On Jews and basketball
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“I love this podcast, it’s like NPR for Jews. I love the international perspective, especially, being in the US. It’s my Friday morning treat. But… What you two don’t know about basketball’s Jewish history is a lot. Basketball wasn’t invented by the Jews. It was invented in Springfield, Massachusetts, by a Christian man who was trying to offer a sport to (Christian) boys and young men that they could play during the cold New England winters. Basketball was his solution. (Today, Springfield is home to the Basketball Hall of Fame.) Springfield is a medium-sized city. Before long, the game became popular there, and was carried to larger cities — Boston, NYC, Philadelphia — where it caught on among the children of late-19th and early-20th century immigrants. Especially the ones in poorer neighborhoods. Including Jewish ones. Long story short: prior to the NBA, there were not only Jewish leagues, but predominantly Jewish teams were playing non-Jewish teams. Those Jewish teams’ uniforms sometimes had Hebrew letters on them, and the Magen David. Jewish players invented some well-known NBA moves, that non-Jews labeled as “Jew ball,” because they helped some of the shorter players maneuver around taller ones. (Not all Jewish players were short, just to explode that stereotype.) Jewish players were dominant in basketball from the 1920s through about the early 1950s. A fun, if minor, documentary on this subject, from 2010 iirc, is called “The First Basket,” and you should try to find it. The title refers to the first basket in the then-new NBA having been made by a Jew. The film features interviews with quite a few of the early players. There are a couple of books out about Jews in basketball, but from what I’ve read, there are some inaccuracies in them. Anyway, enough with the “Jews can’t jump” jokes, please. And keep up the fine work on the podcast. I even love the theme music.”
BelleAm via Apple Podcasts ·
United States of America ·
01/07/22
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