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From the
JEWISH WEEK CORRESPONDENT
JANE LINKER
Growing up in the East Bronx in the 1950s, Marilyn
Fierro was a self-described "klutz" who certainly had
never heard of Hank Greenberg, Moe Berg or Marty Glickman.
But on Sunday,
marking more than two decades of achievement, Fierro will join
that trio in the New York Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
The 54 year-old from Kings
Park-who with a seventh-degree black belt in Isshinryu karate, the
highest-ranking woman in the world -will become the second woman to
be honored among the 31 greats who have been enshrined since the hall
was founded in 1993. German track star Margaret Lambert, prevented
by Hitler from competing in the 1936 Olympics, was named two years
ago.
Joining Fierro
as inductees will be Bill Mazer, "The Amazing," a TV
and radio sportscaster known for his encyclopedic knowledge;
Harry Danning, all-star catcher for the New York Giants in the
late 1930s; and Red Sarachek, basketball coach at Yeshiva College
from 1941 to 1980. All are expected to attend the ceremony. Honored
posthumously will be Barney Ross, the first professional boxer
to hold lightweight and welterweight crowns simultaneously.
Also being honored
is the Scholastic Athlete of the Year, Chad Levitt of Cornell
University. Levitt, a running back, was the ECAC Division I-AA
Football Player of the Year and the Ivy League Player of the
Year.
A panel discussion
will be held following the induction ceremonies, and the former
St. John's University basketball coach Lou Carnesecca will hold
a clinic.
Fierro took up
karate when she was about 30, "the age when you want to
find out what you're about." She was married with two young
children when she began studying tae kwon do, a Korean martial
art distinguished by its flying kicks. After that class disbanded,
Fierro sought other martial arts classes but was discouraged
by many schools because they weren't accustomed to female students.
Then Fierro discovered
a teacher of Isshinryu karate willing to accept her. She felt
an immediate affinity for the Okinawan-style karate, which encourages
comfortable stances and strives to maximize natural body strength.
Fierro master's exhibitions here and in Japan.
"It provided
a wonderful centering for me, kind of like the high runners get," Fierro
recalled. "At the time I began, it was very uncommon for
woman to study. I was lucky I found the right teacher."
For 24 years Fierro
has studied with that teacher, Nick Adler of Holbrook
Karate Academy, even after she opened her own karate school
in Smithtown in 1978. She has studied also under Angi Uezu, an
Okinawan master. Fierro's
school has turned out 13 black belts.
Fierro has been
affiliated with the Suffolk Y Jewish Community Center in Commack
for more than 15 years, helping start its karate program and
bringing a team to the Maccabi Games in 1992.
"That was
one of the most thrilling experiences of my life, walking into
the stadium under the American flag," Fierro recalls. She
is also proud of her achievement in pioneering women's self-defense
programs in 11 Long Island high schools.
The Jewish Sports
Hall of Fame was created to show young people the rich history
of Jews in sports, says Alan Freedman, JCC program director of
the Hall of Fame Committee. The hall has received several thousand
visitors annually since its opening.
"We really
value the educational aspect of the Hall of Fame," said
Freedman, who often lectures on Jews in sports. "Too often
Jews are stereotyped as non-athletic and we wanted to break down
those prejudices."
Since the Sports
Hall of Fame opened, inductees have included baseball, basketball
and football greats such as Red Auerbach, Ernie Grunfeld, Sandy
Koufax and Art Sharnsky, as well as broadcasters Marv Albert
and Mel Allen.
Nominations come
from across the country, says Freedman. They are evaluated by
an in-house committee that includes Newsday sportswriters Steve
Jacobson and Stan Isaacs.
When the hall opened,
inductees tended to be nationally known figures in popular sports.
Nominees now are being proposed in lesser known sports. Honorees
receive a plaque that sits in the permanent exhibit alongside
a variety of sports memorabilia, including Hank Greenberg's Detroit
Tigers jacket.
On hand Sunday
will be Neil Keller, exhibiting his collection of trading cards
and autographs of famous Jews. With more than 6,000 items, Keller
claims his is probably the largest collection of its kind. A
silent auction, Art of the Game, featuring sports memorabilia,
will also take place.
For Fierro, Sunday's
ceremony will highlight a 25-year journey from a non-athletic
childhood to the top-ranked woman in the world in Isshinryu.
"Karate gives
you all the tools you need to accomplish whatever you want. Once
you understand the concept that it is in your hands, you will
achieve the balance you need to handle whatever life hands you," she
says.
"I've been
a minority all my life-as a Jew, as a woman, even in the style
of karate I practice. It's wonderful to be recognized for all
these things."
The induction ceremony
begins at 10 a.m. at the Suffolk Y JCC on Hauppauge Road in Commack.
There is a $5 charge; children and seniors are free. Call (516)
462-9800.
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