Sports And The American Jew

Author : Steven A. Riess
Publisher : Syracuse University Press
Page : 368 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 1998-06-01
Category : History
ISBN : 0815627548

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Sports and the American Jew by Steven A. Riess Pdf

This book debunks the conventional stereotype that Jews and sports are somehow anathema and clearly demonstrates that sports have long been a significant institution in Jewish American life. Jews were among the very first professional baseball players and the most outstanding early American track stars. In the 1920s and 1930s they dominated inner-city sports such as basketball and boxing and produced star athletes in virtually all sports. Many Jews were also prominent in the business, communication, and literary aspects of sport. These essays, written by leading contemporary sports historians, examine the contributions of Jewish men and women to American sports. Steven A. Riess's article on this topic is the most comprehensive overview ever written and will doubtless become a standard reference for years to come.

Author : Harold Uriel Ribalow,Meir Z. Ribalow
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 520 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 1985
Category : Athletes
ISBN : UCAL:B4384706

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The Jew in American Sports by Harold Uriel Ribalow,Meir Z. Ribalow Pdf

Author : Ari F. Sclar
Publisher : Purdue University Press
Page : 164 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2015-04-15
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781612493565

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Beyond Stereotypes by Ari F. Sclar Pdf

In the decades after the Civil War, sports slowly gained a prominent position within American culture. This development provided Jews with opportunities to participate in one of the few American cultures not closed off to them. Jewish athleticism challenged anti-Semitic depictions of Jews supposed physical inferiority while helping to construct a modern American Jewish identity. An Americanization narrative emerged that connected Jewish athleticism with full acceptance and integration into American society. This acceptance was not without struggle, but Jews succeeded and participated in the American sporting culture as athletes, coaches, owners, and fans. The diversity of topics in this volume reflect that the field of the history of American Jews and sports is growing and has moved beyond the need to overcome the idea that Jews are simply People of the Book. The contributions to this volume paint a broad picture of Jewish participation in sports, with essays written by respected historians who have examined specific sports, individuals, leagues, cities, and the impact of sport on Judaism. Despite the continued belief that Jewish religious or cultural identity remains somehow distinct from the American idea of the athlete, the volume demonstrates that American Jews have had a tremendous contribution to American sports and conversely, that sports have helped construct American Jewish culture and identity.

Author : Leonard Jay Greenspoon
Publisher : Purdue University Press
Page : 307 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 2012
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781557536297

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Jews in the Gym by Leonard Jay Greenspoon Pdf

For some, the connection between Jews and athletics might seem far-fetched. But in fact, as is highlighted by the fourteen chapters in this collection, Jews have been participating in"and thinking about"sports for more than two thousand years. The articles in this volume cover a wide chronological range: from the Hellenistic period (first century BCE) to the most recent basketball season. The range of athletes covered is equally broad. The authors of these essays raise a number of intriguing questions such as: What differing attitudes toward sports have Jews exhibited across periods and cultures? In what sports have Jews excelled, and why? How have Jews overcome prejudices on the part of the general populace against a Jewish presence on the field or in the ring? This volume features a number of illustrations (many of them quite rare). It is accessible to the general reader and contains much information of interest to the scholar in Jewish studies, American studies, and sports history.

Author : Franklin Foer,Marc Tracy
Publisher : Twelve
Page : 237 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2012-10-30
Category : Sports & Recreation
ISBN : 9781455516117

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Jewish Jocks by Franklin Foer,Marc Tracy Pdf

A collection of essays by today's preeminent writers on significant Jewish figures in sports, told with humor, heart, and an eye toward the ever elusive question of Jewish identity. Jewish Jocks: An Unorthodox Hall of Fame is a timeless collection of biographical musings, sociological riffs about assimilation, first-person reflections, and, above all, great writing on some of the most influential and unexpected pioneers in the world of sports. Featuring work by today's preeminent writers, these essays explore significant Jewish athletes, coaches, broadcasters, trainers, and even team owners (in the finite universe of Jewish Jocks, they count!). Contributors include some of today's most celebrated writers covering a vast assortment of topics, including David Remnick on the biggest mouth in sports, Howard Cosell; Jonathan Safran Foer on the prodigious and pugnacious Bobby Fischer; Man Booker Prize-winner Howard Jacobson writing elegantly on Marty Reisman, America's greatest ping-pong player and the sport's ultimate showman. Deborah Lipstadt examines the continuing legacy of the Munich Massacre, the fortieth anniversary of which coincided with the 2012 London Olympics. Jane Leavy reveals why Sandy Koufax agreed to attend her daughter's bat mitzvah. And we learn how Don Lerman single-handedly thrust competitive eating into the public eye with three pounds of butter and 120 jalapeño peppers. These essays are supplemented by a cover design and illustrations throughout by Mark Ulriksen. From settlement houses to stadiums and everywhere in between, Jewish Jock features men and women who do not always fit the standard athletic mold. Rather, they utilized talents long prized by a people of the book (and a people of commerce) to game these games to their advantage, in turn forcing the rest of the world to either copy their methods -- or be left in their dust.

Author : Anja Dinter
Publisher : GRIN Verlag
Page : 41 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 2012-06
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9783656207948

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The Role of Sports in Jewish-American Society by Anja Dinter Pdf

Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,3, University of Potsdam (Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik), course: Jewish-American History and Life, 10 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: It is the aim of the following work to analyze the role of sports in Jewish-American life, mainly concentrating on the time until the end of the World War II. Up to the present day the notion of Jewish culture and tradition emphasizing intellectual accomplishments and the life of the mind and not having place for sport and the physical has been prevalent. Due to the traditional emphasis of learning and an appreciation for sophistication during all of Jewish history, the stereotype view of a general rejection of sports by Jews and the image of Jewish physical weakness seems to have evolved as a consequence. This image has even been misrepresented by anti-Semites, as Henry Ford, to show that Jewish-Americans are "ill-fit to be true Americans". Previously read books dealing with Jewish sports in Germany and an article on the importance of sports within Jewish religion that contradicted the image mentioned above, let an increased interest in the specific mind-set of Jewish-Americans towards physical activities develop. Due to the complexity of the topic and the extent of this paper only certain aspects can be presented in the discourse, unfortunately excluding other interesting ones. The focus will be on the actual participation and achievements as well as attitudes of Jews towards sports and the effects of this field on the integration of Jewish immigrants. The time frame has been limited to the period between the first large waves of immigration and the end of World War II because of the adjustment of Jewish sports to general developments thereafter. Nevertheless, some general tendencies of the post-World War II decades will be discussed. Background information on the general historical co

Author : Jeffrey S. Gurock
Publisher : Indiana University Press
Page : 258 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2005-08-31
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 0253111609

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Judaism's Encounter with American Sports by Jeffrey S. Gurock Pdf

Judaism's Encounter with American Sports examines how sports entered the lives of American Jewish men and women and how the secular values of sports threatened religious identification and observance. What do Jews do when a society -- in this case, a team -- "chooses them in," but demands commitments that clash with ancestral ties and practices? Jeffrey S. Gurock uses the experience of sports to illuminate an important mode of modern Jewish religious conflict and accommodation to America. He considers the defensive strategies American Jewish leaders have employed in response to sports' challenges to identity, such as using temple and synagogue centers, complete with gymnasiums and swimming pools, to attract the athletically inclined to Jewish life. Within the suburban frontiers of post--World War II America, sports-minded modern Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform rabbis competed against one another for the allegiances of Jewish athletes and all other Americanized Jews. In the present day, tensions among Jewish movements are still played out in the sports arena. Today, in a mostly accepting American society, it is easy for sports-minded Jews to assimilate completely, losing all regard for Jewish ties. At the same time, a very tolerant America has enabled Jews to succeed in the sports world, while keeping faith with Jewish traditions. Gurock foregrounds his engaging book against his own experiences as a basketball player, coach, and marathon runner. By using the metaphor of sports, Judaism's Encounter with American Sports underscores the basic religious dilemmas of our day.

Author : Raanan Rein,David Sheinin
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 217 pages
File Size : 44,8 Mb
Release : 2014-11-13
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9789004284494

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Muscling in on New Worlds by Raanan Rein,David Sheinin Pdf

Muscling in on New Worlds brings together a dynamic new collection of studies that approach sport as a window into Jewish identity formation in the Americas.

Author : Bob Wechsler
Publisher : KTAV Publishing House, Inc.
Page : 424 pages
File Size : 40,8 Mb
Release : 2008
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 1602800138

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Day by Day in Jewish Sports History by Bob Wechsler Pdf

The Ultimate Jewish Sports History and Trivia Book.

Author : Peter Levine
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 353 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 1993-09-09
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9780195359008

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Ellis Island to Ebbets Field by Peter Levine Pdf

In Ellis Island to Ebbets Field, Peter Levine vividly recounts the stories of Red Auerbach, Hank Greenberg, Moe Berg, Sid Luckman, Nat Holman, Benny Leonard, Barney Ross, Marty Glickman, and a host of others who became Jewish heroes and symbols of the difficult struggle for American success. From settlement houses and street corners, to Madison Square and Fenway Park, their experiences recall a time when Jewish males dominated sports like boxing and basketball, helping to smash stereotypes about Jewish weakness while instilling American Jews with a fierce pride in their strength and ability in the face of Nazi aggression, domestic anti-Semitism, and economic depression. Full of marvelous stories, anecdotes, and personalities, Ellis Island to Ebbets Field enhances our understanding of the Jewish-American experience as well as the struggles of other American minority groups.

Author : Allen Bodner
Publisher : Praeger
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 1997-10-28
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : STANFORD:36105019361828

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When Boxing Was a Jewish Sport by Allen Bodner Pdf

The author reports on the many young Jewish fighters who began boxing for the money. In the 1920s and 1930s, "Jews were represented in almost every aspect of the sport, from manufacturing equipment to management."--Jacket.

Author : Paul Buhle
Publisher : Greenwood
Page : 312 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 2007
Category : History
ISBN : IND:30000116510342

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Jews and American Popular Culture: Sports, leisure, and lifestyle by Paul Buhle Pdf

This three-volume work tells the story of how Jewish Americans overcame anti-Semitism, anti-immigrant biases, and poverty to shape American film, television, music, sports, literature, food, and humor.

Author : Bernard Postal,Jesse Silver,Roy Silver
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 548 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 1965
Category : Athletes
ISBN : UOM:39015054081032

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Encyclopedia of Jews in Sports by Bernard Postal,Jesse Silver,Roy Silver Pdf

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 43,5 Mb
Release : 2012
Category : Jewish athletes
ISBN : OCLC:1090140406

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Jews in the Gym by Anonim Pdf

For some, the connection between Jews and athletics might seem far-fetched. But in fact, as is highlighted by the fourteen chapters in this collection, Jews have been participating in -- and thinking about -- sports for more than two thousand years. The articles in this volume scan a wide chronological range: from the Hellenistic period (first century BCE) to the most recent basketball season. The range of athletes covered is equally broad: from participants in Roman-style games to wrestlers, boxers, fencers, baseball players, and basketball stars. The authors of these essays, many of whom actively participate in athletics themselves, raise a number of intriguing questions, such as: What differing attitudes toward sports have Jews exhibited across periods and cultures? Is it possible to be a "good Jew" and a "great athlete"? In what sports have Jews excelled, and why? How have Jews overcome prejudices on the part of the general populace against a Jewish presence on the field or in the ring? In what ways has Jewish participation in sports aided, or failed to aid, the perception of Jews as "good Germans," "good Hungarians," "good Americans," and so forth? This volume, which features a number of illustrations (many of them quite rare), is not only accessible to the general reader, but also contains much information of interest to the scholar in Jewish studies, American studies, and sports history

Author : Douglas Stark
Publisher : U of Nebraska Press
Page : 317 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2017-09-01
Category : Sports & Recreation
ISBN : 9780803295889

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When Basketball Was Jewish by Douglas Stark Pdf

In the 2015–16 NBA season, the Jewish presence in the league was largely confined to Adam Silver, the commissioner; David Blatt, the coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers; and Omri Casspi, a player for the Sacramento Kings. Basketball, however, was once referred to as a Jewish sport. Shortly after the game was invented at the end of the nineteenth century, it spread throughout the country and became particularly popular among Jewish immigrant children in northeastern cities because it could easily be played in an urban setting. Many of basketball’s early stars were Jewish, including Shikey Gotthoffer, Sonny Hertzberg, Nat Holman, Red Klotz, Dolph Schayes, Moe Spahn, and Max Zaslofsky. In this oral history collection, Douglas Stark chronicles Jewish basketball throughout the twentieth century, focusing on 1900 to 1960. As told by the prominent voices of twenty people who played, coached, and refereed it, these conversations shed light on what it means to be a Jew and on how the game evolved from its humble origins to the sport enjoyed worldwide by billions of fans today. The game’s development, changes in style, rise in popularity, and national emergence after World War II are narrated by men reliving their youth, when basketball was a game they played for the love of it. When Basketball Was Jewish reveals, as no previous book has, the evolving role of Jews in basketball and illuminates their contributions to American Jewish history as well as basketball history.