Ribalow, Harold – The Jew in American Sports

Description

Ribalow, Harold ‘The Jew in American Sports’ 1954 Revised Edition. 356-pages. Includes chapters on Joe Choynski, Benny Leonard, Benny Bass, The Romance of the Ring, Al Singer, Jackie “Kid” Berg and Barney Ross. Good+ condition in brightly covered boards. No DJ. NOTE: The frontispiece has a gift inscription from Sam and Violet Greenberg to a Howard Beckerman. Through some on-line research, I found the following: “Howard Beckerman was a highly influential American animator, cartoon historian, author, and educator. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he became a pillar of the New York animation industry:
• Animation Career: He began his career in 1949 at Terrytoons working on classics like Mighty Mouse and Heckle and Jeckle. He later animated for Paramount’s Famous Studios (working on Popeye and Casper) and UPA, created early segments for Sesame Street, and directed episodes of the 1990s Nickelodeon cartoon Doug.
• Education & Legacy: Beckerman taught animation and animation history at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York City for over 40 years. He developed some of the first credited college-level animation history courses in the world and authored the definitive industry textbook, Animation: The Whole Story.
Given that Beckerman was a proud Brooklyn native and a notable figure in New York’s mid-century cultural scene, owning a copy of The Jew in American Sports (published in NY by the Bloch Publishing Company) aligns perfectly with his background and personal library.”

The 1954 hardcover edition of The Jew in American Sports, written by prominent sports columnist and author Harold U. Ribalow, was published by the Bloch Publishing Company of New York. Originally released in 1948, this mid-1950s printing is a classic, highly regarded entry in sports sociology, spanning approximately 356 pages.

Book Synopsis & Editorial Focus:
The book acts as a comprehensive, multi-sport biographical survey highlighting the struggles, achievements, and structural impacts of prominent Jewish athletes in the United States. Ribalow utilizes personal anecdotes, historical context, and player interviews to showcase how these figures combated contemporary social barriers and anti-Semitism while integrating into mainstream American culture.
The book is organized into profile chapters focusing on roughly two dozen of the eras’ most celebrated athletic stars across several disciplines:
• Baseball: Iconic profiles on legendary slugger Hank Greenberg and pitching ace/clown prince of baseball Al Schacht.
• Boxing: Deep dives into historic world champions such as Barney Ross (who penned the preface for several printings of the book) and Benny Leonard.
• Other Sports: The text also spans pivotal historical figures in football, basketball, track and field, and bullfighting (such as Sidney Franklin).

Physical Design & Features:
• Binding & Boards: Typically bound in a sturdy cloth cover (often deep green or dark blue) with the title and author details stamped onto the spine.
• Dust Jacket: Issued with a striking pictorial paper dust jacket that explicitly emphasizes the featured sports and prominently credits the preface or contributions by boxing legend Barney Ross.
• Illustrations: The interior text block is populated throughout with historical black-and-white photographs and portraits depicting the athletes in action or formal poses.
• Pagination: Comprises 356 pages (preceded by introductory frontmatter utilizing Roman numerals, e.g., xix), printed on standard trade-weight book stock.
(Note: Because this work was heavily updated across the 1950s and 1960s to account for newly emerging stars like Al Rosen, Sandy Koufax, and baseman Sid Gordon, the 1954 printing represents an interim expanded edition nestled between the 1948 true first printing and the massive 1955/1966 revised overhauls.)