Former Associated Press sports writer Marv Schneider spoke about prominent Jewish people in professional sports during a lecture on Wednesday, September 16 in the VIP Room.
Schneider said that he is frequently asked if certain players are Jewish. He also said that it is now difficult to tell based on the player’s name.
Two hockey players that Schneider noted are Jewish are Mike Cammalleri and Eric Nystrom, who is the son of Bobby Nystrom.
Schneider also said that Rubin Amaro Jr., a former outfield and manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, and former Mets player Shawn Green are Jewish.
Ryan Braun of the Brewers is also Jewish. A recipient of the Rookie of the Year Award, his father is Israeli. Schneider said that Bruan once attended a Hanukah party when President George W. Bush needed Jewish athletes to participate.
“Three Jewish players this year made the all-star team,” Schneider said. “I can never remember that happening.”
The three players were Braun, Kevin Youkilis of the Boston Red Sox and Jason Marquis of the Colorado Rockies.
Schneider said that, although there have not been many, there have been several Jewish men to play professional football. Igor Olshansky, who was born in the Ukraine, is a defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys. Although he is 6’6” and 330 pounds, Schneider pointed out that he is not the largest Jewish football player. Jeff Schwartz, an offensive lineman for the Carolina Panthers, is 6’6” and 335 pounds.
Retired New York Giants player Mike Rosenthal’s “claim to fame,” Schneider said, was that he was on the varsity football team at Notre Dame and was the team’s captain his senior year.
Schneider also spoke about Alan, now Shlomo, Veingard, who won a Super Bowl ring while playing for the Dallas Cowboys. He explained that, after Veingard was done playing, he didn’t know what he wanted to do about religion. Veingard’s brother-in-law, who was Hassidic, recommended he come to a couple of meetings.
Veingard did, in fact, become a Hassidic Jew and, Schneider said, is now very religious. He attends prayer every morning and holds up the Torah during the Monday, Thursday and Saturday readings.
“The biggest involvement of Jews in [the] National Football League is among the ownership,” Schneider said. “Nine teams are owned by Jewish personnel.”
New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft bought the team for $172 million in 1994, and the team is now worth more than $1 billion, Schneider said. He also said that the Washington Redskins, which is owned by Dan Snyder, is worth more than $1 billion as well.
Schneider also said that there are owners with interests other than the investment. He noted that the family that owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers also owns the Manchester United and the same people who own the Cleveland Browns own Aston Martin soccer in England.
“These guys are also sports-oriented and they love to be associated with athletes…,” he said.
This year, a noteworthy first happened during the NBA draft.
“An Israeli player, Omri Casspi, was drafted in the first round of the NBA draft in June – the first time any Israeli player was drafted in the first round,” Schneider said.
Schneider said that Casspi has said he wants to make the people in Israel proud and let others know that Israel has good basketball players.
There is also a female basketball player from Israel, Naama Shafir, who Schneider said is now at the University of Toledo, where she has been one of the high scorers. She was also named to the all-star team for the Mid-American Conference.
Schneider’s presentation also included the Olympics. He said that two of the oldest competitors in the Beijing Olympics – Dara Torres and Haile Satayin – were Jewish. Torres won three silver medals.
He also spoke about the 1972 Olympics in Munich, where Mark Spitz won seven gold medals and 11 Israelis were killed.
“After that massacre, the United States and Israel begged the Olympic Committee to stop for one day to honor 11 people – athletes, trainers and coaches – who were killed at the Olympics,” Schneider said, adding that the committee head said no because it was too political.
Other individuals Schneider spoke about were Marty Glickman, Howard Cosell, Yuri Foreman, Sandy Kaufax and Hank Greenberg.
