Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story

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Rotten Tomatoes® Score
67% 64%

Release Date: October 1, 2010 (limited)

1h 31m | Documentary

Baseball has never been just another old boys' club. But what has been largely untold is the extent to which Jewish-Americans embraced the game. Even in otherwise unenlightened times, stickball-playing Jewish kids in Brooklyn could still rightfully imagine waving to crowds at Ebbets Field.

Narrated by Dustin Hoffman, JEWS AND BASEBALL: AN AMERICAN LOVE STORY explores the connection between Jewish Americans and baseball, one of America's most iconic institutions.

More than a film about sports, it is a story of immigration, assimilation, bigotry, heroism, the passing on of traditions, and the shattering of stereotypes. "You should be an attorney or a doctor, but not a ballplayer," one former major leaguer remembers, describing the prejudices that he and other Jewish athletes faced. But despite the stereotypes, and in the face of hostility from fans and even violence from opposing players, there have been standout Jewish players in every decade from the 1860s to the present.