Hank Greenberg

January 15, 2013
A veteran sportswriter fondly recalls the life of "the greatest Jewish ballplayer of all time." While not the first Jew to play major league baseball--and Sandy Koufax fans will argue he wasn't the greatest--Hank Greenberg (1911-1986) was the first to succeed spectacularly, paving the way for Jews in the national pastime as Jackie Robinson did for African-Americans. In this cradle-to-grave biography, Rosengren (Journalism/Univ. of Minnesota; Hammerin' Hank, George Almighty and the Say Hey Kid, 2008, etc.) pays particular attention to Greenberg's playing days, to his towering achievements in the game, to the 47-month chunk of his prime lost to World War II and to his later career as a baseball executive. We learn, as well, about the man: his devotion to his parents, his tireless work ethic, his modesty, his short fuse and his popularity with the ladies. Though not especially devout, the "Jewish Babe Ruth" famously refused to play on Yom Kippur in 1934, a decision that simultaneously chanced the ridicule of gentiles and signaled to Jews that tradition need not be wholly sacrificed to assimilation. The slugger fully understood his symbolic role, the feature of Greenberg's story that most clearly engages Rosengren. During this feared hitter's heyday--a time when Hitler assumed power in Germany, when the KKK thrived in America's South, Detroit's own Henry Ford was the nation's best known anti-Semite, "an age when Jews were considered weak, unathletic and impotent,"--Greenberg emerged as a powerful figure, an accomplished and unapologetic ethnic standard-bearer. Rosengren traces the steps toward Greenberg's triumph, vividly reminding us of his hard-earned, path-breaking role. A sensitive look at the cultural impact of the man who once was "the face of Judaism in America."

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Starred review from February 15, 2013

On one level this is a traditional sports biography. We learn of great Detroit Tiger player Greenberg's life in baseball, especially his 1937 quest to top Lou Gehrig's American League record for RBIs in a season (he fell one short) and to best Babe Ruth's major league home run record (he missed by two). Of more importance, this account of Hank (born Hyman) Greenberg's life is a reminder that bigotry is an equal opportunity monster. Few today recall that, in 1930's America, Jews were seen as "others" and scorned almost as much as African Americans were. Greenberg became an icon for American Jews and filled that role with dignity, going about his business effectively and fighting when treated unjustly. This is what made him "the hero of heroes." VERDICT Rosengren's well-written book is recommended to all fans looking for a full Greenberg biography to complement Mark Kurlansky's entry in Yale University Press's "Jewish Lives" series, or Greenberg's own autobiography, The Story of My Life, written with Ira Berkow. This should also appeal to readers seeking to learn about social justice. [See also LJ baseball reviewer Robert C. Cottrell's Two Pioneers: How Hank Greenberg and Jackie Robinson Transformed Baseball--And America.--Ed.]--JB

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