|
PHILADELPHIA JEWISH SPORTS HALL OF FAME'S 16TH ANNUAL
INDUCTION CEREMONY MONDAY, MAY 20 AT 5:30 P.M.
(PHILADELPHIA, PA) The
Philadelphia Jewish
Sports Hall of Fame and Adolph and Rose Levis Museum
(PJSHOF)
is celebrating its 16th anniversary by honoring nine new
individuals at a reception to be held on Monday, May 20,
2013 at 5:30 p.m. at the Gershman Y (Broad and Pine Streets,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19147). The 2013 inductees
include Ellen Barkann, Bob Brooks, Larry Brown, Fred Cohen,
Josh Cohen, Ron Cohen, Bonnie Kay, Marc Rayfield and Pillar
of Achievement honoree, Jed Margolis. In addition, the 2013
JCC Maccabi Games® Team Philadelphia Graduating Athletes
will receive special recognition. Tickets may be
purchased for $185 via credit card by calling 215-900-7999
or by writing to
info@phillyjewishsports.org by May 6, 2013. Mail
checks to the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, 401
S. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19147. Seating
preference requests will be considered. Al Shrier is
serving as ceremony chairman; Jay Goldberg, nominating
committee chair; Harriet Beloff Goodwin; décor chair; and
Louis Schmidt, publication chair. Deborah P. Weiss is the
director and Stephen H. Frishberg is chair of the board.
The
inductees into the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of
Fame represent the best of the best, those
individuals and teams who, through perseverance, dedication,
superior talent and skills, have risen to the top of their
respective sports. Their names and achievements are
celebrated within the walls of the museum. Each PJSHOF
inductee has been involved in sports as an athlete,
coach, manager, administrator, team owner, or as a member of
the media. They must have at least one Jewish parent and
have lived within, or competed within the five county
Greater Philadelphia area. They have joined a special
group of approximately 130 past honorees. This year's
special class includes one of the most successful coaches in
basketball history, one of the winningest football coaches
in Philadelphia high school history, a top radio broadcast
manager and more:
Ellen Barkann. a
competitive figure skater, achieved the highest level in all
disciplines of her sport: singles, pairs and ice dancing.
In 2012 she created a nonprofit, The Barkann Family
Healing Hearts Foundation, whose mission is to provide
grants and financial assistance to families in the area who
are overcome by family crisis, long term illness or sudden
loss of life.
Bob Brooks was a
multi-talented athlete as the starting pitcher on the
University of Pennsylvania’s baseball team and a three-year
starter on the basketball court who earned All-Ivy and
All-State honors his senior year. He is a longtime
community volunteer.
Larry Brown is
one of the most successful basketball coaches, college or
pro, of all time. He is the only head coach to lead teams
to an NBA title (Detroit 2004) and an NCAA Championship
(Kansas 1988). He is also the only coach in history to lead
eight different NBA teams to the playoffs. He also is the
only U.S. male to both play and coach in the Olympics,
winning Gold Medals in 1964 and 2000 and is enshrined in the
Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. He
is currently the head basketball coach at Southern Methodist
University in Dallas, Texas.
Fred Cohen
achieved a stellar basketball career in high school and the
upper levels of the college game. Playing for the Temple
Owls, he set an NCAA playoff record for rebounds that
remains intact: 34! He played with All-Americans Hal Lear
and Guy Rogers; their 1956 team went to the NCAA Final Four.
He went on to graduate Yale Law School and has had a
distinguished law career as a professor then activist and
author in the area of correctional mental health law.
Josh Cohen ranked
among the top ten tennis players in the world in U.S.
Juniors and number one nationally in every USTA age group
from 12-18; he won the International Grass Court
Championship and competed in all four Grand Slams and
reached the quarterfinals in the French Open. In 2012,
Billie Jean King named him head coach of her team, the
Philadelphia Freedoms.
Ron Cohen has
been the head football coach at George Washington High
School for the past 28 years and is the winningest coach in
Philadelphia City history. He has been named Coach of the
Year on nine different occasions. He holds the city record
for most playoff wins with 55 and has coached seven Big 33
football stars, including four players who have gone on to
play in the NFL.
Bonnie Kay has
been a Philadelphia area competitor in golf tournaments for
over 40 years, having won the Women’s Stroke Play
Championship and the Mixed Pair Championship as well as
various country club championships. As a proud player in two
Maccabi Games® in Israel, she won a team Silver in 1985 and
a team Gold in 1997. She is a consulting psychologist to
Fortune 500 corporations, city and state agencies and
private family owned companies.
Marc Rayfield is
senior vice president and market manager of CBS, Inc. where
he is currently responsible for live broadcasts of the
Phillies, Eagles and Philadelphia Union as well as Temple,
St. Joe's and Villanova athletics. His purview at CBS
includes oversight of KYW Newsradio, WIP, WOGL, WPHT and
cbsphilly.com.
Pillar of Achievement honoree, Jed Margolis
has
been dedicated to
using
sports to
strengthen
Jewish identity
and pride and love
for Israel
throughout
his 40 years
working in
the JCC
World and
at Maccabi
USA
where he has served as
executive director since 2002. One of the many highpoints
in his Maccabi USA tenure came in 2009 when he was honored
as a member of the Maccabi USA Leadership Team by The
National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. He also represented
the USA as a member of the Masters Men’s Gold Medal
Basketball Team, coached by NBA Legend Dolph Schayes, at the
1995 Pan Am Maccabi Games® in Uruguay.
***
The mission of the
Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame is to provide
the community with tangible and lasting evidence of the
past, present and future of Jewish sportsmen and sportswomen
in the Greater Philadelphia area and to instill community
pride in Jewish accomplishments in the field of sports and
the role sports has played in preserving Jewish culture.
The hall and museum reflect the obstacles Jews had to
overcome in order to excel in sporting endeavors locally,
nationally and internationally; portray the instrumental
role sports has played in Jewish life; and provide
continuity to future generations of Jewish athletes. The
PJSHOF is open Sunday through Friday and provides
tours by request. Please call 215-900-7999,write
info@phillyjewishsports.org or visit
www.phillyjewishsports.com to learn more.
|