The Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame will induct its class of 2025 this week. The organization does what most sports halls of fame do: highlights phenomenal athletes, coaches and more who have contributed to their specific sports.
But with the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, there is an additional mission, and a heightened level of importance, according to Steve Rosenberg, its board chair.
“What I like to say is, we don’t fight antisemitism in the traditional way, but what we do is we shine a spotlight on these women and men who have had great careers, and that’s a way that you can fight antisemitism — by shining this great spotlight on people who have accomplished great things,” Rosenberg said. “We have to continue to maintain a position of strength and success, and this, to me, is one of the greatest ways to do it.”
On Sept. 18, the Hall of Fame will initiate 14 new Jewish sports professionals who made an impact in the area, joining names like NBA and NCAA champion coach Larry Brown and Super Bowl champion wide receiver Randy Grossman.
The inductees who will be in attendance are AND1 co-founder Seth Berger, former Division One golf coach Ben Feld, Major League Baseball draftee Brett Gold, team owner Ken Gross, field hockey star Rachel Magerman, pro basketball player Jesse Rappaport, sports surgeon Dr. David Rubenstein and sportswriter Mike Sielski, with posthumous inductions as “legacy” members coming for Eagles General Manager Susan Tose Spencer, major leaguer Cal Abrams, weightlifter Al Berger, NCAA basketball All-American Mike Bloom, boxer Harry “Kid” Brown and NHL legal counsel Gil Stein.
Gold is being given the Sports Spirit honor, Gross the Simcha Gersh honor and Sielski the Ally of the Court honor.
Rosenberg said this year’s class is special.
“I’m really proud of this class because of the diversity of how they impacted the sports world. I don’t mean diversity in the way they look or who they are. I mean diversity with which they attack the sports world,” he said.
To be admitted to the hall, athletes and coaches must have a connection to Philadelphia and a track record of success. People who are from the Delaware Valley but played professionally abroad qualify, as do those who are from other places but played for a Philadelphia team. Rosenberg said candidly that there is a high bar for entry to the hall in terms of accomplishments.
“With all due respect to all the great high school athletes, that’s not really enough for us. We’re looking for [those who had] either Olympic, professional or collegiate careers. [Or if] you excelled in the Maccabiah, not the JCC games,” he said.
The proof is in the hall’s roster, which includes people like Philadelphia Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman, as well as 18 Olympians — including six medal winners, two world boxing champions and numerous collegiate All-Americans.
Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Sielski is a notable inductee because he isn’t actually Jewish. As Rosenberg explained, he is being honored as the first non-Jewish inductee and “ally on the court” because of his steadfast commitment to the Jewish community of Philadelphia.
Rosenberg said that Sielski regularly emcees Jewish events in the city and was quick to write a column discussing the actions of controversial NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving after Irving shared a link to an antisemitic film a few years ago.
“Mike will be sitting up there with everybody else,” Rosenberg said.
Each year, Rosenberg enjoys this whole process.
“The greatest joy that I get is once a year when I call the people that were voted in, telling them that they’ve been elected to the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. I usually get one of two responses: First, people think I’m joking with them sometimes, or they’re moved to tears,” he said. “Look, we have people like Larry Brown who are inducted, and Larry Brown is in many halls of fame — but even those people appreciate the recognition that [the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame] has bestowed upon them.”
