by Ron Kaplan
NJJN Features Editor

February 12, 2009

Olympic medal-winner Dara Torres and Marvin Miller, former executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, lead the list of sports figures that have been named to the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame’s class of 2009.

In addition to Torres and Miller, the Hall will induct former Baltimore Colts athletic trainer Ed Block, ESPN SportsCenter anchor and ESPN.com columnist Linda Cohn; track and field star/Olympic weightlifter Gary Gubner; media legend Dick Schaap; and former New England Patriots linebacker and NFL Hall of Famer Andre Tippett.

The group will be formally inducted at a ceremony April 26 at the Suffolk Y Jewish Community Center in Commack, NY.

Perhaps more than any other baseball figure, Miller is recognized as one of the most influential people in the history of the game. From 1966 to 1982, he developed the MLBPA into one of the strongest unions in America. Among his accomplishments were the negotiations of the first collective bargaining agreement, the use of arbitration in contract negotiations, and the increase to the minimum player salaries from $19,000 to $241,000.

Torres became the first U.S. athlete to compete in five Olympics by swimming in the 2008 Games at age 41. With her three medals in Beijing, she tied the record for Olympic medals by an American female with 12 (four gold, four silver, and four bronze).

After receiving the Purple Heart for his service in World War II, Block became the head athletic trainer for the Baltimore Colts. From 1954 to 1977, he took care of some of the NFL’s top players. He also shared his knowledge by working in children’s hospitals and serving as a mentor to aspiring trainers. Block was inducted into the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame in 1974. In his honor, the NFL set up the Ed Block Courage Award Foundation, which helps to raise public awareness of child abuse.

Cohn took her love for sports and helped pave the way for other women by becoming the first woman to host a radio sports show for ABC in 1987. In 1992 she became an anchor for ESPN’s SportsCenter. She has been a fixture on the program ever since and has currently added the title of ESPN.com columnist to her resume.

A former highly ranked track and field star in 1962-63, Gubner set numerous world indoor records in shot put. After a string of injuries brought an end to his chances to make the Olympic track and field team, he changed his area of expertise and become one of the world’s top weightlifters, setting several records in the bench press, snatch, and clean and jerk lifts.

One of the most influential sports writers and media personalities in the industry, Schaap (1931-2001) wrote more than 40 books, including biographies of Joe Namath, Jerry Kramer, Bo Jackson, George Steinbrenner, Bob Beamon, Robert Kennedy, and even Sam Berkowitz, aka Son of Sam. He was an Emmy Award-winning writer and ESPN radio and TV host of numerous shows, including ESPN’s The Sports Reporters. His six children include ESPN broadcaster and author Jeremy Schaap.

A five-time All-Pro linebacker, Tippett made his name as a menacing force for the New England Patriots from 1982 to 1993. He helped lead the Patriots to Super Bowl XX with 16.5 sacks in 1985. Injuries forced his retirement in 1993, but his excellence on the field earned him a spot on the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1980s and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008.

“Our inductees and honorees truly exemplify what the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame is all about,” said Lynne Kramer, chair of the Hall of Fame, in a statement. “In their own way, each one of them have overcome adversities, challenged stereotypes, and blazed a trail for others to follow. We hope by honoring these Jewish men and women for their accomplishments we can show young Jews that there are no limits for them.”

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