Hank Greenberg

Guide note:

Hank Greenberg was a Major League Baseball player who played for most of his 13-season career on the Detroit Tigers.

Fast Facts:

1. Born: January 1, 1911 in New York City, New York
2. Birth name: Henry Benjamin Greenberg
3. Nickname was "Hammerin' Hank"
4. Position: First base
5. One of the first Jewish superstar athletes in professional sports
6. Missed parts of 4 seasons due to serving in the U.S. Army Air Force

Born in New York City in 1911 to Eastern European Jewish immigrants, Greenberg was tall and clumsy as a young player, causing him to be passed over by the New York Giants. However, in 1930, Greenberg signed with the Tigers and played for the team until 1946. In 1933, Greenberg had his first full season with the Detroit franchise, and quickly established himself as a powerful cleanup hitter. He won the American League Most Valuable Player Award twice, in 1935 and 1940, and led the team to World Series Championships in 1935 and 1945. Greenberg nearly broke Babe Ruth's single-season home run record in 1938 when he hit 58 homers, and he was one of the best RBI-men ever to play the game, driving in 170 RBIs in 1935 and 183 in 1937.

An observant Jew, Greenberg refused to play during his career on the Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, and he often encountered anti-Semitism. However, after his retirement he recalled that while he had often felt resentful for being singled out as a Jew, with time, he realized that he not only wanted to be remembered as a great ballplayer, but as a great Jewish ballplayer. Greenberg was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1956. The slugger died in Beverly Hills, California in 1986.