Jewish greats

[Fat Shamz]

According to fighters who shared locker rooms with him, he was definitely NOT Jewish. I don't think I need to go into further detail.

Why would you talk to people who observe mens penis's?

[neils7147933]

Elaine Dickinson: Would you like something to read?
Hanging Lady: Do you have anything light?
Elaine Dickinson: How about this leaflet, "Famous Jewish Sports Legends?"

[Welterweight]

I have never heard that Max Baer was not Jewish.

That story you related ("Yom Kippur...I'll fight him next") is emblematic of Mr. Baer's sense of humor. That story is probably true, but it doesn't reveal that Baer was not Jewish, it reveals a bit about Baer's personality - nothing serious, life is a ball, make a joke every chance I get.

Roxy, watch one of Baer's fights -- on his fighting trunks Baer wore the biggest Star of David you will ever see. You explain to me why that was there. Also, his fight against Schmeling was seen as the Jew vs. the Nazi.

Maybe Max might have been half-Jewish (I don't know), but Mr. Max Baer was a hell of a lot more Jewish than the Pope (that I'm certain of).

Max Baer was not Jewish, but rather, allowed the ambiguity of his name and the hype that helped sell tickets color his fight with Schmeling. The late Eddie Arcel supposedly said of Baer, "I've seen him in the shower, and trust me, he ain't Jewish.
As a Jewish amateur boxer in the 70's I could never understand why people were surprised at my ethnicity. I just can't grasp what someone's religion or ethnic background has to do with anything.

[roXy graziano]

Max Baer was not Jewish, but rather, allowed the ambiguity of his name and the hype that helped sell tickets color his fight with Schmeling. The late Eddie Arcel supposedly said of Baer, "I've seen him in the shower, and trust me, he ain't Jewish.
As a Jewish amateur boxer in the 70's I could never understand why people were surprised at my ethnicity. I just can't grasp what someone's religion or ethnic background has to do with anything.

oh come on man... you can't play ethnicity and background out of boxing. I mean, for me I look up to Jewish boxers and Italian boxers cus I'm Italian/Jewish.

I had two or three Mexican friends that were into boxing and their favorite fighters were Mexican. Who you are is who you are, that's who you're gonna be naturally drawn towards

[roXy graziano]

Max Baer

not sure if anyone cares, but i just got this email from Mike DeLisa:

Max Baer's grandfather was Jewish but non practicing. His name was
Aschill
Baer from ALsaice-Lorraine. He married a non-jew from Vienna, Fanny
Fischel. They had seven sons and two daughters. Al the sons named
after
the tribes of Israel and they were educated in Jewish schools.

Baer's father did not practice the religion and married a girl of
Scotch
Irish desent in the USA.

Max and Buddy apparently did not practice any religion.

Baer wore the star more to honor Ancil Hoffman, his manager, than as a
religious statement.


Whether a person whose grandfather was Jewish is considered a Jew is
beyond
my expertise! I'd like to know if Jews would consider him Jewish.

Mike

[No-Mas]

This thread has been pretty interesting.

That information provided by Mike DeLisa is very, very interesting.

Whether Baer practiced his religion or not is a moot point. I am Catholic and if I fail to practice that religion I can't erase the fact that I am still a Catholic.

Not that it matters, but I still say Max Baer is Jewish and the Star of David on his trunks tells me so. (It also tells the rest of the world.)

[roXy graziano]

well, as I said, most practicing Jews would not recognize him as a Jew, simply because the descent comes from the mother and his mother was a gentile.

However, it's still his heritage, who he is (to an extent). Ontop of this he has raised his children as Jewish. The idea of recognizing the mother as the lineage comes from... er... actually I just asked my rabbi about this,
In Vayikrah 24:10 the verse talks about of the son of a Jewish woman and an Egyptian man as being "among the community of Israel" (ie, a Jew).
And in Ezra 10:2-3, the Jews returning to Israel vowed to put aside heir non-Jewish wives and the children born to those wives. They could not have put aside those children if those children were Jews.

I know a lot of Jews would think bad if I said this but I don't think it's any different than having pride in being Irish/Italian whatever. Your blood is your blood. Also, (again lots of Jews would get mad at me for saying this) Baer looked Jewish.

He may not be technically Jewish but he obviously had a lot of pride in his Jewish roots (he raised his kids Jewish, the star of david, etc.) I'll recognize him on my list of Jewish fighters!

[No-Mas]

I'll recognize him on my list of Jewish fighters!

Finally! It only took a couple of pages of posts to put the poor guy on your list.

I've always seen Max Baer as a Jewish fighter. As a matter of fact (and this might seem strange), Max Baer was the first Jew I ever knew. I grew up in an all Italian/Catholic neighborhood and everyone I ever knew or met was Italian and Catholic. Italian and Catholic, as a little kid you think that's what the entire world is. As a little kid I used to watch tons of old fight films with my father and when it came to a Max Baer film I vividly remember asking my father, "What is that on that guy's shorts?" My father told me that the Star of David meant Baer was Jewish. I don't remember how he explained what Jewish is, but I remember Max Baer being the first time I heard about Jews. That may seem like an odd story, but it's true nonetheless.

[No-Mas]

Yesterday's New York Daily News had a piece about Baer written by legendary boxing authority Bill Gallo.

Gallo writes that Baer always claimed that he was of German-Scotch background, but on the night of his fight with Schmeling he said he had the Star of David on his trunks because his great-great grandmother was Jewish.

So whether one's great-great grandmother makes one Jewish I don't know.

[ophqui]

what word keeps getting censored in this thread? if its what i think it is (a three letter derogatory term for a jewish person) u people need to not use it, its unpleasant. If the word is j.e.w, it's ****ing stupid that it's getting censored.

It was always my assumption that Baer was jewish, but that was basically a product of his name, which really means nothing. Just a minor point, revered and legendary boxing writer A.J Leibling was jewish