With the sport pages screaming the results of the Columbia-Navy scrap and the Fordham-St. Mary’s tilt, the football fan, unless he has a son or daughter in high school, is entirely unaware of the bitter struggles that are fought every Saturday afternoon on the scholastic gridirons.
A year ago it was Sid Luckman, the six-foot Jewish backfield ace of Erasmus Hall High, who was burning up the turf. Once again Sid is playing great ball this year. But, with the defeat that Erasmus suffered at the hands of Milt Torgan’s men from Madison, Luckman has been eclipsed by a new star in the high school galaxy.
Marty Glickman, a senior at Madison is another Jewish youngster who is destined for big things on collegiate gridirons. For the second year he is quarterback of the Golden Tornadoes. Marty is a brilliant field general, a good line bucker, a perfect passer, and at the same time is the fastest sprinter in the city. He can step 100 yards in 10.2 while in football togs.
When Madison trimmed Erasmus some time ago as a result of Glickman’s bang-up ball playing, Coach Torgan was all smiles.
“It took us four years but it looks like we’re in,” he said.
And well he can say this. His wingmen, tackles, guards, and centers average over 200 pounds from end to end to make up the heftiest squad of linesmen, scholastic or collegiate, in New York City.
“My backfield is pretty light,” continued Torgan, “but it’s got sprint champion Marty Glickman and Arty Rosenblum, who is just as good. We should come through this year in the same fashion as 1929.”
Mike Torgan will be remembered as the man who developed Jack Grossman, Babe Scheuer, Irv Resnick and Leo Lynn, all Jewish youngsters who went on to earn national gridiron recognition for themselves. Jack Grossman, all-American back at Rutgers, is now playing with the Brooklyn Dodgers; Resnick, a great guard and tackle at the Raritan institution also, is now with the Perth Amboy professional club. Babe Scheuer, after earning an enviable name for himself at N. Y. U., has played with the Giants and the Dodgers, and is now with the New Rochelle Bulldogs.
It will not be long before the name of Marty Glickman will be in the sporting headlines of the press when Columbia will tackle Navy again. Marty is to enroll at Columbia at the end of the term.
ALONG CAULIFLOWER ROW
“We Wuz Robbed” Joe Jacobs, manager of Maxie Schmeling, was greeted by your sports scribe on his return from Europe last month.
“Schmeling will be in the running again for the title before the end of the year,” Jacobs said. “His decisive victory over Neusel leaves only that conclusion for any sensible man—and I’ll see to it that he’s considered.”
Some time after this little chat with Jacobs, Art Lasky, the Jewish scrapper from the Coast, breezed into town to settle an argument with Steve Hamas the Pride of Penn State. The winner of the scrap was to be considered the logical opponent for Maxie Baer next June.
Art Lasky walloped the daylights out of Hamas. He left him a bleeding groggy, and punch-drunk collegiate. But, as we all know, these symptoms mean nothing to judges and referees. Hamas won the fight.
The State Boxing Commission decided that Hamas would have to meet Lasky for a second time or be left out in the cold.
In the meantime, my friends, Joe Jacobs has jumped around town. He had cornered Jimmy Johnston and pulled a few strings here and there. As a result of his pull here and there Schmeling is now considered as a “logical contender.”
Once again the state commish issued statements to the press. Lasky will fight Schmeling if Hamas refuses to give Lasky a return bout. But Jacobs wants the easier man for his fighter. He wants Hamas to box Schmeling so that the German lad might gain an impressive win over Hamas and thereby provide excellent build-up for a title bout with the champ.
However, our Livermore Larruper, the California Baer has something to say about the whole thing.
“I don’t like the way the Garden is going about getting a suitable opponent for me in June. And, furthermore, if Jimmy Johnston doesn’t have a suitable opponent—well, then I’ll fight for someone else who gets one, probably Jack Dempsey. Steve Hamas defeated Art Lasky and Max Schmeling and now they’re talking about matching the two losers and having me meet the winner of a bout between them.
“Now, I ask you, what would the public think of that?
“I don’t care who I fight, all I want is the fellow that the public thinks has a chance to beat me. It looks as though Hamas has eliminated everybody but old Satchel Feet Carnera, and I don’t care which one of these two guys I fight.
“As far as the rest of the heavyweights are concerned, my kid brother, Buddy, can lick them.”
And, as far as this corner goes, Maxie Baer had better peddle his papers on another street corner. Maxie knows he can lick Da Preem; he could lick Steve Hamas with both legs tied and one arm strapped to his shoulder. Maxie could beat Art Lasky but only after a bitter contest. However, Maxie is very much afraid of Maxie Schmeling—and refuses to fight any but Steve Hamas.
And they say they’re all looking out for the public!
NOTES ON ATHLETES AROUND TOWN
The basketball team at the “Y” seems to be in great shape for a successful year. Coached by Tubby Raskin, the team is composed of an all-star five. Duvvy Sanders, member of the last year’s N. Y. U. team and member of the championship Monroe quintet, which included such stars as Gotthoffer, Nat Lazar and Bruggy Greenberg (better known as Hank of the Detroit Tigers).
The “Y” is to enter the Maccabian league. The possibilities of entering boxers and wrestlers for the Jewish Olympic games, to be held in Palestine next April have been discussed in high “Y” councils.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
