Jewish Sports Heritage Association (JSHA), a not-for-profit education
organization whose mission is to educate the public about the role Jewish men and women have played,
and continue to play, in the world of sports, is pleased to announce the Class of 2O2O:
MITCH ALBOM – Internationally renowned and best-selling author, journalist, screenwriter, playwright,
radio and television broadcaster and musician. His books have collectively sold more than 39 million
copies worldwide; have been published in forty-nine territories and in forty-five languages around the
world; and have been made into Emmy Award winning and critically acclaimed television movies.
AL BERNSTEIN – in 198O Bernstein joined the fledgling all-sports ESPN and until 1998, he was analyst on
the popular “Top Rank Boxing Series.” ln 1983, Al announced his first pay-per-view match and has since
called over 60 major pay-per-view telecasts. Since 2003, Bernstein has been analyst for “Showtime
Championship Boxing” and in 2O!2 was an lnternational Boxing Hall of Fame inductee.
ZHANNA BLOCK – Ukraine’s top female sprinter in the 1990s. At the 1996 Olympics Zhanna competed in
both the 100 and 200 m. ln the 100 final she finished eighth (11.14 sec). At the 1997 World
Championships, she won gold in the 200 m. (122.32 sec), beating American Marion Jones and capturing
silver in the 100 m (10.85 sec, a personal best). At the 2000 Sydney Games, Zhanna finished fifth in the
100 m (11.20 sec), and she missed medaling by .02 sec.
DANIELA EPSTEIN – Played on the Yeshiva University Lady Macs basketball team from 1999-2003. She
was the all-time leading scorer with 1,134 points when she graduated and Daniela was the first woman
in YU history to score over l000 points in her career. Epstein competed in the Betty Shabazz Memorial
Tournament, earning MVP and being named to the All-Tournament Team. ln 2003, Daniela was voted
YU’s Outstanding Female Athlete.
JEFF HALPERN – Jeff played in 976 NHL games during his 14 NHL seasons. He recorded 152 goals and 227
assists, playing for the Washington Capitals, Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, LA Kings, Montreal
Canadians and NY Rangers, before finishing his career with the Phoenix Coyotes in 2014. Jeff was
Captain of the U.S. National Team for the 2008 World Championships. Halpern attended and graduated
from Princeton University, where he played four years of varsity hockey.
HAROLD LEDERMAN – in 1967, Harold was granted a professional boxing judge’s license from the NY
State Athletic Commission. Over the next three decades he would judge over 100 championship bouts
around the world. ln 1985, Harold joined HBO World Championship Boxing’s broadcast team as an
unofficial’ judge. He retired as an active judge in 1999, and was inducted into the lnternational Boxing
Hall of Fame in 2016. Harold died on May 11, 2019
BONNIE ROSEN – At the university of Virginia, Bonnie was a four-year two-sports athlete, playing lacrosse and field hockey. ln 1991, Bonnie helped lead the lacrosse team to their first NCAA D 1 National Championship. During her career at UVA, she earned regional All-American honors and was named captain and MVP of both the lacrosse and field hockey teams in her senior year. Bonnie was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary Lacrosse team and as one of “Inside Lacrosse Magazlne’s Top 50 All-Time Players.” Bonnie was inducted into the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2010. Bonnie is currently the very successful head coach of the women’s lacrosse team at Temple University.
ED SABOL – An aspiring filmmaker who hatched the idea of forming Blair productions. He doubled his bid to receive the film rights to the 1962 NFL championship game, and continued shooting NFL games. The company became NFL Films two years later. During his tenor, NFL Films won 52 Emmy Awards and his vision led NFL Films in revolutionizing the manner in which sports are presented. Ed was an outstanding swimmer at the Ohio State University and he was selected for the 1936 US Olympic Team, but he refused to participate because of the games’ connections to Nazi Germany. A 2011 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Ed died in February 2015.
STEVE SABOL – This filmmaker, who along with his father Ed, was one of the founders of NFL Films. Steve himself received 35 Emmys for writing cinematography, editing, directing, and producing. No one else in all of television has earned as many Emmys in as many different categories. Steve died ln September, 2012.
DAVID STERN – Known to be one of the most influential commissioners in the NBA’s history, David Stern helped to shape the game into what it is today. He was named the NBA commissioner in 1984, succeeding Larry O’Brien. Stern wasted no time in shaping the NBA into one of the most popular sports in the world. Under Stern, the NBA added seven new teams and the relocation of six NBA franchises. The expansion of the global game was one of Stern’s greatest accomplishments during his tenure by opening thirteen global NBA offices and staging regular season games outside the US, which was a first ever in pro sports. Enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014.
KEVIN YOUKILIS – A major force on the Boston Red Sox World Series victories in 2004 and 2007. A three- time American League All-star (2008, ‘09, & ‘11), “Youk” registered 14 hits and a .500 batting average in the AL Championship Playoffs in 2007. Kevin had a .281 career batting average, with 150 home runs and 618 RBI’s. Nine of his playing years were with the Red Sox, the final two with the NY Yankees and Chicago White Sox. A 2007 AL Gold Glove Award winner for best defensive first baseman..
The 2020 Annual Jewish Sports Heritage Association lnduction ceremony will be held on Sunday morning, April 26 2020, at Temple Israel of Lawrence, 140 Central Avenue, Lawrence, NY. For more information, please contact Alan Freedman at (516) 239-1140 or via email at [email protected].
