Beyond Origins the Discussion

Jesus News

April 23rd, 2008

Jewish Journal:

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Canter’s Deli and Sandy Koufax — two names that evoke the words ‘Jewish Los Angeles’ unlike any other. Part of a multimillion-dollar field-level expansion project at Dodger Stadium, Canter’s Deli — an anchor of the Fairfax district since 1948, but with an L.A. history that dates back to 1931 in Boyle Heights — joined Gordon Biersch, Panda Express and all those Dodger Dog windows. Providing a kosher nosh would require renovating the kitchens at Dodger Stadium and peeling Farmer John’s grip from its hot dog monopoly. A Dodger spokeswoman said the club has “no immediate plans” for this.

“Our field of dreams includes kosher hot dogs.”

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When the Dodgers celebrated their 50th anniversary in Los Angeles on March 29 with an exhibition game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, it seemed almost fitting that a Jewish ballplayer, Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis, would hit a pivotal home run that helped Boston win the game. During the Dodgers’ final home game against the Chicago Cubs at the Coliseum in 1961, a young left-handed pitcher named Sandy Koufax won the ballgame for Los Angeles.

They were known by the nicknames of “Super Jew” (Koufax), “Rude Jew” (Larry Sherry, who sometimes threw at batters) and “Jolly Jew” (Norm Sherry).

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From his home in San Diego, Norm Sherry, 76, said that when he was growing up in Los Angeles in the early to mid-1950s, he “knew nothing about major league players,” not even Koufax, mostly because Los Angeles didn’t have a major league team in those days. Instead, he rooted for the Pacific Coast League’s Hollywood Stars, a minor league team that played at Gilmore Field, located by the present-day CBS Television City. Larry Sherry, who passed away in December 2006, was the most valuable player of that championship, the first pitcher to win or save every game of a World Series.

In Brooklyn, the fans “lived and died with” the Dodgers, but the Los Angeles fans needed some persuading, said Norm Sherry, who praised Vin Scully, the famed broadcaster, for “selling the ballclub. “‘Why don’t you take something off the ball and let him hit it,’” Sherry asked Koufax. The Los Angeles community embraced the Jewish trio.

Some have speculated that Alston’s handling of Koufax in those years reflected a subtle anti-Semitism. What Koufax did was develop into arguably the greatest left-handed pitcher in baseball history.

In the 1960s, he won three Cy Young Awards, pitched four no-hitters, including a perfect game in 1965 at Dodger Stadium, and was named World Series MVP in 1963 and 1965. That made Jews the MVPs of the first three World Series titles won by the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

For decades, the Dodgers failed to land another Jewish star. They had some near misses, scouting Mike Epstein, a slugger from the Fairfax area, who played for several teams but never Los Angeles. Green, like Koufax before him, became the most eligible bachelor in Los Angeles and had local synagogues eagerly pursuing him as a member.

The best Jewish power hitter since Cleveland’s Al Rosen in the 1950s, Green enjoyed a fine five-year stint with the Dodgers, marked by his 49-home run season in 2001, a team record, and his 42-homer campaign in 2002, in which he broke the major league record for most total bases in a game (19) and tied the record for most home runs in a game (four).

Although Norm Sherry did not recall discussing the idea of being a Jewish role model with Koufax, the southpaw apparently consulted a rabbi in 1965. In her book, Leavy quoted Rabbi Hillel Silverman as saying that Koufax once told him, “‘I’m Jewish. Green, who called Koufax “a great man” and “a hero,” did not seek out Koufax or a rabbi when he decided not to play on Yom Kippur. But early in Green’s career with the Dodgers, he and Koufax did talk about issues surrounding being a Jewish ballplayer.

Like Koufax, Greenberg and Larry Sherry, Green elevated his game in the postseason, hitting three home runs for the Dodgers in the 2004 playoffs. That included two in game three at Dodger Stadium, when the Dodgers won their first and only playoff game since 1988. The Jewish community is just so proud.

Entry Filed under: Recreation & Sports