HANK GREENBERG

Hank Greenberg was the son of Romanian-Jewish immigrants. His father, David, worked his way from textile worker to owner of his own factory, and he expected his son to join him in the business. But his son only had eyes for baseball. There had been a handful of Jewish baseball players, but none of them were stars. Greenberg was a star. He became one of the most powerful hitters in the game. And he fought through the antisemitism that was rampant in America and the world in the years leading up to World War II. In 1934, with his Detroit Tigers in the middle of a pennant race, he did not play on Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. The poet Edgar Guest wrote: “We shall miss him on the infield, and we shall miss him at the bat. But he’s true to his religion - and I honor him for that.”

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Images courtesy of Dick Perez