Jewish baseball history discussion

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Posted By: William Cohon

there are sociological and historical perspectives that figure in, albeit not for you. As Jews were struggling to establish a secure place in the fabric of American society, there were numerous events and circumstances defining us as unwelcome outsiders. In the T206 days, it must have been a thrill to see the occasional success story in a venue so thoroughly American as Major League Baseball. Barney Pelty, "the Yiddisher Curver," for example, probably helped young Jews to feel more hope for a bright future in the midst of a poverty-stricken, tenement existence.

A generation later, Greenberg led the Tigers to the top, proving to the public the viability of Jewish contribution to American society. When he refused to play on Yom Kippur, it proved to everyday Jews that they didn't have to abandon their heritage to make it in the mainstream culture.

Many Jews are quite assimilated, and see no reason to display any traits that mark them as Jews. Personally, for me, the days when there was societal pressure to hide one's Jewishness are too recent to ignore, and I prefer to be more overt. But regardless of where one stands on that issue, it is a fact that Jews are not merely practitioners of a common religion. Jews are members of a common ethnicity. We are an ancient people, cast out of our land in ancient times, struggling to survive. Taking an interest in Jewish ballplayers is probably one way we do it.