From Pike to Greenberg to Koufax – Great Jewish Sports Heroes

[additional-authors]

Jonathan Kirsch

July 21, 2011

One of my fondest childhood memories are the baseball games that my grandfather and I watched on the public diamond in La Cienega Park. The players were Jews, and so were the fans. Perhaps that’s why I still think of baseball as a sport with a special resonance for Jews. After all, even if we don’t remember the first Jewish professional ballplayer — his name was Lipman Pike — who in the NBA or the NFL can stir the Jewish soul like Hank Greenberg or Sandy Koufax?

Something of the same point is made in “Jews and Baseball” by Burton A. Boxerman and Benita W. Boxerman (McFarland, $45.00 per volume) (

Did you enjoy this article?

You'll love our roundtable.

Editor's Picks

Israel and the Internet Wars – A Professional Social Media Review

Marion Haberman

The Invisible Student: A Tale of Homelessness at UCLA and USC

Tabby Refael

What Ever Happened to the LA Times?

Dan Schnur

Who Are the Jews On Joe Biden’s Cabinet?

Ryan Torok

You’re Not a Bad Jewish Mom If Your Kid Wants Santa Claus to Come to Your House

Marion Haberman

No Labels: The Group Fighting for the Political Center

Larry Greenfield

Latest Articles

Hit the Pause Button

Scott Harris

Rosner’s Domain | The Repressed Question of Judea and Samaria

Shmuel Rosner

Presidents Have Always Lied — When Threatened by Assassins

Gil Troy

Why I’m No Longer a Democrat

Shirin Yadegar

Why I’m Staying in the Democratic Party

Steven Mirkin

We Must Fight Antisemitism By Solidifying Our Connection to America

David Suissa

Debunking the Lie of the Century

August 19, 2026

Investigative journalist and bestselling author Gerald Posner offers a primer to debunk the “genocide” libel against Israel.

Leaning Toward Love: Expanding What Counts as a Jewish Home

August 19, 2026

Maximizing Jewish life, learning, practice and belonging remains nonnegotiable. However, when a halakhic ruling fails to achieve its purpose, we must reexamine the ruling.

Seeking the Sanhedrin and What It Means to Be a Rabbi

August 19, 2026

Sitting on a Three-Legged Chair

August 19, 2026

Every morning I convince myself that if I could just find the right system, the right schedule, everything would finally balance.

A Minyan in a Garage

August 19, 2026

The minyan included mechanics, replete with the mandatory oil-stained hands and grime beneath their fingernails.

Trump vs. Harvard

August 18, 2026

Trump’s administration has been conducting a multi-front war against America’s oldest university, freezing previously approved federal research grants, restricting international student visas, and targeting the school’s tax-exempt status.

Entryism and Jew Hatred: The Case of Doctors Without Borders

August 17, 2026

MSF’s governing structure has been manipulated by individuals who refashioned MSF into a vehicle for anti-Israel, anti-Western, and often antisemitic propaganda.

Habibi City’s SWANA Isn’t a Region. It’s a Loyalty Test.

August 17, 2026

SWANA is not a description of a region’s peoples. It is a membership test, and the price of admission is agreement on Jews and Israel.

Jewish National Fund-USA Marking 125 Years of Impact with San Diego Global Conference

August 16, 2026

The Global Conference for Israel will both celebrate the organization’s 125-year milestone and highlight discussions regarding what lies ahead for it, as well as for Israel’s future.

The Golden Age of Political Profanity

August 16, 2026

Many political animals behave like animals when it comes to making their opinions known—regardless of party.

Disarm, Verify, Withdraw. The Only Path Forward for Gaza

August 13, 2026

This is not a call for endless war. It is a call for realism.

Plea — A poem for Parsha Shoftim

August 13, 2026

Be fair, judges…

Remembering Elly Katz: She Came to Show Us How

August 13, 2026

“Her prose disrupted my mind,” I wrote, “confronting me with words I had never seen come together before.”

Evolution is the Goal of Textual Study

August 13, 2026

A Bisl Torah — If They’re Not Ready

August 13, 2026

The philosopher Maimonides explains that if someone asks you for forgiveness, you should be open to their heartfelt apology. But this isn’t always realistic.