Jewish American Sports Heroes Trivia Quiz

Answer: Marty Glickman

Marty Glickman was born in New York in 1917. He attended Syracuse University and was a member of their track team in 1936, when the Summer Olympic Games were to be held in Berlin. Glickman was selected to go to Germany as part of the team, but was replaced by Jesse Owens in the 4x100 relay team just one day before the scheduled event.

At the time, the reason cited was that Owens would give the U.S. a better chance at victory, but the circumstances and his subsequent replacement on the team seemed to be thinly veiled evidence of anti-semitism. Glickman claims seem like they could be backed up. Avery Brundage, chairman of the United States Olympic Committee, was a supporter of Adolf Hitler and denied that the Nazis followed anti-semitic policies. Brundage and assistant U. S. Olympic track coach Dean Cromwell, belonged to an organization called America First, which attracted American Nazi sympathizers.

Although the Americans did win the gold, Glickman watched from the sidelines. Owens was apologetic and protested the maneuver, even though he was one of the replacements. In 1998, William J. Hybl, President of the United States Olympic Committee, presented Glickman with a special plaque which was to honor Glickman even though he missed out on competing and winning any medals at the 1936 Olympics.

In his post college days, Glickman went on to become an award winning announcer/sportscaster starting off narrating newsreels in the 1940s. He eventually winded up as the play-by-play voice of both the New York Giants football team and the New York Knicks basketball team. Glickman passed away in 2001.

Answer: Sid Luckman

Luckman was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Jewish immigrants from Germany. His father first got him interested in American football at age eight, by giving him a football to play with. He went to Columbia University in New York, so that he could stay close to his family.

He finished third in the voting for the 1938 Heisman Trophy. During this time he attracted the attention of George Halas, owner of the Chicago Bears. Halas wanted Luckman for his team and convinced the Pittsburgh Steelers to draft him first, and then trade him to the Bears.

After some give-and-take, Halas eventually convinced Luckman to sign with the Bears. All he did after that was to go on to a Hall of Fame career, leading the Bears to 4 championships during the 1940s, and in 1943 setting a single-season passing record of 28 touchdowns in a 10 game season. Luckman retired from football after the 1950 season. Luckman passed away in 1998.

Answer: Lyle Alzado

Alzado was born in New York to an Italian-Spanish father and a Jewish mother in 1949. When he was 10, the family moved to Long Island. Alzado ended up attending a school called Yankton College, a small school in South Dakota. This however didn't stop the Denver Broncos from selecting Alzado in the 1971 NFL College draft.

In a career that spanned 14 seasons, Alzado became one of the most feared defensive players in football, while playing for the Denver Broncos, Cleveland Browns, and Los Angeles Raiders.

In 196 total lifetime games, Alzado was able to pile up over 1000 tackles and 112.5 sacks. Alzado retired from football after the 1985 season. He was one of the first athletes to admit the use of steroids. He developed a brain tumor and stated that he got this from the use of steroids, a claim which many in the medical field have denied.

He did however succumb to his illness and passed away prematurely at age 43 in 1992.

Answer: Max Baer

Maximilian Adelbert Baer was a son of a Jewish father and a German and Scots-Irish mother. Baer's family moved to California in the 1920s, and he turned to professional boxing in 1929. One of his early bouts was against a fighter named Frankie Campbell, and after pummeling Campbell for the better part of five rounds, the bout was stopped when Campbell's trainer "threw in the towel", because Campbell could no longer defend himself. Campbell died the next day.

After a hiatus from boxing, Baer returned to the ring and beat Max Schmeling who was Germany's best in a 1933 bout at Yankee Stadium. During this match, he wore trunks with a Star of David on them which endeared him to the Jewish population and angered the Germans.

He went on to win the Heavyweight title from Primo Carnera in 1934, but lost the title one day short of a year later to James J. Braddock.

It is said that Baer did not take Braddock seriously and hardly trained for the fight. Baer lost to Joe Louis later in his career and retired from boxing in 1941.

After retiring form the ring, Baer went on to acting career and appeared in over 20 feature films. Baer passed away in 1959.

Answer: Dolph Schayes

Adolph "Dolph" Schayes played 16 seasons in the NBA spanning the years 1948-1964. After high school in New York City and a college career at New York University, Schayes joined the Syracuse Nationals in 1948. He was known for his outside set shot, a lost art in the NBA since the 1960s when the jump shot came into more prominence. Schayes once had a streak of 706 straight games, spanning almost a nine-year period from 1952 to 1961.

After retiring from the NBA as a player, Schayes coached the Philadelphia 76ers and was named NBA Coach of the Year in 1966.

He also was named to the NBA Hall of Fame in 1973, and in 1996 was named as one of the 50 Greatest NBA Players of all-time. His son, Danny Schayes played for 18 years in the NBA from 1981 through 1999.

Answer: Red Auerbach

Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach was born as one of four children of a Russian Jewish father and an American born mother. While the parents worked as deli owners Arnold spent his whole childhood in Williamsburg, Brooklyn playing basketball. His red hair and fiery temper earned him the nickname 'Red'.
Red began his coaching career in 1941 coaching high-school basketball, and then coached a number of years in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) which was the predecessor of the NBA. He was hired next to coach the Boston Celtics, and beginning with his first draft pick (he drafted Bob Cousy in 1950). He turned the Celtics into an NBA powerhouse acquiring such players as Cousy, Bill Sharman, Bill Russell, Tommy Heinsohn, and John Havlicek over the course of a coaching career that spanned 18 years. He then became general manager and eventually President of the Boston Celtics and was responsible for acquiring players such as Dave Cowens, JoJo White, and of course Larry Bird.
As coach of the Celtics, Auerbach won 11 divisional titles and 9 NBA championships. Auerbach was selected to the NBA Hall of Fame in 1969 and is listed as one of the "10 Greatest Coaches in NBA History". Auerbach was also known for his famous "victory cigar", which he would light up after team victories. In 2006 at age 89, Auerbach succumbed to a heart attack and passed away.

Answer: Ron Blomberg

Ron Blomberg came to the New York Yankees first in 1969 and then again in 1971. A native of Georgia, he was a three-sport all-star in high school and received over 125 basketball scholarship offers, and well over 100 offers to play college football. However, he chose baseball and signed with the Yankees in 1967.

After playing in the Minor Leagues, he made it to the majors for good in 1971. Blomberg had an injury-prone career and never lived up to the expectations that the team had for him. On April 6, 1973, he came to the plate in Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox as the first designated-hitter in the history of baseball and drew a walk.

After an injury-plagued Yankee career, he was released by the team and played one year with the Chicago White Sox before retiring after the 1978 season. Blomberg was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

In 2007, Blomberg managed the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox in the inaugural season of the Israel Baseball League, and managed the team to a championship.

Answer: Mark Spitz

Spitz was born to a Jewish family in California in 1950. When he was two years old, Spitz's family moved to Hawaii where he swam at Waikiki Beach every day. Spitz moved back to California at age 6 and by age 10 he held a number of age group records and one world record.

His first international competition was in Israel in 1965 and he won four gold medals. In 1967 he won five gold medals at the Pan American games in Winnipeg, Canada. His first Olympic competition was in 1968, and he won two Gold medals there.

After training for four more years during which time he attended Indiana University, he won the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the U.S. in 1971. Spitz was ready for the 1972 Olympics in Munich. Despite the turmoil and the tragic events that marred those games going on around him, Spitz managed to secure a total of seven gold medals during the competition, a record which stood until 2008 when Michael Phelps won his eight golds. Spitz was evacuated from the Munich Games after the kidnapping and killing of the 11 Israeli athletes there, for fear that he might become a target because of his Jewish heritage. After his retirement from competition after the 1972 Olympics, Spitz appeared in a number of television shows and commercials and has led a relatively quiet life.

Answer: Hank Greenberg

Henry Benjamin "Hank" Greenberg was born in 1911 in New York to an Orthodox Jewish family. He went to high school in the Bronx and competed in a number of sports, but settled on being a first baseman. After attending New York University, he signed a contract with the Detroit Tigers in 1929 and first played for the Tigers in 1930.

He was subjected to much anti-semitism during the early days of his career. After cracking the lineup for good in 1933, Greenberg went on to a Hall of Fame career. Late in the 1934 season, he announced that he would not play on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, or the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. Greenberg reconsidered after a public outcry, and talked with his rabbi.

As a result he agreed to play on Rosh Hashanah, but stuck with his decision not to play on Yom Kippur.

He hit two home runs in the game that he did play. One of the highlights of his career was his 1938 chase of Babe Ruth's home run record. He ended up two short, hitting as total of 58 that year. Greenberg ended up with 331 lifetime home runs and a .313 lifetime batting average before his career came to a close in 1947.

It should also be noted that Greenberg's career statistics are skewed as are many athletes of that era, due to time off during World War II. He was a five-time All-Star and was elected to the baseball Hall of Fame in 1956. Greenberg passed away in 1986.

Answer: Sandy Koufax

Sanford Koufax (born Sanford Braun) was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1935. He attended Lafayette High School and excelled in both baseball and basketball. He went to the University of Cincinnati on a basketball scholarship, but played baseball as well while at school.

After trying out for several teams, he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers. Since he was signed for a bonus, the Dodgers were required to keep him on their roster for two years before he could be sent to the minors. During his first two years with the Dodgers, he struggled with his control and managed just over 100 innings combined in 1955-1956. Koufax was in and out of the starting rotation for the Dodgers during the next four seasons, showing flashes of brilliance (he struck out 18 in a game in 1959).

But by the end of 1960, Koufax appeared ready to give up on baseball, even asking for a trade. He decided to try one more season, so in 1961, he went into the starting rotation and promptly set the National League record for strikeouts in a season.

The 1961 season was the first of six straight dominating seasons for the pitching ace, culminating in his 1966 season when he went 27-9 with a 1.72 ERA. He retired after the 1966 season in the prime of his career at age 30, due to recurring arm and elbow problems. His lifetime record was 165-87 with a 2.76 ERA, 2396 strikeouts, 40 shutouts and four no-hitters including a perfect game against the Chicago Cubs in September 1965. He also won 3 Cy Young Awards in 4 years (1963, 1965, 1966). Koufax is also remembered for his steadfast faith as his decision not to pitch game one the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish faith. Koufax gained Hall of Fame entry in 1972, and still is regarded as one of the best pitchers ever to put on a Major League uniform.