Influential Jews in Sports

Influential Jews in the Sports World

Owners, Commisioners and More
by Jonathan Mayo

June, 2003--Sports Illustrated recently did a very interesting, and likely controversial, report on the 101 most influential minorities in the world of sports.

It got me to thinking. Who are the most influential Jews in the sports world? This may not be the be-all, end-all, definitive list, but consider it a starting point to future debates over which Jews have the most clout on the field, diamond, court and rink. For simplicity, we'll break it up into three distinct categories:

The Commishes

Three out of the big four professional sports are led by Members of the Tribe. If forced to rank them in order of importance, I'd have to put the NBA's David Stern up top, just in terms of how far he's taken that league (even if some would argue it's fallen a bit in recent years) and his own public image. Next comes Bud Selig, who while vilified more than he should, still managed to avoid a work stoppage last year and has introduced relatively successful novelties like interleague play and the wild card, all while watching baseball explode internationally. Finally, there's Gary Bettman, who may want to call Selig to ask on advice on how to avoid a nasty work stoppage. I wasn't able to confirm rumors that this Big Three was pressuring NFL commish Paul Tagliabue to convert.

The Owners

Believe it or not, there are 21 full and part-owners of major professional sports franchises. This might be fulfilling a stereotype, but how many of these guys do you think were picked last in gym class and this is their way to extract revenge?

There are a few Jews who own multiple teams. Jerry Reinsdorf owns both the Chicago Bulls and White Sox. Ed Snider is the chairman for both the Sixers and Flyers in Philly. Mark Cuban, the very visible Mavericks owner makes the list just for his newsworthiness. Herb Kohl has to be here because he doubles as a senator and owner of the Milwaukee Bucks. Malcom Glazer deserves a mention for being the owner of the Super Bowl Champion Buccaneers.

A couple of owners make the list, even if their influence hasn't been all positive. You can't even say Art Modell's name in Cleveland after he snuck out of town and took the old Browns to Baltimore to become the Ravens. Did I just read that Raiders owner Al Davis is suing the NFL...again? And Daniel Snyder, who pays the bills for the Redskins, certainly hasn't won many fans for his spending sprees on the wrong players.

Stan Kasten isn't officially an owner, but as president of three franchises in Atlanta -- the Braves, Hawks and Thrashers -- he has to make this list.

The Others

Finally, there are the non-commishes and non-owners to consider. Larry Brown gets first mention because he is the only Jewish head coach/manager in professional sports who made the playoffs. And there are several (five) general managers, from the Indians' Mark Shapiro in baseball to Ernie Grunfeld with the Bucks in basketball to Ron Wolf, from the NFL's Green Bay Packers.