1 Friday, April 10, 1942
ST. AU GV S TI NE
Jews On The Diamond
An Interview With Ford Frick
BY AL LURIE
The baseball' season begins on, April 14th. More recre
ation is the order of President Roosevelt, as the nation turns
to its favorite pastime. A1 Lurie, outstanding sports com
mentator, reminding America that Jews are part of every
fiber of her being, recalls, some of the great baseball players
stemming from that people,
. . . The Editor
I Baseball is America’s national
[pastime and Jews are as much a
[part of the game as are hot dogs
and pop. The diamond sport is
replete with Jewish stars such as
blank Danning, Hank Greenberg,
[johnny Kling, Buddy Myer and
[others who, through the years,
have hung up great records. They
Save made clear that baseball is
a sport open to all comers if the
aspirant has a rifle arm, a keen
batting eye, speed afoot and plen
ty of hustle.
On April 14th the major league
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baseball season begins.
Ford Frick, President of the
National League, reiterated to me:
“There was no time in the history
of modern baseball when Jews
did not sparkle in the major
leagues.” The popular prexy of
the senior circuit knows whereof
he speaks.
Although the greatest Jewish
baseball player in history, Hank
Greenberg, is a soldier in khaki,
there are a number of Jewish lads
now cavorting on the ball fields
of major league clubs. One of
them may become as fine a player
and as honorable a citizen as
Greenberg. Hank was one of the
topnotchers. But the opportunity
is there.
Here are the boys on major
league teams as the sixteen clubs
line up at the post:
New York Giants of the Nat
ional League: Harry Danning,
veteran catcher; Harry Feldman,
yearling twirler.
Chicago Cubs of the N. L.:
Seymour (Cy) Block, husky key
stone sacker, who has a brilliant
future before him.
Cleveland Indians of the Amer
ican League: Harry Eisenstat,
veteran southpaw pitcher.
That’s the current list. Nearly
all of them, except for Danning
and Eisenstat, are in the rookie
stage. “Stardom will come to
many of them,” Frick pointed out,
adding: “And that’s to be ex
pected, for they will only be fol
lowing tradition.”
Let’s look at the archives. “The
really and truly first great Jew
ish ballplayer,” the National
League chief declared, “was
Johnny Kling. The brainiest catch
er in an era which featured in-
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THE SOUTHERN JEWISH WEEKLY
side baseball, Kling starred on the
Chicago Cub teams of Tinker-to-
Evers-to-Chance fame. He later
became a well-to-do baseball club
owner. But he is remembered for
his brilliance behind the bat. And
Kling opened the field to other
great Jewish stars, ’’Frick said.
Benny Kauff was another Jew
ish headliner. Popular New York
Giant player, Benny was one of
the leading; batters of his day.
Which brings to mind the sterling
qualities o f Charles Solomon
(Buddy) Myer, Washington Sena
tor second-sacker, who was one
of the American League batting
kings.
Another of the Jewish stars who
is finished in the Big Leagues is
Hank Greenberg, who deserves a
paragraph to himself. Hank has
been written about so much that
it is kind of wasteful to harp on
his diamond career when he is
doing all he can to be a good sol
dier. But it is only just to point
out that Hank is probably the out
standing right-handed slugger in
the history of the game, barring
possibly Jimmy Foxx and Rogers
Hornsby. Hank has had a season
is which he hit 58 homers. (Babe
Ruth won immortality when he
slammed out 60 round-trippers in
one year! and the Babe was a
southpaw hitter, which means that
Hank’s feat was a harder one, for
baseball parks are so constructed
that lefties have a comparatively
easy time walloping them over the
fence.) Hank has also driven in
183 runs in one year, which makes
baseball veterans blink in amaze
ment. Hank ranks with such
right-handed hitters as Rogers
Hornsby, just elected to the Hall
of Fame, and Hack Wilson, who
startled the baseball world when
he drove out 56 homers in 1930.
Hans Wagner, peerless Pirate
shortstop, a rightie hitter, led the
National League in batting for
eight years. Hank has been a
one-man team for the Detroit
Tigers for so m&ny years that
when he got into the Army the
Tigers just fell apart at the
seams.
And Hank was a hustler. First
an initial sacker, he shifted to
the outfield when team policies
directed the move. Without com
plaining he made the hard switch
—and was voted the best outfield
er in the League that year. Al
though Greenberg continues to
state in the public prints that he’ll
never play ball again—hope ever
springs eternal in the baseball
fan’s heart. Some day Hank may
lead the Tigers to another flag.
Another former star who re
cently won the praise of all Amer
icans is Moe Berg, erudite catcher
coach of the Boston Red Sox
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Moe, never a first-class ballplayer,
was so well thought of by the
Washington Administration that
he was asked to take a leading
part in cementing the good-neigh
bor policy between the United
States and the Latin American
nations. That’s a compliment to
Moe, to baseball and, indirectly
to the Jewish people.
In talking about the National
League players, Frick emphasized
that there is no need for Jewish
apologetics. "Jews,” he said, “are
as good as anyone. There’s no
need to walk around with a chip
on your shoulder,” was his way of
putting it. “Why, there isn’t a
nicer fellow than Harry Danning
or a better American than Hank
Greenberg. Just keep writing a
bout the Jewish players as though
they are American athletes—for
that’s just what they are. And,”
he smiled, “we’ll be grateful for
any other Jewish major leaguers.”
Frick, a sports writer who
worked his way up to the top of
the baseball heap, stressed the
Jews now active in the National
League. Harry Danning, he point
ed out, is the best of the Jewish
guys in the game. “Harry,” he
said, “first won acclaim when
Carl Hubbell, one of the greatest
pitchers of our era, asked that
Harry receive his slants. That
sold Bill Terry on Harry the Horse,
as he is affectionately called.
Now that Mel Ott is the Giant
pilot, Harry is in more strongly
than ever, for Mel thinks that*
Harry is the best mask-and-mitt
man in the League,” Frick ex
plained.
Another Giant Jew is Hank
Feldman, up from Jersey City,
who has a classy assortment of
hooks, curves, slants and what
have you. Hank pitched a shut
out in his first complete game
with the Giants last September.
Ott remembers that game. Con
sequently, Feldman has survived
the first paring—and seems a
likely prospect for the entire sea
son.
Cy Block of the Cubs is, accod
ing to the N. L. boss, “a great
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boy,” which makes it apparent
that Cy has something on the ball.
A smashing hitter, Cy is tall for
a second-sacker (a six-footer);
but he can cover ground cleanly*
which is what is demanded of him.
The Cubs need an infielder—and
Cy can fit the bill.
Harry Eisenstat, a former high
school phenom, never realized his
potentialities. A good relief pitch
er, he seemed to wilt with the
rest of the Indians, come the dog
days of August. Still, he’s a val
uable man to have around, as en
emy batsmen have already found
out. He is particularly effective
at Yankee Stadium in the begin
ning of the year. Perhaps this
season he’ll hold on to his effect
iveness.
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