The Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame has a new class for 2026, according to a press release from the hall.
The group includes former Lower Merion High School soccer standout Traci Brody; former Davidson University basketball player Jake Cohen; former New Jersey state champion swimmer Marlee Erlich; former University of Pennsylvania fencer Paul Friedberg; current Phillies executive Sam Fuld; former Maccabi USA softball player and coach Terry Goldberg; former Kaiserman JCC swim coach Phil Kohler; former Saint Joseph’s University men’s basketball player Bruce Marks; former Shipley School soccer standout Jessica Rosenbluth; the donors and organizers of the Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia, Tracey and Shanin Specter; and 35-time national champion powerlifter Lee Zimmerman.
Each inductee will take his or her place on the walls of the Kaiserman JCC in Wynnewood.
As Jews in the community walk in to work out or play sports, they will see these local Jewish sporting luminaries. Steve Rosenberg, the board chair of the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, hopes the young athletes, especially, will be inspired.
“When I see young kids, they stop, they look, maybe they understand,” he said.
The induction ceremony will take place in September at Congregation Rodeph Shalom on North Broad Street. Rosenberg said the event will be scheduled for a date in the fall after the High Holidays.
Here’s a rundown of the inductees.
Traci Brody
Brody earned 10 varsity letters at Lower Merion before playing soccer and lacrosse at Penn State University. She also later served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Maccabiah junior girls’ basketball team that won a gold medal in Israel.
Jake Cohen
Stephen Curry may be the most famous alum of the Davidson men’s basketball team, but Cohen is on the program leaderboard with the four-time NBA champion. A two-time Southern Conference player of the year, he ranks second in Davidson history in free throws made (451), sixth in points (1,795), seventh in field goals made (611) and eighth in free-throw percentage (.805), according to the hall.
Cohen also played professional basketball in Israel and Europe.
Marlee Erlich
A four-year letterwinner at Cherry Hill High School East, Erlich won state championships in the 200 and 500-meter freestyle as both a junior and senior.
Paul Friedberg
At Penn, Friedberg won NCAA saber titles in 1979, 1980 and 1981. He also earned a gold medal at the 1981 Maccabiah Games.
Sam Fuld
The former Stanford University baseball standout served as general manager of the Phillies from 2021-2024. The club announced in November 2024 that Fuld would become the Phillies president of business operations in May of this year upon completion of his MBA at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
Terry Goldberg
The former All-Public League shortstop at Northeast High played the same role for Maccabi USA’s men’s fast-pitch softball team, winning two gold medals and a silver medal at the Maccabiah Games in the 1980s and 1990s. Goldberg also later coached the U.S. to a gold medal in the men’s fast-pitch softball event at the Maccabiah Games.
Phil Kohler
As a swim coach, Kohler was a builder. Throughout a decades-long career, he grew the swim teams at the Kaiserman JCC, for Team Philadelphia in the JCC Maccabi Games and even for the Julie R. Masterman School in the School District of Philadelphia, where he taught for more than 40 years. He also ran aquatics programs at the Hunters Run and Sesame Rockwood day camps.
“He believed that everyone should learn to swim — and he built programs where every child, regardless of ability, background, or confidence, could find a place in the water,” wrote the hall in a press release about the class.
Bruce Marks
Once a basketball standout at Central High School, a wrist injury cut short Marks’ senior year. Then, as a starter at Saint Joseph’s, Marks was benched as a senior for Mike Bantom, a future NBA player and a member of the 1972 U.S. Olympic team.
Yet none of the adversity broke Marks’ spirit. He remained a contributor to Saint Joe’s run to the NCAA Tournament during his senior year. He later maintained his tough, physical style in men’s leagues as an adult. He then imparted his wisdom to the next generation of Jews as a coach in the Junior Jewish Basketball League.
“His toughness and hustle earned him respect on and off the court, embodying the grit of his era,” said the hall in its release.
Jessica Rosenbluth
A four-year starter and three-time team MVP for The Shipley School in soccer, Rosenbluth also became a two-year starter for the Penn State women’s program.
Tracey and Shanin Specter
Tracey Specter played squash at Penn as a junior and senior; Shanin launched a club team at Haverford College and later played recreationally at Penn Law. The husband and wife met playing their sport on the courts at Penn, according to the hall’s release.
Later, they transformed the Philadelphia area into the American capital for squash by organizing fundraising to build the Arlen Specter US Squash Center near Drexel. The facility has 18 singles and two doubles courts and serves as the headquarters for US Squash.
Lee Zimmerman
Now a strength and conditioning coach and trainer, Zimmerman has won 35 powerlifting national titles and eight world titles in three different weight classes, according to the Hall of Fame’s release.