The Southern Jewish weekly. [volume] (Jacksonville, Fla.) 1939-1992, 1940-01-12
JEWS IN
SPORTS
by MoRR1s WIENER

in the gym and in outdoor activi-
ties, than in theatres and dance
halls.
Ben ShalOm is no freak; he is
a genuinely fine wrestler who is
arOusing the sports writer's every
where to admiration. The crowds
which have seen him i'm action
are unanimous in their praise for
his clean fighting and. good
craftsmanship. Non Jewish
wrestling fans Guido their Jewish
neighbOrs in shouting encourage
ment to the big lad when he lum-
bers into the ring and smiles good
naturally at his friends around
the ring. Carded lately in the
semi-final tits and in special
bouts, Ben ShalOm is expected to
be given a chance at the heavy
weight championship of the world
in the near future.
His record is impressive. Seven
times he was the amateur cham
pion of Czechoslovakia, and in
1896 he won the European anna
teur championship at Riga, Lat
via...-. A year later he was not
present to defend his title for he
had gone to Palestine. Twice he
won the Jewish world champion
ships at the Maccabiads in Prague
in 1888, and at Tel Aviv in 1885.
A year ago he came to America,
turned professional and is now
piling up string of sensational
victories.
Last June he fought a German
wrestler who proved rather frisky
and broke Ben ShaTOm's nose dur
ing the scrap. Before ShaIOm was
through with him his opponent
was carted away. AS general
rule Ben ShalOm dislikes rough
handling and manages to pin his
foes in short order.
Both his father and mother,
typical Chassidic parents, are not
keen on his wrestling, and his
mother has never seen him fight
He has seven brothers, six of
whom are wrestlers, and one of
them is a fencer. Three are in
Palestine, one in France, one in
Panama, and two in the United
States. Ben himself is twenty
eight years old and is a likeable
personal chap, proud of his ath-
letic prowess. He speaks eight
languages and in addressing one
Boston audience amazed his au-
dience by quoting freely from La
tin texts and following up with
interpretations Of Talmudic lore.
Asked if wrestling in America
was really on the level, Ben Sha-
lOm was straightforward in his
reply. "There may be few small
time promoters who try to fool
the public, but as a whole the
wrestling game is gradually rising
out of the public mistrust from
which it has suffered. In PaIes-
tine and in Europe the emphasis
is on the ameteurs; here the
wrestlers are out to get all they
can. The winner gets most, SO
everybody tries to what least
1 do"
Ben Shalom makes no pretense
about himself. When he attends
synagogue he does so quietly and
without ostentation, hoping that
no one will recognize him. Not
long ago he was the center of a
conflict in one small synagogue
when the over-zelous president
detected him among the worship
pers, called him forward and gave
him public honor far in excess of
that enjoyed by the congrega-
TONS rabbi. "A rumpus ensued,
from which Ben Shalom quietly
withdrew.
Should he win the worlds
championship, it is likely that he
will go to New York to defend
his title there, where he will be
assured of a large following
though Boston fans, of all faiths,
have been enthusiastic boosters.
Really, Ben Shalom is most
unusual picture of professional
wrestler and "talnid chochem"
all in one