17th Annual Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Inductees Come From All Areas of Sports

Softball Inductee Dani Yudin with Sportscaster Randy Rosenbloom

Softball Inductee Dani Yudin with Sportscaster Randy Rosenbloom

Sunday’s Jewish Sports Hall of Fame 17th Annual Induction at the American Jewish University yielded some familiar names and some not quite as familiar but equally as talented. The event, with Master of Ceremonies and Los Angeles Emmy-winning sports legend Roy Firestone presented 14 inductees to the Hall of Fame, along with Pillar of Achievement honoree Howard Zuckerman, who produced sports events for Southern California on ABC, NBC and CBS television. He is also notable for starting many prominent sportscaster’s careers as well as producing Clippers and Golden State Warriors games and Big-10 games. He also handled the producing end of the Live Aid music telethon and concert.

Photo Essay after the jump

The inductees were:

  • Mike Lieberthal; baseball, Phillies and Dodgers All-Star catcher and batting star
  • Thea Lemberger; basketball; one of the top point guards for UCLA Women’s Basketball
  • Sasha Cohen; figure skating; Olympic Silver Medalist 2006; professional skater
  • Erik Lorig; football, fullback/tight end Tampa Bay Buccaneers, signed 2014 with the New Orleans Saints
  • Alla Svirsky; gymnastics; Head Coach 1984 Women’s Olympic Rhythmic Gymnast Team
  • Art Sherman; horse racing; trainer of California Chrome, winner of 2014 Preakness and Kentucky Derby
  • Helene Elliot; media; LA Times beat writer for the 2014 Stanley Cup Champion LA Kings, 1980 Winter Olympics “Miracle on Ice”; LA Times General Sports Columnist
  • Ted Leitner; Media; Broadcaster for 35 years for San Diego Padres; Sportscaster KFMB-TV
  • Scotty Freedman; World’s #1 Paddle-Tennis Champion, winningest player in history
  • Camille Levin; soccer; Stanford, NCAA College Cup All-American, NCAA title winner for Cardinal; Captain, US women’s U-23 National Soccer Team
  • Dani Yudin; softball; UCLA, .336 batting average, hit in winning run to propel UCLA to 2010 World Series Champs; Tesoro High, .449 average senior year; one of UCLA’s all-time catchers
  • Barbara Breit; tennis; US Girl’s-18’s National Harcourt Champion 1954-55. author
  • Amanda Fink; tennis; four time USC Collegiate All-American; four-time PAC-10 selection
  • Merrill Moses; Water Polo; 2008 Silver Medal Olympics, goalkeeper; Collegiate All- America

Several stories were told, some funny and some heart-wrenching, such as Mike Lieberthal’s story about his grandmother’s survival while her sisters died in a concentration camp. Following in the footsteps of past inductees such as the Dodger’s Sandy Koufax and Olympic swimmer Mark Spitz, they showed that sports is still an area where many Jews excel. Overall, it was a great day with well-deserved honors for the inductees. Also receiving awards were three High School Award Winners, Olivia Rosendahl, Josh Rosen and Alec Neimand.

www.SCJewishSportsHalloOF.com

Ed Simon

About Ed Simon

Ed is a native of Los Angeles who loves food and food cultures. Whether he's looking for the best ceviche in Colombia, the best poke in Hawaii, the best tequila in Jalisco, the best Bun bo Hue in Vietnam or the best Taiwanese Beef Roll in Los Angeles, it's all good food! He also loves a good drink. He's had Mai Tais in Hawaii, Bourbon in Kentucky, Tequila in Mexico and Rum in Jamaica. His wine escapades have taken him to Napa, Sonoma, the Willamette Valley and the Santa Ynez Valley. And he's had beer all over the world! Music is another of Ed's passion, writing and interviewing many classic rock, rock and blues musicians. Getting the great stories of road experiences from them is a particular delight. Traveling also fits in with Ed's writing, exploring all over to find the most interesting places to visit, even in out of the way areas.
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