“Unless you can play baseball, you can never get to be a rabbi in America.” — Rabbi Solomon Schechter

On September 18, Southfield Rabbi Yonatan Dahlen will travel back in time 90 years to the day that Detroit Tigers first baseman Hank Greenberg shocked the baseball world by skipping a crucial game in the pennant race to attend Yom Kippur services at Congregation Sharrey Zedek. The Tigers lost to the New York Yankees, 5-2.

The 23-year-old Greenberg, then in only his second full season in the Majors, refused to cave under considerable pressure that day. His heroic stance against antisemitism — fighting back against fans who claimed he “couldn’t hit a pork chop” — will be the centerpiece of Rabbi Dahlen’s talk on baseball during the 2024 high holidays. 

The September 18 program marks the 25th anniversary of Detroit native Aviva Kempner’s The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg. This rerelease of the remastered documentary will feature director Kempner ahead of the Detroit theatrical premiere September 20 at Royal Oak’s Emagine Theater. The film will be released in New York, Washington, Los Angeles and other major cities throughout the fall.

Speakers at the Shaarey Zedek event include Levi Katz on Greenberg’s career and Dr. Eli Brown, a fan who saw Greenberg play when he was 11 years old.

This drama began to unfold during the 1934 pennant race in the days leading up to Rosh Hashanah.

"The team was fighting for first place," said Greenberg. "I was probably the only batter in the lineup who was not in a slump. But in the Jewish religion, it is traditional that one observe the holiday solemnly, with prayer … I wasn't sure what to do.” He was flooded with unsolicitied advice from rabbis nationwide.

After skipping batting practice, he finally decided to suit up for the Boston game. Greenberg hit two home runs, including a walk-off homer in the 9th, scoring both runs in the 2-1 Tiger victory.

His decision to not play against the Yankees on Yom Kippur is the heart of Kempner’s award-winning film, considered one of the best sports documentaries of all time. For nearly a century since, it has been routinely cited by parents of Jewish athletes when they ask why they have to sit out sporting events on the Day of Atonement.

Detroit Free Press columnist and poet Edgar Guest — who published 11,000 poems syndicated in some 300 papers between over the course of 40 years — captured the momentous decision in verse:

The Irish didn't like it when they heard of Greenberg's fame,
For they thought a good first baseman should possess an Irish name;
And the Murphys and Mulrooneys said they never dreamed they'd see
A Jewish boy from Bronxville out where Casey used to be.
In the early days of April not a Dugan tipped his hat

Or prayed to see a "double" when Hank Greenberg came to bat.

In July the Irish wondered where he'd ever learned to play."
He makes me think of Casey!" Old man Murphy dared to say;
“And with fifty-seven doubles and a score of homers made,
The respect they had for Greenberg was being openly displayed.
“But on the Jewish New Year, when Hank Greenberg came to bat
And made two home runs off Pitcher Rhodes — they cheered like mad for that.

"Came Yom Kippur — holy fast day world wide over to the Jew,
And Hank Greenberg to his teaching and the old tradition true
Spent the day among his people and he didn't come to play.
Said Murphy to Mulrooney, 'We shall lose the game today!
We shall miss him on the infield and shall miss him at the bat
But he's true to his religion — and I honor him for that!'"

Although the Tigers did go on to win the American League pennant in 1934, they lost in the World Series to St. Louis in seven games. The team went on to take the World Series the following year 4 games to 2 over the Chicago Cubs, snapping a losing streak from their previous five trips to the Fall Classic.

Greenberg became one of Tigers top all-time hitters and also helped set the stage for Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax’s decision not to pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series against the Minnesota Twins. 

During his 12 years in Detroit and one season in Pittsburgh, Greenberg hit 331 home runs and had a lifetime batting average of .313. He won Most Valuable Player awards in 1935 and 1940. Today he is known as the first American Jewish sports superstar.

Roger Rapoport (rogerrapoport.com) is the author of Searching for Patty Hearst (pattyhearst.com).