Hoop Dream Hebrews
Excellent and well-researched article on early Jewish sports leagues, particularly in Philly and New York. “'The reason, I suspect, that basketball appeals to the Hebrew with his Oriental background,' wrote Paul Gallico, sports editor of the New York Daily News in the 1930s, 'is that the game places a premium on an alert, scheming mind, flashy trickiness, artful dodging and general smart aleckness.' And then, later: ”The black players were not allowed to play in the all-white semipro leagues that started up and failed numerous times during this era. The encounters between the 'Yids' and the 'Niggers' were legendary. According to William 'Pop' Gates, the star of the Renaissance, in 1989 the SPHAs were renowned as a 'thinking' team, while the Rens were famous for their “quickness”—stereotypes about
Jews and blacks that endure today.“ Ain't nothin' like prejudice for staying power.