Top Ten+1 Jewish Athletes
(This is a preview of one of the lists in the upcoming issue of New Voices Magazine.)
10+1. Red Auerbach
Though not an athlete himself, Auerbach makes the list for his skill as a head coach. He led the Boston Celtics to eight straight championships from 1959-66 which is still the record for most consecutive titles in the history of all North American Sports.
10. Sarah Hughes and Sasha Cohen
Olympic Gold and Silver medalists in figure skating. Hughes surprised the world by winning the Gold in 2002 and Cohen, the silver medalist in 2006, hopes to make the olympic team again and compete in Vancouver in 2010.
9. Dolph Schayes
Considered the greatest Jewish basketball player of all time, Schayes was the 1949 Rookie of the Year. He was a team leader for the Syracuse Nats when they won the 1955 Championship and was named to the All-Star team for 12 consecutive seasons.
8. Phil King
A Princeton legend in both football and baseball, King excelled as a college athlete, team captain and eventually as a coach. He was active in reshaping the rules of football and today's NFL players have him to thank for many changes, including the legalization of the forward pass.
7.Sidney Frumkin
A true immigrant athlete, Frumkin left his Brooklyn abode for Mexico and then Spain where he became a world renowned Matador (bullfighter) and opened the door for other Americans to take part in the sport.
6. Kerri Strug
Strug's finest moment as a gymnast for the US team came in 1996 when she scored a 9.712 on a vault, securing the gold medal for the team, despite having accomplished the feat with two torn ligaments in her right ankle.
5. Hank Greenberg
Born into an Orthodox family, Greenberg played for the Detroit Tigers for 16 season, was a two-time Most Valuable Player and ranks 7th among all baseball players in slugging percentage (.605).
4. Agnes Keleti
A hungarian olympic gymnast, Keleti accumulated ten medals, five of them gold, in her career (more than any other Jewish female olympian). She challenged the sport by competing and winning gold well into her 30's before moving to Israel to coach gymnasts there.
3. Max Baer
Contemporary moviegoers may know him as the losing boxer in the Cindarella Man story but in his day Baer, the 1934 Heavyweight Champion of the World, was known as a killer in (and out of) the ring. He ended his career winning 71 of his 84 fights, a staggering 53 of them by knocking out his opponent.
2.Mark Spitz
A famed Olympic Swimmer, Spitz holds the record for the most gold medals won in a single olympic games (7) and is the only competitor ever to win gold in every event in which he competed (1972 Games in Munich).
1. Sandy Koufax
Overpowering left handed pitcher of Brooklyn/LA Dodgers lore, Koufax was the first to pitch three no-hitters, won three Cy Young Awards and famously sat out game 1 of the '65 World Series because it landed on Yom Kippur.
10+1. Red Auerbach
Though not an athlete himself, Auerbach makes the list for his skill as a head coach. He led the Boston Celtics to eight straight championships from 1959-66 which is still the record for most consecutive titles in the history of all North American Sports.
10. Sarah Hughes and Sasha Cohen
Olympic Gold and Silver medalists in figure skating. Hughes surprised the world by winning the Gold in 2002 and Cohen, the silver medalist in 2006, hopes to make the olympic team again and compete in Vancouver in 2010.
9. Dolph Schayes
Considered the greatest Jewish basketball player of all time, Schayes was the 1949 Rookie of the Year. He was a team leader for the Syracuse Nats when they won the 1955 Championship and was named to the All-Star team for 12 consecutive seasons.
8. Phil King
A Princeton legend in both football and baseball, King excelled as a college athlete, team captain and eventually as a coach. He was active in reshaping the rules of football and today's NFL players have him to thank for many changes, including the legalization of the forward pass.
7.Sidney Frumkin
A true immigrant athlete, Frumkin left his Brooklyn abode for Mexico and then Spain where he became a world renowned Matador (bullfighter) and opened the door for other Americans to take part in the sport.
6. Kerri Strug
Strug's finest moment as a gymnast for the US team came in 1996 when she scored a 9.712 on a vault, securing the gold medal for the team, despite having accomplished the feat with two torn ligaments in her right ankle.
5. Hank Greenberg
Born into an Orthodox family, Greenberg played for the Detroit Tigers for 16 season, was a two-time Most Valuable Player and ranks 7th among all baseball players in slugging percentage (.605).
4. Agnes Keleti
A hungarian olympic gymnast, Keleti accumulated ten medals, five of them gold, in her career (more than any other Jewish female olympian). She challenged the sport by competing and winning gold well into her 30's before moving to Israel to coach gymnasts there.
3. Max Baer
Contemporary moviegoers may know him as the losing boxer in the Cindarella Man story but in his day Baer, the 1934 Heavyweight Champion of the World, was known as a killer in (and out of) the ring. He ended his career winning 71 of his 84 fights, a staggering 53 of them by knocking out his opponent.
2.Mark Spitz
A famed Olympic Swimmer, Spitz holds the record for the most gold medals won in a single olympic games (7) and is the only competitor ever to win gold in every event in which he competed (1972 Games in Munich).
1. Sandy Koufax
Overpowering left handed pitcher of Brooklyn/LA Dodgers lore, Koufax was the first to pitch three no-hitters, won three Cy Young Awards and famously sat out game 1 of the '65 World Series because it landed on Yom Kippur.
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