“The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg” tells the story of the first great Jewish baseball player. Hank played for the Detroit Tigers in the 1930s at a time when our country was not quite as tolerant. The game was racially segregated and he brought hope to American Jews who faced bigotry during the depression era. Overcoming adversity, Hank, a secular Jew from the Bronx, became “the baseball Moses.” Filmmaker Aviva Kempner uses file footage spanning Greenberg’s amazing career along with interviews with luminaries such as Walter Matthau, Alan Dershowitz and Hank Greenberg himself. (Greenberg died in 1985.)
This is an inspirational film not only for Jews, but sports fans alike. I’m from Detroit myself and I used to go see Tiger games as a kid, and I really enjoyed this fascinating documentary.
