The Final 15 Jewish Athletes of All Time

Let’s take a look at how the Jewish community has impacted the sports world. Here’s our list of the top 25 Jewish Athletes:
#25 – Ryan Braun – On his way to becoming the best Jewish batter in baseball’s history.

#24 – Lenny Krayzelburg – One of the most dominant backstroke swimmers in U.S. History.

#23 – Lou Carnesecca – OK, not an athlete, but what a guy. He coached St. John’s for almost 30 years with one of the best winning percentages ever.

#22 – Chris Berman – Who doesn’t recognize this guy? Boomer is an ESPN legend.

#21 – Dick Savitt – One of the best back court tennis players in the world during his prime.

#20 – Barney Ross – Remains one of boxing’s legend even after retiring more than 70 years ago. End his career with a 72-4-3 record and won the world championship in 3 different classes during his career.

#19 – Red Holzman – Famous for his 15 year career as the New York Knicks head coach and taking the franchise to NBA titles in 1970 and 1973.

#18 – Ken Holtzman – Holtzman, a lefty pitcher for the A’s and Cubs, has the most wins at 174 as a Jewish baseball player.

#17 – Al Rosen – Rosen did not finish with fewer than 100 RBIs in any season during his career.

#16 – Ron Mix – The second AFL player ever elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

#15 – Bob Nystrom – The best Jewish player in NHL history, Nystrom tallied 235 goals and 278 assists.

#14 – Marty Hogan -One of the best racquetball players of all-time, Hogan ranked no lower than #2 in the world for more than 14 years from 1976 to 1990 and won more than 100 titles!

#13 – Ron Mix -As one of the AFL’s first stars, Mix was voted to the all-league team in 10 of his 11 years in professional football. In 1980, he was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

#12 – Amy Alcott – Alcott won 29 golf tournament titls and five majors during her 35 year career. Alcott was admitted into the LPGA Hall of Fame in 1999.

#11 – Kenny Bernstein -Bernstein lasted more than 30 years as a drag racer and was the first driver in motor sports to reach a speed of 300 mph.

#10 – Dolph Schayes -Named to the All-NBA first team 6 times in his career, Schayes was a dominant force on the 1955 Syracuse Nationals Championship team.

#9 – Benny Friedman -Friedman is still considered the NFL’s first great passer and led the NFL in passing, rushing touchdowns and extra points in 1929.

#8 – Tal Brody – Brody led the U.S. to the Gold medal in the 1965 Maccabiah games after an amazing collegiate career and the University of Illinois.

#7 – Mariya Gorochovskaya -Mariya Gorochovskaya dominated the 1952 Summer Olympics in gymnastics by winning 2 golds and five silvers. Her seven medals remains a woman’s Olympic record.

#6 – Agnes Keleti -Agnes Keleti waited until age 31 to win a gold medal and 2 silvers during the 1952 Summer Olympics. And four years later in the 1956 games, she brought home 5 more medals.

#5 – Dara Torres -Torres is the most decorated Jewish Olympian of all time. Torres competed in 5 Summer Games in 24 years and won 12 medals in swimming overall.

#4 – Sid Luckman -Luckman is still on of the most successful Chicago Bears quarterbacks in their history. Luckman led the Bears to 4 championships in 12 years. Luckman was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1965.

#3 – Mark Spitz – Spitz was proclaimed to be the greatest Olympic swimmer of all time during his era. His seven gold medals in one Olympics were the record for men until Michael Phelps captured eight in 2008 in Beijing.

#2 – Hank Greenberg -Greenberg became the first Jewish sports superstar in American team sports even though he decided not to play for the Yankees. Greenberg won 2 MVP awards and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1954.

#1 – Sandy Koufax – And of course, your #1 Jewish athlete of all time is Sandy Koufax. In his 12 years with the Dodgers, they won four World Series Titles and six pennants. Koufax retired as the two-time defending Cy Young winner and the runner-up for the MVP. He was inducted into the baseball hall of fame in 1972 as the youngest player ever at age 36.