In the early years, Jewish baseball players faced constant antisemitic heckles from opponents and fans, with many hiding their heritage to avoid discrimination in the league.
Industrialist Henry Ford, during the Black Sox Scandal and the alleged involvement of Jewish crime boss Arnold Rothstein in the fixing of the 1919 World Series, famously wrote about the gambling scene that was widespread in the sport at the time: "If fans wish to know the trouble with American baseball they have it in three words—too much Jew.
"[4] It was not until Hank Greenberg, the son of Orthodox Romanian-Jewish immigrants, broke into the Majors in 1930 with the Detroit Tigers that Jewish players stopped hiding their identities.
The most famous of those was Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers, widely considered to be one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, who later became the second Jewish player elected to the Hall of Fame.
[6] Rabbi Rebecca Alpert stated that Koufax, who faced antisemitism as well, helped break stereotypes of Jewish men who were seen as being weak and bookish.
His decision to sit out a World Series game became one of the most iconic moments for American Jews, making him "an important role model, and a real hero.