International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, Jewish sports heroes, Jewish

Olympic medalists, Jewish sports legends (original) (raw)

The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame/Yad Le'ish Hasport Hayehudi was formally inaugurated on July 7, 1981. Its predecessor, the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, was founded in the United States in May 1979. The original Hall of Fame included only American honorees. The International Hall of Fame honors athletes and sportsmen and sportswomen throughout the world.

Inside the International Jewish Hall of Fame in Israel.

Display Cases at the Wingate Institute in Israel.

The purpose of the IJSHOF is to honor Jewish men and women, worldwide, who have accomplished extraordinary achievements in sports and to honor those who have made significant contributions to society through sports.

In addition, its Lifetime Achievement Award annually honors those individuals who have contributed to Jewish life, Israel, society and the community at large, through sports. The Chairman's Award of Excellence is presented periodically in recognition of special accomplishments in the world of sports and physical education.

From Our Chairman Jed Margolis

Shalom Chaverim,

Our Executive Committee continues to process our Strategic Plan and shortly we will be announcing our road map for the future. We are gearing up for some important meetings in Israel with the leadership of Wingate as they have a new CEO, Guy Attias, and we look forward to meeting him in May.

We have changed vendors to process donations to IJSHOF. You can click the button below to make a donation.

We appreciate your ongoing support.

We mourn the passing of Walter Blum, one of our inductees who recently died at 89 years of age. We learned of his passing from the Jewish Sports Report. He is the only Jewish Jockey to win at the Belmont Stakes (1971), and besides the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame he was inducted into the the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. To learn more about him go to JTA's article: Jewish Hall of Fame jockey Walter Blum, who rode to victory in Belmont Stakes, dies at 89 - Jewish Telegraphic Agency (jta.org)

Am Yisrael Chai.

News as of November 27, 2023

In these trying times, we are working and praying for peace in the Middle East. We are hopeful of a speedy return of all the Israeli hostages and an end of the violence.

Our work at the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame carries on, as we look to bring good news in the middle of all the turmoil.

Our 2024 Honorees

We are pleased to share with you a Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) article by Jacob Gurvis announcing the 2024 Class of Inductees to the Hall of Fame. You can read the full article online.

ALEX AVERBUKH
Track and Field (Russia/Israel)
Born in the USSR, Aleksandr Averbukh competed as a decathlete for Russia and after moving to Israel in 1999 rose to the top level in pole vault, winning silver (2002) and bronze (1999) medals at the World Championships. He also won gold medals at the European championships (2000, 2002, 2006) and the Maccabiah Games (2013). Learn more.

SKIP BERTMAN
Baseball (USA)
One of the foremost baseball coaches in college history, Stanley “Skip” Bertman’s Louisiana State University teams won five College World Series titles and seven Southeastern Conference championships. In 18 years as a head coach, he amassed 870 wins. His .754 winning percentage in National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) tournaments is the highest in college baseball history. Learn more.

RON BOLOTIN
Swimming (Israel)
Ron Bolotin won 11 swimming medals in freestyle and butterfly - three gold, five silver, three bronze � in six Paralympic Games between 1980 and 2000. As a young IDF soldier, Bolotin lost a leg in a landmine explosion. During rehabilitation he turned to swimming and became a member of the Israeli national team for the disabled. He won the national championship 1976 and European championship in 1979, setting a world record in the 100-meter butterfly. Learn more.

RYAN BRAUN
Baseball (USA)
A six-time all-star, who finished his 14-year career with 352 home runs, the most by a Jewish player, with a batting average of .296 and 1,154 RBIs. He was the National League�s Rookie of the Year in 2007 and Most Valuable Player in 2011, when he hit .332 with a league-leading .597 slugging percentage. Learn more.

MIKE CAMMALLERI
Ice Hockey (Canada)
Mike Cammalleri was a National Hockey League goal-scoring star for 15 seasons. The left-winger's 13 goals in the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs led all players and tied a franchise record of the storied Montreal Canadiens. In regular-season action, Cammalleri scored at least 25 goals six times and led three different NHL teams in goals scored: L.A. Kings (2005-06), Calgary Flames (2008-09, 2013-14), and New Jersey Devils (2014-15). He played for five NHL teams, scoring 294 goals and 348 assists. Learn more.

LINDA COHN
Media (USA)
Groundbreaking American Born: 1959, New York. Broadcaster Linda Cohn has anchored ESPN's flagship program SportsCenter for more than 30 years. In 1987, she made sportscasting history by becoming the first full-time U.S. female sports anchor on a national radio network when she was hired by ABC. She also was the first woman sports anchor for WCBS Radio from 1984-87. Learn more.

ELI DERSHWITZ
Fencing (USA)
Dershwitz won the gold medal in sabre at the World Fencing Championships of 2023. He's the first American man to win sabre gold at the championships. He also won silver at the World Championships in 2018. That year, Dershwitz was ranked No. 1 in sabre in the world. Learn more.

JONATHAN "YONI" ERLICH
Tennis (Israel)
Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram became the only Israeli team to win a grand slam tennis tournament when they captured the 2008 Australian Open men's doubles title. Erlich reached a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 5 in 2008. Erlich turned pro in 1996 at the age of 19 and retired in 2022 with 22 doubles titles. He reached 44 doubles finals, mostly with Ram, but also won the 2010 Queen's Club Championship with Novak Djokovic. Learn more.

ABIGAIL "ABBY" HOFFMAN
Track and Field. (Canada)
Abby Hoffman was a record-setting middle-distance runner of the 1960s and '70s, winning gold medals at several major international events, including the Commonwealth Games in 1966 and the Pan-American Games in 1963 (as a 15-year-old) and 1971. She established a Commonwealth record in the 800 meters and set numerous Canadian and North American records in the 800 meters, 440 yards and 1,500 meters. She won two gold medals at the 1969 Maccabiah Games. Learn more.

GISELLE KANEVSKY
Field Hockey (Argentina)
With the Argentine national team, Kanefsky also won gold at two Pan American Games (2007, 2019) and the International Field Hockey Champions Trophy in 2009 and 2010. In 2008, she was on the country's bronze medal-winning team at the Summer Olympics. After the Games, she turned professional with the Netherlands team Haagsche Delftsche Mixed. Learn more.

AARON KRICKSTEIN
Tennis (USA).
Aaron Krickstein set an Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) record as the youngest player to win a singles title when he won a Tel Aviv tournament in 1983 at age 16. A year later, he set another record when he became the youngest player to break into the ATP�s top-10 world singles rankings. Both records still stand as of 2023. Learn more.

ANDY RAM
Tennis (Israel)
One of the world�s top doubles players of his era, Andy Ram won three Grand Slam tournaments: Wimbledon (2006, mixed doubles with Vera Zonareva), French Open (2007, mixed doubles with Nathalie Dechy) and Australian Open (2008, doubles with his regular partner, fellow Israeli Jonathan Erlich). In 2008, Ram reached his highest doubles ranking of No. 5 in the world. Learn more.

MITCHELL SCHWARTZ
Football (USA)
Mitchell Schwartz was a four-time All-Pro offensive tackle in the National Football League, 2012-2020. Schwartz won numerous college football awards as a star tackle on the Cal Berkeley Golden Bears. Drafted by the Cleveland Browns, he was named to the NFL�s All Rookie Team in 2012. Moving on to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2016, Schwartz was named to All-Pro second teams in 2016, 2017 and 2019. In 2018, he was named first-team All-Pro. His 2019 Chiefs team won the Super Bowl over the San Francisco 49ers. Learn more.

ELLEN WEINBERG-HUGHES
Ice Hockey (USA)
One of the outstanding pioneering players of women's ice hockey, Ellen Weinberg-Hughes was an all-star at the highest levels of her sport. Today, women's hockey is an Olympic sport with professional leagues, but when Weinberg-Hughes played at the second Women's World Championship in Finland in 1992 the sport was new to the world stage. She helped to lead the U.S. national team to a silver medal and was named to the Women's World Championship's first-ever all-star team. Learn more.

SARA WHALEN
Soccer (USA)
Sara Whalen was a key defender for the U.S. Women's National Soccer team (USWNT) that beat China for the 1999 World Cup. That event was the springboard for the rising popularity of women's soccer in the U.S. Whalen played on the USWNT from 1997 to 2000, winning an Olympic silver medal in her final year with the team. Later, she became a founding player of the Women�s United Soccer Association. Learn more.

Award of Excellence

GILAD WEINGARTEN
Israel
Gilad Weingarten has made his impact on the world of sports worldwide, and especially in Israel for over 60 years. He served as Director of the Nat Holman School for Coaches at Wingate Institute for 11 years, Wingate's Director of Research and Sportsmedicine before an 8-year stint as Director General of Wingate. For over 30 years he has been a commentator on Israeli TV covering 13 Olympic Games, 18 World Championships and numerous additional major meets. He was founder and Chairman of the Anti-Doping Committee, Israel Olympic Committee and Israel's Ministry of Sport. Learn more.

Remembering Jewish Athletes Lost in the Holocaust

As we embark on the 80th year from the liberation of the Concentration Camps, the IJSHOF will be recognizing those exceptional Jewish athletes that we lost in the Holocaust along with those who survived and went on to Olympic greatness, at our induction ceremony which is slated for July 8, 2025. We hope you will join us.

Sylvan Adams Making a Difference

Sylvan Adams continues to make a difference in Israel and around the world. The Israeli-Canadian Activist and Philanthropist, Sylvan Adams, on Judaism's Fight Against Evil. Read the article online.

Sylvan Adams received the IJSHOF Lifetime Achievement Award and spoke at our 2022 Induction Ceremony. Sylvan just made a $100,000,000 gift to Ben Gurion University to help rebuild the south of Israel.

Steve Rosenberg's Column in the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent

Sports: A Powerful Ally in the Battle Against Antisemitism – Jewish Exponent. Steve is President of the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

Jack, Luke and Quinn Hughes Make Jewish NHL History

Read this article online about Jack, Luke, and Quinn Hughes when they made history again "when they became the first trio of Jewish brothers to play in the same NHL game."

Allan Jay Mourned

We mourn the passing of Allan Jay in March of 2023. He was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1985. Read Allan Jay's bio.

Executive Committee News

The IJSHOF has expanded our Executive Committee, and we are about to embark on a Strategic Planning process to shape our future. Serving on the EC are: Debbie Adams, Stephen Berliner, Bill Izso, Jed Margolis (Chairman), Chuck Shechtman, Michael Siegman, and Lenny Silberman. We recently added David Berliner (L.A.), Victor Goldner (Mexico) Stuart Lustigman (GB) and Uri Schaffer (Israel) to the Executive Committee. Among our recent work is developing a strategic plan with Daniel Ripps of Gabai Strategic Advisors (NYC).

Election Committee News

Our Election Committee has expanded to 20 individuals from around the world. Nominations can be submitted to us at: jsportslegends@aol.com. Elections take place once per year in August.

New Ways to Donate to Us

The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame can now accept credit cards for donations or for purchases of dedication plaques through Key Bank and Simple Checkout.

Please visit to make a donation.