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JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER
M ore than a year after
being fl ooded out of the
Jewish Community
Services Building in Center City, the
Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of
Fame has a new home at the Kaiserman
JCC in Wynnewood.

You will see the hall right as you
walk in through the glass doors. Th e
new decals showing Philadelphia Jewish
sports luminaries like Philadelphia
Eagles GM Howie Roseman, NBC
Sports Philadelphia host Michael
Barkann and Temple University coach-
ing legend Harry Litwack line the walls
of the main sitting area and two hall-
ways leading to the gym.

Twenty-six years’ worth of classes
and inductees are there, and there is
The Philadelphia Jewish Sports
Hall of Fame at the Kaiserman JCC
plenty of room for more, according to
hall chairman Steve Rosenberg. Two
“very large windows,” as Rosenberg
describes them, are available in the
front lobby for future classes.

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about the hall’s 2022 class, Rosenberg
said it’s important for the organization
to have a permanent home. He wanted
people to be able to “take their friends
and family and say, ‘Th ere’s my name.’”
Now, they can.

“I wanted to be in the most public
space possible so as many people as
possible could see it,” Rosenberg said.

Th e space inside the Main Line JCC
is more visible than the hall’s previous
two homes. Since opening in 1997, the
organization has lived in a corner in
the Gershman Y and in the basement
of the Jewish Community Services
building. You had to go to it to see it.

But at the JCC, it does not matter if
you are there for a basketball game, a
swim or some other activity. You will
not get there without a history lesson
on Jewish sports in Philadelphia.

“I’ll say in the next year more people
will know about the Jewish hall of fame
than have ever known about it before,”
Rosenberg said.

Aft er you walk past the decals,
inside the gym there’s a sign that reads
“Future Inductees Playing.” Kaiserman
CEO Alan Scher pointed to that sign
when explaining why the JCC wanted
to become the new home for the hall.

Th e Wynnewood institution hosts
youth sports programs. It is “in the
business of inspiring the next genera-
tion of Jewish athletes,” Scher said.

“Th ere’s a real connection between
these institutions, and that’s the reason
it’s such a natural fi t,” he added.

In addition to inspiring young ath-
letes, the hall will likely partner with
the JCC to host events. Scher men-
tioned a possible speaker series. He
also said that Kaiserman would be
interested in hosting the hall’s annual
induction ceremony, which was held
at Congregation Rodeph Shalom in
Philadelphia the last two years.

“We see nothing but upside in
collaborating with them,” Scher said.

Hurricane Ida fl ooded the basement
of the Jewish Community Services
Building on Sept. 2, 2021. Seven feet of
water ruined physical cabinets, televi-
sions and lockers, among other items,
according to Stephen Frishberg, the
hall’s chairman at the time.

Rosenberg said that more than 90%
of the hall’s artifacts ended up in the
trash. Some of them just washed away.

Aft er the fl ood, Scher got a call from
Rosenberg and Frishberg. Th ey told
him that they had been contemplating
an expansion, and that the fl ood gave
them the opportunity to do it.

Scher, who took over at Kaiserman
in July 2021, was a new executive try-
ing to fi gure out a business model for
the Philadelphia area’s last true JCC on
the Pennsylvania side. And he described
himself as “over the moon with excite-
ment” when they called. He felt like the
hall was in line with the JCC's programs
and could add to the institution’s brand.

“I’m committed to bringing vibrancy
to the JCC in any way I can, and this is
a great way to do that,” he said.

Rosenberg then secured the funding
to build a new display, and the organi-
zations agreed on a fall unveiling date.

Th ere may be a ribbon-cutting at some
point, but either way, the display is up.

On Oct. 16, the JCC will host a Sukkot
festival with 500 to 700 people and more
than 30 sponsors, according to Scher.

He said the JCC will be “thrilled to wel-
come everybody to campus and show
them the Jewish sports hall of fame.”
In September, more than 200 people
attended the hall’s induction ceremony
for its 2022 class. Rosenberg said he’s “still
getting emails from people saying it was
one of the best ceremonies we’ve had.”
“Th ere was tremendous energy,” he
added. JE
jsaff ren@midatlanticmedia.com
Photo by Andy Gotlieb
Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of
Fame Finds Home at Kaiserman JCC