# Sporting Heroes. **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [October 15, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sporting-heroes/599694 "2011-10-15T00:21:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![studmuffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@studmuffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/studmuffin)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sporting-heroes/599694/1 "2011-10-15T00:21:20Z")
Is it just a myth [perpetuated by Jewish comedians probably] that there are very few famous Jewish sports stars ? ---
**Author:** ![HoboStew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f17d59/32.png) [@HoboStew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoboStew)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sporting-heroes/599694/2 "2011-10-15T00:29:20Z")
They are too busy winning Nobel Prizes. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sporting-heroes/599694/3 "2011-10-15T00:52:22Z")
> [@studmuffin](#): > > Is it just a myth [perpetuated by Jewish comedians probably] that there are very few famous Jewish sports stars ? It made for a fascinating pamphlet. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sporting-heroes/599694/4 "2011-10-15T01:04:35Z")
> **[Best Online Sportsbooks & Betting Tips!](https://sportsfanbetting.com/)** > > Learn everything you need to know about online betting sites in the US and get actionable betting tips to make better decisions. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sporting-heroes/599694/5 "2011-10-15T04:02:27Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > [Best Online Sportsbooks & Betting Tips!](http://www.jewishsports.org/jewishsports/inductees.asp) That list is rather strange. What the hell is a “Good Guy Award”? I had no idea that Josh Gibson and Jackie Robinson were Jewish! And how come Sasha Cohen isn’t on that list? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sporting-heroes/599694/6 "2011-10-15T04:03:29Z")
Wasn’t there a time when folks talked of Jewish domination of various sports, in much the same way that some folks now talk of black domination of them? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sporting-heroes/599694/7 "2011-10-15T04:48:31Z")
This may be a better list for our purposes: [List of Jews in sports - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jews_in_sports) And here’s some reading material: > **[The Big Book of Jewish Sports Heros: An Illustrated Compendium of Sports History...](https://www.amazon.com/Big-Book-Jewish-Sports-Heros/dp/1561719072)** > > The Big Book of Jewish Sports Heros: An Illustrated Compendium of Sports History & The 150 Greatest Jewish Sports Stars (Judaica Sports Collectibles Library) \[Peter S. Horvitz\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. The Big Book of... > **[Great Jews In Sports: Robert Slater: 9780824604530: Amazon.com: Books](https://www.amazon.com/Great-Jews-Sports-Robert-Slater/dp/0824604539)** > > Great Jews In Sports \[Robert Slater\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Great Jews In Sports > **[Amazon.com: The Baseball Talmud: The Definitive Position-by-Position Ranking of...](https://www.amazon.com/Baseball-Talmud-Definitive-Position-Position/dp/0061558435)** > > Amazon.com: The Baseball Talmud: The Definitive Position-by-Position Ranking of Baseball's Chosen Players: 9780061558436: Megdal, Howard: Books > **[Amazon.com: Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story : Sandy Koufax, Ron...](https://www.amazon.com/Jews-Baseball-American-Love-Story/dp/B004HJ0ZTQ)** > > Baseball is seen as the quintessentially American sport with good reason. Emerging by the mid-nineteenth century as the nation's most popular game, baseball provided each new wave of immigrants with an avenue into American culture. JEWS AND BASEBALL... [http://www.amazon.com/Jewish-Sports-Legends-International-Hall/dp/1574889516/ref=pd\_sim\_b6](http://www.amazon.com/Jewish-Sports-Legends-International-Hall/dp/1574889516/ref=pd_sim_b6) > **[Jewish Sports Stars: Athletic Heroes Past And Present (General Jewish Interest):...](https://www.amazon.com/Jewish-Sports-Stars-Athletic-Interest/dp/1580131832)** > > Jewish Sports Stars: Athletic Heroes Past And Present (General Jewish Interest) \[Goldman, David J.\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Jewish Sports Stars: Athletic Heroes Past And Present (General Jewish Interest) > **[Amazon.com: Day by Day in Jewish Sports History: 9780881259698: Bob Wechsler,...](https://www.amazon.com/Day-Jewish-Sports-History/dp/0881259691)** > > Amazon.com: Day by Day in Jewish Sports History: 9780881259698: Bob Wechsler, Bernie Scharfstein: Books ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sporting-heroes/599694/8 "2011-10-15T05:27:48Z")
Um, don’t we need a list of non-Jewish athletes to compare to? I’d assume since Jews represent a small percentage of the world’s population, they would represent a small percentage of all athletes. Now if the question is about the total number of Jewish sports stars, then the answer would be no if ‘few’ meant less than 10. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sporting-heroes/599694/9 "2011-10-16T04:42:17Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Wasn’t there a time when folks talked of Jewish domination of various sports, in much the same way that some folks now talk of black domination of them? For the first half of the twentieth century, [boxing was considered a Jewish sport](http://www.jewishpost.com/archives/news/when-boxing-was-a-jewish-sport.html) in America. Jews especially dominated the light-heavyweight ranks, and contributed four world champions in that class. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sporting-heroes/599694/10 "2011-10-16T06:27:52Z")
Nobody remembers Chariots of Fire? > **[Harold Abrahams](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Abrahams)** > > Harold Maurice Abrahams CBE (15 December 1899 – 14 January 1978) was an English track and field athlete. He was Olympic champion in 1924 in the 100 metres sprint, a feat depicted in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire. > Abrahams's father, Isaac, was a Jewish immigrant from Polish Lithuania, then part of the Russian Empire since the Partitions of Poland. He worked as a financier, and settled in Bedford with his Welsh Jewish wife, Esther Isaacs. Harold was born in Bedford in 1899. His eldest brother ...