Talking about the origins of sports

ESPN editor kicks off Temple of Israel's lecture series

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In writing a book that encompasses the rules of 21 popular sports, Gary Belsky said that he and writing partner Neil Fine took a “Talmudic approach” and where the rules had to be explained there are annotations in “On the Origins of Sports: The Early History and Original Rules of Everybody’s Favorite Games.”

Belsky spoke at Temple Israel of Lawrence last Friday as the first speaker for a series of lectures “The Jewish Experience” that was put together by the synagogue’s executive director, Alan Freedman, in conjunction with the Jewish Book Council. There are expected to be eight lectures that will run through April.

A former editor-in-chief of ESPN The Magazine, Belsky, 55, who was brought up Orthodox in St. Louis, broke down his lecture into eight sections where he could introduce the information and add some of the stories recounted in the book; similar to reading the Torah every Shabbos in shul.

“At ESPN we were always talking about different ideas for stories and no one had done one about the origins of these sports,” said Belsky, who with Neil Fine, a former executive editor of ESPN The Magazine, founded Elland Road Partners, an editorial consulting firm in Manhattan.

One of the biggest sports history myths exploded by Belsky and Fine’s research is that Abner Doubleday did not invent baseball. That fabrication was created by a commission convened by former baseball player turned sporting goods magnate Albert Spalding to establish the game’s American origin. When, in fact, according to Belsky, stick and ball games have been played since ancient Egyptian times.

Along with baseball, basketball, football and ice hockey, the authors also wrote about the origins of wiffle ball, mixed martial arts, fantasy football and tenpin bowling. Read the book to learn how that sport evolved along with cricket and that kid’s playground favorite: kickball.

Ultimate Frisbee, introduced as Frisbee Football by a high school student in Maplewood, N.J. in 1967-’68, is played around the globe. Joel Silver had learned the game at a summer camp. Rules were written by Silver’s friend, Buzzy Hellring. Silver went on to produce several popular movies including the “Lethal Weapon” series, and “The Matrix” trilogy and the first two “Die Hard” film.

“We what to do something different that would run throughout the year and not just attract temple members,” said Freedman, who is also the director of the Jewish Sports Heritage Association in Great Neck, a nonprofit foundation dedicated to educating the public about Jewish men and woman in the world of sports.

Among the intimate gathering was Marilyn Traub, a temple member and Rockville Centre resident. Traub grew up in the Bronx as a Giants fan who saw that team play in the Polo Grounds before they moved to San Francisco. “I am a person who wants to learn new things and I felt this [lecture] would add to my knowledge,” she said.

The next lecture is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 14 from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. with Fred and Joyce Claar who will discuss “Values and Ethics through a Jewish Lens.” Each lecture is $18 for members and $20 for nonmembers, in advance, which includes lunch. Call (516) 239-1140 or send check to Temple Israel of Lawrence, 140 Central Ave., Lawrence. NY 11559. At the door it is $13 for members and $15 for nonmembers, but does not include lunch.