After revealing that his mother is part Jewish, Amar’e Stoudemire traveled to Israel to get in touch with his roots. In honor of the Knicks’ newest star, Sports Illustrated has compiled the best Jewish athletes over the years.
‘Sports’ Archive
Black Ballplayer Called to Torah
By Ron Kaplan |
A lot of you might be too young to remember the saying by the bar mitzva boy, “Today I am a fountain pen,” (instead of “a man”), back in the day when fountain pens were the traditional gift.
Wonder what kind of goodies Elliott Maddox will get when he celebrates his rite of passage? Maddox, who played 11 seasons in the Majors, including stints with the Yankees and Mets, converted to Judaism in 1975. He will be called to the Torah on Monday, Aug. 9, at the NJY Camps in Milford, Penn.
Maddox is working with former Yankee teammate Ron “The Designated Hebrew,” running the camps separate baseball clinics. Blomberg will also speak at the ceremony. That should be interesting.
I have fond memories of Maddox because he was my first cover story for the NJ Jewish News back in 2004, a piece written in conjunction with a Baseball Hall of Fame symposium on “A Celebration of American Jews in America’s Game, 1871-2004.” He was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame that same year.
Here’s that article, for your consideration:
A switch-hitter’s conversion:
Elliott Maddox remembers the pride (and prejudice) as baseball honors Jews’ role in America’s pastime
Born in East Orange in 1947, Elliott Maddox knew two things at a fairly early age: that he had a talent for baseball and that “Judaism was the name given to what my beliefs were.”
“Once I started playing Little League, most of my friends were either Jewish or black,” said Maddox, who grew up in Vauxhall, a predominantly African-American section of Union.
“My first baseball coach was Mr. Shapiro, and I went to his home quite
frequently and played with his sons. By the time I got into high school, I was hearing things about the Jewish faith and came to conclusions about my own inner faith.”
Maddox, an 11-year Major League veteran who converted to Judaism in 1975, will take part in a celebration Aug. 29-30 recognizing the role of Jews in the national pastime at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.
In a telephone interview from his home in Coral Springs, Fla., the former Yankee remembered his journey to Judaism and the role it played in his life. “I had a kid in my homeroom who felt it was his obligation in life to steer me toward Judaism,” said Maddox. “Every day I would hear things from him regarding Judaism versus Christianity. There were days I didn’t even want to go to homeroom just so I could avoid him,” he said, demonstrating the sense of humor that made him popular with teammates and fans.
But his friend must have touched something in the inquisitive Maddox. When he enrolled at the University of Michigan (where he took premed courses before switching to pre-law), one mandatory class proved irksome.
“Probably the last thing I had interest in taking was U.S. history, so I
took Islamic and Judaic history. The more I studied about different
religions, the more I found I had more interest in Judaic history and moved further away from the Christian faith.”
He said that he didn’t change his faith or beliefs that much, “I simply gave it the correct name.”
A member of the college baseball team, Maddox was scouted by Irving “Rabbit” Jacobson of Elizabeth and signed with the Detroit Tigers as their number one pick in the 1968 baseball draft. He made his Major League debut in 1970 as a switch-hitting utilityman, playing both infield and outfield spots. He continued his studies at University of Michigan during the off-season, earning a pre-law degree in 1976.
Despite his success in the Motor City, he was traded to the Washington Senators following his inaugural season and remained with that team when it became the Texas Rangers.
Falling into place
Maddox was traded to the Yankees in 1974. It was at this juncture, after careful consideration, that he took steps to convert formally to Judaism, taking classes with a Conservative rabbi in Queens. “It was difficult, but interesting. But I feel most things that are too easy aren’t worthwhile,” he recalled. When asked why he picked that particular period to begin his studies, he replied in a typical Jewish manner: “Why at that time? Why not at that time?”
He elaborated, however, that everything just fell into place in New York.
“The preceding two years I was playing in Texas. That area was not the place to be studying Judaism. Long-horn steers, yes; the civil war and slavery, yes; but not Judaism.”
His family was supportive in his quest for spiritual identity.
“My parents were religious people, especially my mother. They though it was great that I finally believed in something.”
Maddox said he considers himself a Reform Jew and occasionally attends services, although he is not affiliated with any specific synagogue. He speaks with pride of having been married under a hupa and of his son Jared’s bris.
Maddox has been to Israel twice. His first trip, which he took during his
playing days, holds bittersweet memories for him. On the one hand, visiting sites like Masada and the Western Wall (“mind-boggling”) and other areas was an awe-inspiring experience. On the other hand: “I was there when Jews from Ethiopia were trying to immigrate to Israel to escape the famine, and they weren’t especially welcome. The airport security thought I was from Ethiopia and hassled me quite a bit. It took a few days to get over that.”
Back home, playing in the supposedly enlightened generation after Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color line, Maddox related incidents of prejudice and anti-Semitism. He mused, however, that “being a ’shvartzer’ might have worked to my advantage. No one said, ‘Look at that Jew’ — although with my profile and bumpy nose…”
Beyond the typical juvenile locker room banter meant to bond players
together, Maddox observed general occurrences of “anti-Semitism on the field, in the clubhouse, from management. It’s alive and well in a very sick way.”
Ron Blomberg, an Atlanta-born Jewish player, was a teammate during Maddox’s years with the Yankees. One might expect a certain “member of the tribe” affinity, but, Maddox said, “the religion aspect was secondary, not primary. We were friends because we liked each other.”
He was also less than impressed with Baseball Chapel, an international
ministry recognized by Major and Minor League baseball that reaches out to athletes in a way some might consider proselytizing.
“I had problems with it. It was a one-way street, catering to one group. I’m not anti-religion; I’m just for freedom of religion. If you’re going to do something in baseball, in the workplace, in school, make sure it covers all religions. If not, don’t touch it.”
Following a successful four-year stint in the Bronx, Maddox signed as a free agent with the Baltimore Orioles and wound up his playing career with the Mets from 1978 to 1980. After retiring as a player, he coached in the minors for the Yankees at their Florida facility in Ft. Lauderdale and spent the 1990-91 season with the parent club. But the traveling got to be a grind, separating him from his family for too long. When the Yankees relocated their Minor League base to Tampa, he decided he missed being around his children as they grew up. He quit and worked for several years as a counselor for troubled youths in
Florida – “end-of-the-road kids,” as he called them — but left that position to raise his son as a single parent (he also has two daughters from a previous marriage). With Jared leaving for college in the fall, Maddox said he looks forward to resuming a career in baseball. He has been in discussion with the Florida Marlins for a front office position, (“kenahora,” he invoked) when the team’s new stadium is approved.
In 1997 he was honored for his contributions with induction into the Union County Baseball Hall of Fame.
In the meantime, Maddox said, he has plans to head to Romania in the near future to help start up a youth baseball program there. He made a similar trip in 1989, when he traveled with President George H.W. Bush to deliver official Little League charters to Polish leader Lech Walesa.
“I was in Poland right after they broke away from the influence of the
Soviet Union, a key period in history,” he said proudly.
Originally published here.
