Howard Weingarten Memorial
Baseball Outing, a fundraiser for Detroit PAL’s
Diamond Sports Program, moved indoors at
The Corner Ballpark (former Tiger Stadium site)
this year but achieved the same goal: It was
a fun event that raised money for the iconic
youth sports program.
Founded and organized annually by Deby
Lebow of West Bloomfield, Weingarten’s
longtime significant other, to commemorate
Weingarten’s love for baseball and the Detroit
Tigers, this year’s outing brought in about
$2,600 from attendees and others who made
donations.
PAL Tiny Tigers players (ages 4-8) Samuel
Garza, Josephina Munoz and Salvador
Alvarado received Howard Weingarten
Memorial Awards honoring them for their
teamwork, leadership and responsibility,
respectively. They were selected for the
awards by their coaches.
Detroit PAL (Police Athletic League) is a
not-for-profit organization that has benefitted
Detroit youth since its founding in 1969. Its
headquarters are at the former Tiger Stadium
site.
Weingarten died in 2018 at age 65 from
injuries he suffered in an auto accident.
One big change he’s made
in his game because of the
lessons, he said, is switching
from a three-step to four-step
delivery.
Bowling so well has made
this season one to remember
so far, Isenberg said, because
he’s always enjoyed compet-
ing in the league.
“It’s a great league, the
strongest B’nai B’rith bowl-
ing league in the country,
”
he said. “The camaraderie
among all the guys is fantas-
tic. There are people of all
ages and bowling abilities,
and we all enjoy bowling
together.
”
Klinger keeps league mem-
bers informed about league
news with a weekly multi-
page, detailed report that has
schedules (the league is off
for two weeks for Christmas
and New Year’s and will
resume Jan. 8), standings,
notes and comments.
He does his power rank-
ings once or twice during the
season.
The 600 Club was No. 2 in
Klinger’s latest power rank-
ings behind BBB.
The Manute Bolers, the
only first-half division win-
ner that went wire-to-wire,
was No. 3.
Uncle Miltie, the only divi-
sion winner not in the top
four in the power rankings,
was No. 11.
No. 4 in the power rank-
ings was NHL Property
Management (Stu Epstein,
Rick Sherline, Lyle Schaefer
and Harold Grossbart),
which finished second
behind the 600 Club in the
Earl Anthony Division at
177.5-110.5.
For the night of Dec. 4,
Klinger reported that Dave
Shanbaum scored his league-
best third 700 series of the
season, Mike Weinstock
bowled a season-best 255
game and 680 series, “rookie”
Avi Knopf rolled his league-
best 257 game and 646 series,
Mauch rolled his fourth
straight 600 series with his
641 on Dec. 4 (the lowest of
the quartet), Andy Cohen’s
538 series was 121 pins over
his average, David Little’s
584 series was 68 pins over
his average, and Isaac Pickell
bowled a season-high 245.
Send sports news to
stevestein502004@yahoo.com.
A former professional tennis
star with local roots is one of 15
members of the 2024 induction
class of the International
Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
Aaron Krickstein, 56,
was born in Ann Arbor and
graduated from Grosse Pointe
University Liggett High School.
While playing tennis for Liggett,
he set the Michigan High
School Athletic Association
record with 56 consecutive
wins. That record still stands.
Krickstein’s parents are
Herb and Evelyn Krickstein. His
sister, Kathy, was the Big Ten
women’s tennis champion in
1978. Krickstein is the uncle of
LPGA golfer Morgan Pressel,
Kathy’s daughter.
Krickstein competed on
the Association of Tennis
Professionals (ATP) tour from
1983-96. In 1985, at age 18, he
became the youngest player
to reach the top 10 in the ATP
rankings. That record still
stands. His highest ATP ranking
was No. 6 in 1990.
He won nine ATP
tournaments and made it to
the semifinals of the 1989
U.S. Open. One of his nine
tournament wins came in 1983
in Tel Aviv. At age 16, he set an
ATP record for the youngest
player to win a singles title.
That record also still stands.
During the early 1990s,
Krickstein was one of three
prominent Jewish professional
tennis stars along with Jay
Berger and Brad Gilbert.
Injuries derailed Krickstein’s
playing career. He’s now
the director of tennis at St.
Andrews Country Club in Boca
Raton, Florida.
The 15 new International
Jewish Hall of Fame members
were chosen from among 150
nominees. There are now 463
members since the Hall of
Fame was established in 1981.
The 2024 class will be
inducted in July 2025. While
inductees are named annually,
the induction ceremony takes
place every four years at the
Maccabiah Games in Israel.
Hall Doors Open for Aaron Krickstein
Aaron Krickstein
ST. ANDREWS COUNTRY CLUB
Detroit PAL Benefits Again
from Howard Weingarten
Memorial Baseball Outing
LEFT: Deby Lebow and Fred Hunter, CEO of Detroit PAL, gather with Howard Weingarten
Memorial Award winners Samuel Garza, Josephina Munoz and Salvadore Alvarado.
RIGHT: Norm Cohen, a close friend of Howard Weingarten, and Lila Nakhleh chat during the
memorial baseball outing named for Weingarten.
PHOTOS BY DEBY LEBOW