Dmitriy Salita (left) vs. Ronnie Warrior Jr. Photo by Alex Gorokhov, courtesy of www.dsalita.com.
Orthodox Jewish welterweight boxer Dmitriy "The Star of David" Salita will step into the ring as part of the opening night fights at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Saturday, October 20.
Salita will fight either Brandon Hoskins, according to a report on KaplansKorner.com, in one of the under card bouts scheduled for the grand opening event.
Salita's story is intriguing.
Born in 1980 in Odessa, Ukraine in the former Soviet Union, Salita moved to Brooklyn at age nine, according to his Wikipedia bio, to escape anti-Semitic violence.
Bullied in school, Salita took up karate and boxing to learn to defend himself. "That is how it all started. I got called into the principal's office. I got suspended a few times, but I got my respect. I started kicking some ass at school."
Salita began boxing competitively at age 13, won a championship in the April 2001 New York Golden Gloves competition and turned pro at age 19 later that year. He has since won 36 fights, losing only one match and fighting to a draw in one, according to BoxRec.com.
Orthodox Stance DVD. Photo courtesy of OrthodoxStance.com.
Salita signed boxing gloves. Photo courtesy DSalitas.com.
While growing up in Brooklyn, Salitas was exposed to Orthodox Judaism and became fully observant. He keeps kosher and observes Sabbath, refusing to fight before sundown on Saturdays or on Jewish holidays.
Jewish boxing fans have access to a small, but varied, number of Salita collectibles.
The boxer, who fights wearing trunks that bear a Star of David, maintains a web site, on which he sells merchandise, including autographed, training ring worn boxing gloves and signed fight worn corner jackets. Cost for either item is $250 plus $20 shipping.
There are also a number of high quality images available on Salita's web site. Most (like the one featured above) feature the boxer in the ring, and would make nice additions to a boxing collection, especially if a collector could get a print signed by the Jewish fighter.
What other Salitas collectibles exist? What memorabilia associated with the fighter do you have in your Jewish boxing collection? Let JewishSportsCollectibles.com readers know by commenting below.
Immediately following Greenberg's three-pitch strike out, attendees began selling the posters on eBay.
Prices are all over the board, with publicity about Greenberg's one at bat artificially inflating prices.
The posters were selling for between $0.99 and $25 at the time of this posting.
Several posters signed by Greenberg, and by Greenber and One At Bat's Matt Liston are also up for bid. Proceeds from the sale of these posters benefit the Sports Legacy Institute, a group that studies concussions and traumatic brain injuries in athletes. Greenberg donated his one day's pay from the Marlins to the organization. Prices for the autographed posters range from $15-45, as of this posting.
Some attendees are also selling ticket stubs from the game, either as single items, or bundled with the posters.
Prices on the tickets range from $0.99 to $28.
I expect prices on both the tickets and posters will come down as the PR buzz fades.
Patient collectors may be able to save a buck or two in this way.
Did you attend the game? Do you have a One At Bat poster or ticket stub from Adam's return to the Major Leagues in your Jewish baseball collection? Will you buy one?
Adam Greenberg. Photo courtesy of PalmBeachPost.com.
Adam Greenberg will get one more at-bat, becoming a once -- and once again -- Jewish Major Leaguer!
The Miami Marlins (coincidentally, owned by MOT Jeffrey Loria) have signed the former JMLer -- who's previous big league career consisted of being hit in the head by the first pitch he saw -- to a one game contract.
Greenberg will play for the Marlins tonight, in their second-to-last game, against the New York Mets, on Tuesday, October 2.
The move is, clearly, a publicity stunt by the Marlins, a team that has had a disastrous season, and is generating as many cries about the "integrity of the game" as it is cheers for Greenberg.
ESPN originally reported that Marlin's manager Ozzie Guillen would start Greenberg in the outfield and have him lead-off the bottom of the first inning against Met's 20-game winner and knuckle ball phenom R.A. Dickey, after which Guillen would remove Greenberg from the game.
Guillen, perhaps feeling the pressures of critics, now says he doesn't have a specific plan in mind for Greenberg's at bat.
"I'm going to manage my team to win the game. I'll figure out how to play him. ... We shouldn't have any problems. ...I think if the kid gets a hit in the first at-bat, he might get another one."
True to his nature, Greenberg is taking the publicity in stride. He's being a mensch about the Marlin's contract, donating his one day's pay (about $2,600) to the Marlin's charitable foundation. The Marlins, in turn, are donating the to the Sports Legacy Institute, a group that studies traumatic brain injuries in athletes, according to the Palm Beach Post.
Days later, he was sharing the news of his second chance on The Today Show. If you haven't had the chance to see it, I've included the video below. I defy you not to get goose bumps!
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Jewish baseball collectors have access to a number of Greenberg cards and collectibles, despite -- and possibly because of -- the extreme brevity of his major league career.
Adam Greenberg 2002 Upper Deck Future Gems. Photo courtesy of Joshua Platt.
Greenberg is featured on nearly three dozen different baseball cards, including minor and major league issues, according to Beckett.com. These include a 2002 Upper Deck Prospect Premiere issue, and 2004 Topps Total and Bowman rookie cards, including Chrome, Refractor and autographed iterations from Bowman.
Adam Greenberg Daytona Cubs card. Photo courtesy of eBay.
Greenberg's minor league issues include 2003 and 2004 Daytona Beach Cubs, 2005 and 2006 West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx cards.
Adam played several seasons for the independent league Bridgeport Bluefish. I could find no independent league baseball cards while searching eBay for Bridgeport Bluefish team cards. The team's online store does not offer cards for sale. My calls to the team to inquire about Greenberg's cards have not been returned. Does anyone know if Adam is featured on any Blueffish pasteboard?
Greenberg also has cards in the 2008 and 2010 Jewish Major Leaguers sets, and is likely to have more JML baseball cards available in the near future, as a result of his play for Team Israel and the signing by the Marlins.
Adam Greenberg JML card. Photo courtesy of Joshua Platt.
All of Greenberg's cards are readily available on eBay, the Becket Marketplace and Amazon.com. They generally sell for between $3-5 for singles, with some minor league team issues and the Chrome, Refractor and autographed Bowman cards costing between $5-10.
The publicity surrounding Greenberg's appearance means more of his cards are for sale, but it is also driving up prices on all of his memorabilia. During the WBC, Greenberg's cards were selling at about 50% of their prices today. I expect the prices will drop to more reasonable levels when the hype surrounding Adam's appearance tonight cools.
Beyond his baseball cards, there is not much Greenberg memorabilia listed on eBay, as of this posting.
I suspect more collectibles will become available on eBay following Adam's appearance tonight. These include game tickets, programs, score cards, photos, etc.
Certainly other Greenberg memorabilia exists, although I could find little.
Adam Greenberg during Spring Training 2005. Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images, courtesy of NYTimes.com.
There are no photos of Greenberg in the MLB Photo Store, as of this posting.
Again, I presume the Marlins and Major League Baseball will embrace the PR buzz associated with Adam's return to the Bigs, and that numerous photos will become available.
The New York Times ran a beautiful image on Greenberg recently, but it is not for sale through the Times' online store. Here, again, I expect additional images to follow with the flood of coverage that Adam's story is generating.
One At Bat poster. Photo courtesy of OneAtBat.com.
Greenberg's feel good comeback was made possible, in part, by an online petition from sports documentary film maker Matt Liston, who spearheaded The "One At Bat" campaign, as described in the Today Show story.
Collectors can download and print a One At Bat poster from the campaign's web site. The poster, while visually arresting, does not feature Greenberg's likeness. It would, in my opinion, make an intriguing addition to any Greenberg collection, regardless.
Anyone interested can also follow Adam's story in video clips posted to Liston's YouTube channel. Does saving online video clips count as "collecting"? If so, start your hard drives!
Greenberg's saga is recounted in several Jewish baseball books, for collectors who prefer to keep their memorabilia on the book shelf.
Greenberg is a generous in-person signer and welcomes interactions with his Jewish fan base, as detailed in Jewish Major Leaguers in Their Own Words. It has been my experience that Adam is also a willing respondent to through-the-mail requests for his autographs. I'm proud to have several of Greenberg's autographed cards in my Jewish baseball collection.
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What Adam Greenberg memorabilia have I overlooked? Do you have any Greenberg collectibles in your Jewish baseball collection? What's your favorite piece? Are you attending tonight's game?
WBC rules allow non-Israeli citizens of Jewish heritage to compete on behalf of Israel in the tournament. As such, the team is composed mostly of Jewish American minor leagues baseball players. Most of these players have baseball cards available for purchase.
It's been my experience that many of these players are terrific about signing autographs for collectors, both in person and through the mail.
Brett Lorin signed card and note. Photo courtesy of Joshua Platt.
David Colvin. Photo courtesy of Joshua Platt.
Among the members of the pitching staff are Richard Bleier, David Colvin and Brett Lorin, all of whom recently responded to a late season minor league mailing I did.
Lorin included a note with his autographed card, and Colvin was kind enough to send me his Clinton LumberKings card, at his own expense. Read more about these minor league mensches in this posting.
Pitcher Eric Berger is a generous in-person signer. I corresponded with Berger via Twitter before I met him after a Columbus Clippers game early in May. He autographed seven or eight cards for me.
During a nearly 30-minute pre-game interview he granted for me in June, Berger told me "to represent Israel would be really cool." I'm thrilled for Eric to have this chance!
Former Jewish Major Leaguers on the Team Israel roster include manager Brad Ausmus. Shawn Green (DH) and Gabe Kapler (OF) will serve as player-coaches, while Andrew Lorraine handles the pitching coach duties. Josh Satin, a Mets minor leaguer who played in the Majors as a 2011 September call up is slated to play second base. All have signed autographs for me in response to previous through-the-mail requests I've done over the last four years.
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Team Israel t-shirt. Photo courtesy of PrintoMojo.com.
Other memorabilia on the market now includes game tickets. Roger Dean Stadium will host the WBC qualifiers in which Israel plays. Tickets are not commemorative; they are, rather, standard tickets, featuring team names, dates of games and along with seating information. Tickets are available at the stadium and from TicketMaster.com for $8-14 (plus fees and shipping costs). I cannot, unfortunately, attend the series, but did buy a ticket as a keepsake for my collection.
Martin Abramowitz, publisher of the Jewish Major Leaguer card series, indicated in a post in early August on Team Israel's Facebook page that he planned to include an Israel WBC card in a planned 2015 release of JML cards. Can't wait to see the set!
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Stay tuned to JewishSportsCollectibles.com over the next weeks. I'll be publishing a posting a series of Team Israel player collectible profiles on the site.
In the meantime, please comment below to let readers know what player cards and memorabilia you have in your Jewish baseball collection, to share photos of the games, or just express your excitement as Team Israel prepares to take the diamond on the world stage.
Heyman is a Duke immortal, in no small part because he chose the school after committing to play hoops for in-state rival University of North Carolina, as recounted in a Charlotte Observer remembrance. The move, viewed as traitorous by the Tar Heels, led to an ongoing feud throughout Heyman's Duke career.
During his 1960 freshman season, while playing for Duke's JV squad (NCAA rules then prohibited underclassman from playing on varsity teams), UNC players hurled religious insults at Heyman. According to a story in the Durhamn (NC) Herald-Sun, Carolina freshman Dieter Krause went beyond smack talking and attacked Heyman, leading to a fight that spilled over to the coaching staff.
The bad blood carried over to the 1961 season, according to the New York Times.
On February 4, Heyman committed a hard foul against UNC's Larry Brown, a fellow New Yorker and landsman who would later go on to a Hall of Fame coaching career, while Brown attempted a layup.
Brown retaliated by throwing the ball, and a punch, at Heyman. A legendary, 10-minute brawl erupted (the video of which is preserved on YouTube and can be seen below), leading to the suspension of Heyman, Brown and UNC's Donnie Walsh (then a bench player and now head of basketball operations for the Indiana Pacers) for the remainder of the ACC season.
Heyman rose above the drama, and proved his dominance on the hard wood during his stellar 1962-1963 senior campaign, finishing his Duke career with a season that would go down as legend. He led the Blue Devils to their first appearance in the "March Madness" Final Four. Although Duke lost to Loyola to finish third in the tourney, Heyman was named the tournament's "Most Outstanding Player."
Duke teammates carry Art Heyman off the court. Photo courtesy of NYTimes.com, by Herald-Sun/AP.
Heyman's Duke tenure included a 69-14 record, an average of 25.1 points and 10.9 rebounds per game, and ACC Player of the Year and The Sporting News' NCAA Player of the Year honors in 1963.
“As much as any other human being, Art was responsible for Duke University becoming a national power in college basketball,” former Duke coach Vic Bubas said in a statement released by the university and quoted in the New York Times' obituary for Heyman.
In an article on SportsIllustrated.com, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski says Heyman was "one of the elite players to ever wear a Blue Devil uniform." The school retired Heyman's number - #25 - on March 4, 1990, according the Herald-Sun.
His star quickly faded, though, in part because of his temper, reports the NY Times. Heyman played just two seasons in New York, before going to the Cincinnati Royals and Philadelphia 76ers.
Heyman retired from basketball in 1970 with 4,030 combined NBA/ABA points, according to Wikipedia.
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Heyman's list of available sports collectibles does not match his stature on the basketball court.
Jewish basketball collectors can, however, find a limited, but by no means scarce, amount of Heyman memorabilia.
Art Heyman and Jerry Lucas on the cover of SI. Photo courtesy of eBay.
Beckett.com lists just a single basketball card for Heyman, a 1968-1969 Minnesota Pipers ABA team issue. No Beckett Marketplace sellers offer the card, however, as of this posting.
An eBay search yields several photos featuring Heyman in his Duke playing days, including one autographed lot. Collectors can also purchase a reproduction Duke #25 jersey on the auction site.
Patient collectors can no doubt find vintage Duke tickets, yearbooks, game programs and other program memorabilia on eBay.
Heyman is featured on the cover of the October 28, 1963 Sports Illustrated with Jerry Lucas (read the list of MOTs to grace the cover of SI in this 2011 JewishSportsCollectibles.com posting). SIcovers.com does not appear to offer the cover for sale; collectors can find it easily on eBay or Amazon.com, though, especially by searching for "Jerry Lucas."
Photo courtesy of Amazon.com.
Given his prominence in the history of Duke basketball, Heyman is also featured in numerous books about the storied program, though he is not the subject of an individual biography.
What other Art Heyman memorabilia exists? Do you have any Heyman autographs or memorabilia in your Jewish basketball collection? What's your favorite piece? Do you have an in-person experience meeting Mr. Heyman?
Share your thoughts with JSC readers by leaving a comment below.
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