LOS ANGELES, Dec. 1 (JTA) — Nine people from five countries have been elected to the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. The 1998 honorees include four Americans: Marv Levy, who coached the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills to four consecutive Super Bowls (1990-93); David Stern, commissioner of the National Basketball Association since 1984; Cpl. “Izzy” Schwartz, world flyweight boxing champion from 1927-29; and A.J. Liebling, celebrated author and the New Yorker’s magazine boxing writer from the 1930s to the 1950s. Also elected were Russia’s Vera Krepinka, winner of the 1960 Olympic long-jump gold medal; Okey Geffen, South Africa’s famed international rugby kicker; Istvan Barta, the goalie of Hungary’s Olympic championship water polo teams in the 1920s; Chagai Zamir, Israel’s handicapped volleyball star and the winner of nine Paralympics, World Cup and European Cup gold medals; and Gyorgy Szepesi-Friedlander, a Hungarian broadcasting icon. The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame is located in Netanya, Israel, on the campus of the Wingate Institute.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
