The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=80 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" bgproperties="fixed" background="04000500dvldtc.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>Reel Movie Critic.com</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reel Movie Critic.com"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id1056.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ghosts of Mars"><U>Ghosts of Mars</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id536.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Five Senses, The"><U>Five Senses, The</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1124.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ghost World"><U>Ghost World</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id74.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Frequency"><U>Frequency</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id612.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Get Carter"><U>Get Carter</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id957.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Gift"><U>The Gift</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1192.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Glass House"><U>The Glass House</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id221.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ghost Dog"><U>Ghost Dog</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1001.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Gleaners and I"><U>The Gleaners and I</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id97.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gladiator"><U>Gladiator</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1147.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Glitter"><U>Glitter</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id611.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Girlfight"><U>Girlfight</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1243.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Go Tigers!"><U>Go Tigers!</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id478.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Girl On The Bridge"><U>Girl On The Bridge</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1222.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gosford Park"><U>Gosford Park</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id540.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Godzilla"><U>Godzilla</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1118.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Godfather Collection"><U>The Godfather Collection</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id119.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gone in 60 Seconds"><U>Gone in 60 Seconds</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id905.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Golden Bowl"><U>The Golden Bowl</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id187.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grass"><U>Grass</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1233.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hit and Runway"><U>Hit and Runway</U></A>   |   <B>The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg</B>   |   <A HREF="id1115.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Homocide: The Movie"><U>Homocide: The Movie</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id250.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Legacy"><U>Legacy</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id904.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="In the Bedroom"><U>In the Bedroom</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id164.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Legend of Bagger Vance"><U>The Legend of Bagger Vance</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id615.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lost Souls"><U>Lost Souls</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id110.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Love Basketball"><U>Love & Basketball</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id1269.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Intimacy"><U>Intimacy</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id316.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Love Beat The Hell Outta of Me"><U>Love Beat The Hell Outta of Me</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="041d2c00dvldtc.png"> <div> <B>Home Pages For</B></div> <div> <B>                </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/"><U><B>Movies</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>                    </B><A HREF="http://www.newbookdiscounts.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.newbookdiscounts.com/"><U><B>Books</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>                       </B><A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id364.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U><B>Travel</B></U></A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelforless/id361.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.reelmoviecritic.com/travelfor"><U><B>Great Web Sites</B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=400 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg</div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="503" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 228 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="1679ade0.png" border=0 width="154" height="222" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005NTOI/reelmoviecriticc">Buy DVD from Amazon.com</A>  </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 ><NOBR><div> <B>The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg</B> *** (Not Rated)</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Reviewed By George O. Singleton</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="549" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 ><NOBR><div> Baseball, America's sport, helped bring  diversity to America </div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="580" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Hank Greenberg as himself</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Director: Aviva Kempner</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>30 Second Bottom Line</B>: Hank Greenberg was the Jackie Robinson of baseball for Jews. This documentary illustrates what he did to succeed, what it meant to the Jewish community, what a patriot Greenberg was and how he paved the way for Jackie Robinson. As important as the story is about Greenberg, the film shows much of what American society was about in the middle 1930's, leading up to and including WW II.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Story Line:</B> As many Jewish supporters observed in the film, Jews were not known for their athletic skills. Hank was a hard worker and well over six feet tall. His love for the game and dedication to practice resulted in him being the first player to be named MVP twice, playing in different positions. </div> <bR> <div> In 1932, there were very few Jews in baseball. Kids could get into the ballpark for free if they were with an adult. Baseball meant the game was played in daylight and always on grass. Hank played for the Detroit Tigers and in 1934 the city of Detroit was a hotbed of anti-Semitism. Many Jews would "pass" by changing their name. That concept is explored in greater depth in the film <I><B>Sunshine</B></I>.  In those days, fans came to the ballpark in suits and ties. </div> <bR> <div> Hank was a repeat winner in the World Series but it did not come easy. In a close game, when he was looking for a fast ball, he watched it go by him for a strike without even swinging.  They lost that game, which brought the series to 3-3, and then lost the next game for the series. He learned a lot about himself at that moment and used it as inspiration in future years. The fact that Greenberg was so candid about the incident speaks to self-doubts that the most confident of us can have. It's a good trait to learn from our mistakes and move forward.</div> <bR> <div> Hank believed that the most important baseball statistic for a hitter was not home runs or a high batting average, but RBI's (runs batted in). The ability to bat in a run when the pressure was on is what won games. At one point, Hank was even chasing Babe Ruth's home run record. All he needed was 3 home runs in 5 games. That record was broken decades later by Roger Maris. Records are made to be broken.</div> <bR> <div> Hank Greenberg returned to the WWII effort after the bombing of Pearl Harbor to serve a second term of military service. He was the precursor to Muhammad Ali, in that after leaving the game in his prime, he came back and used hard work and less than peak skills to reach the top of the game. </div> <bR> <div> Politics in baseball is nothing new, as the owner of the Detroit Tigers made clear in the way he treated Greenberg. What is going on now with Sammy Sosa of the Cubs is similar, other than the fact that the players, even with inflation, make much more money today than in the 1940's.  </div> <bR> <div> <B>Tell Me More About It</B>: Greenberg left the game as an active player the year that Jackie Robinson came in.  After an on-field collision, he gave Robinson some words of encouragement. Hank Greenberg is in the Hall of Fame and very much deserves to be there. </div> <bR> <div> He also pointed out the difference between a Jew and an African-American in baseball in one major way; when the game was over, the racial slurs stopped and while Hank went through the front door of restaurants and clubs, Jackie often had to use the back door. After his retirement from baseball as a player, Greenberg became active first with the Cleveland Indians organization to bring African-Americans into the game and later as a forward thinking manager with the Chicago White Sox. Hank Greenberg accomplished much that should not be forgotten. His name belongs with the greats of the game, because he was quite a man both on and off the field as he changed the game and our society for the better. </div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="591" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> Not Rated</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> George O. Singleton © 2000</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> <A HREF="mailto:george@reelmoviecritic.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:george@reelmoviecritic.com"><U><U>George@reelmoviecritic.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>