Hall of Fame

My father is currently in 4 different Halls of Fame:  The Newark Sports Hall of Fame, the Panzer College Hall of Fame, the JCC Metro West Hall of Fame, and the Weequahic HS Hall of Fame.  In each case he was in the very first group of inductees.  I am in the process of preparing a bio of Swede's athletic accomplishments to send to another Hall of Fame for consideration of him being inducted.  His "credentials" are pretty incredible.  And what stands out the most is that, compared to the vast majority of inductees who tend to dominate in one sport, my father was dominant in virtually every sport he tried.  His versatility is what separates him from the rest.  A brief summary:

In high school, Swede was all-state mention in football, even while missing the majority of his games due to parental objections.  As a senior, he received the most votes of any player in New Jersey on the all-state basketball team, and in track and field he dominated the city of Newark in the shot put, discus, low hurdles, long jump, high jump, and sprints.  He was 2nd in the state in the shot put, losing to Al Blozis, who went on to be the best shot-putter in the world.

In 2000, the Star Ledger of Newark named Swede as one of the top 50 New Jersey high school athletes of the 20th century.

In college, Swede took up soccer, knowing his parents would not give him the okay to play football, and went on to make the Coaches All-American team as he was named the best center halfback in the country.  In track and field, he once again starred in many events, and was the state AAU champ in the shot put and discus.  He won the silver medal (discus) in the prestigious Penn Relays, again losing to the great Blozis.  As in high school, he was also his teams best jumper and sprinter.  

It was in basketball that Swede garnered the most attention, earning Little All-American on a spectacular team that won 44 straight games...at the time an all-time collegiate record.  The rave reviews in Swede's scrapbook were over the top, with some writers and opposing coaches suggesting he was the best they'd ever seen.  He captained all three teams in college.

Besides the sports he played in school, my father was an amazing swimmer and diver, volleyball player (nobody could spike like Swede), racquetball and tennis star, and a great ice skater.  

I don't think I'm going out on a limb when I suggest that Swede might have been the most versatile, all-around Jewish athlete...ever.  No wonder his contemporaries referred to him as "God-like", "Superman", "Tarzan", etc.

Despite his extraordinary versatility, the most impressive thing about my father was his humility.  He never really took athleticism too seriously.  And that's what we loved about him the most.