On November 23, 2020, New Rochelle resident Abraham Sodden, z”l, died at age 86. Almost every YINR member knew the gentle man in a wheelchair in the main sanctuary’s back row. Yet, how many knew they were davening with a great Yeshiva University basketball legend?
In his personal written notes, provided by his wife, Marion, Sodden explained that punchball and baseball were the more popular sports in those days: “After my bar mitzvah, I began to be interested in basketball and played whenever possible.” From 1949-1952, Sodden played for Mesivta Chaim Berlin, a founding member of the new Jewish High School League, and in 1952 he won their MVP award. The 6’ 4” center earned a seat on YU’s basketball team but not its bench. From 1952-1956, he played in every game in four winning seasons, 99% as a starter.
Serving as captain during his senior year, Sodden broke the school record, at that time, for most points in a season, with 384 points, averaging 20.2 points per game, as YU finished with a 16-2 record. Sodden currently ranks 16th in YU basketball scoring and was named a College Division All-American.
During summers, Sodden played in the Catskills. “Some of the best players were there. I will never forget playing against such great stars as Wilt Chamberlain. It was there where I met “Red” Blumenreich. Later we played together at YU. Red was a great player, probably the best at YU.” While playing for the Pioneer Country Club, he met his wife, Marion, whom he married in the winter after he graduated.
In his notes, Sodden explained, “Being chosen to play in the annual New York-New Jersey All-Star game in March 1956 was the most exciting sports moment for me. To be chosen on the same team as Tommy Heinsohn and others who later starred in the NBA was a great honor.”
Sodden’s YU career stats include 1207 points (the second YU player to score over 1000), 1100 rebounds, lead-scorer in two seasons, played in 80 consecutive YU games and was the 1956 awardee for basketball for the undergraduate newspaper, The Commentator.
Johnny Halpert, New Rochelle resident and former YU basketball player and coach, explained, “Abe Sodden came to YU not the typical route; not from a Modern Orthodox yeshiva. Sodden came from a religious family and was the youngest of 12. In the 50s, basketball was considered by many to be ‘bitul zman.’ Yeshiva elementary schools had no basketball teams. The Yeshiva High School League had only had six teams.” Halpert also described Sodden as very quiet but was considered a gentle giant. “His nickname was Bam-Bam, because he was a big guy, but he was actually quite reserved.”
Halpert described the college basketball scene in NYC in the 50s, when City College won the NCAA tournament, making college basketball in NYC a big deal. “Those were the glory years of Yeshiva basketball,” stated Halpert.
Sodden, playing with Red Blumenreich, Marvin Hershkowitz, Irv Bader and Abby Gewirtz, helped YU gain respect in the college basketball world. Until the team of 2019-2020, the 1956 team had the best record of 16-2.
Halpert added, “There would be no yeshiva basketball in 2019 without the success they had in the 1950s. Not only did they have successes, but they had success at a time when college basketball was king in New York. Abe, along with Hershkowitz, Blumenreich, and (Coach) Sarachek, established YU basketball. Without these guys, there would be no Johnny Halpert.”
Professionally, Sodden was an insurance investigator and Hebrew school teacher, He also coached teenagers at the Young Israel of Kingsbridge, and the Van Cortlandt Jewish Center, where his oldest brother, Jacob, was rabbi for 60 years. In 1974, the Soddens moved to Israel for several years, where he coached two teams in Ashdod for the Elizur Sports Association. Later, the family lived in Riverdale, as he and Marion raised their own ‘starting five,’ his five daughters.
Prior to his illness, he was a frequent player at YU’s Annual Alumni Basketball games, and maintained lifelong friendships with his teammates. Sodden was also selected to the 2017 Inaugural Class of the YU Athletics Hall of Fame.
Sodden once wrote, “We felt it was worthwhile and we always tried our best knowing we were representing not only YU but all yeshiva boys in the city. I think that present and future YU players must recapture this feeling and then YU will again have a winning team.“
By Judy Berger
