Highlighting: “Marty Glickman: The Life of an American Jewish Sports Legend” by Jeffrey S. Gurock. NYU Press. 2023. English. Hardcover. 248 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1479820870.
(Courtesy of YU) For close to half a century after World War II, Marty Glickman was the voice of New York sports. His distinctive style of broadcasting, on television and especially on the radio, garnered for him legions of fans who would not miss his play-by-play accounts. From the 1940s through the 1990s, he was as iconic a sports figure in town as the Yankees’ Mickey Mantle, the Knicks’ Walt Frazier, or the Jets’ Joe Namath. His vocabulary and method of broadcasting left an indelible mark on the industry, and many of today’s most famous sportscasters were Glickman disciples. To this very day, many fans who grew up listening to his coverage of Knicks basketball and Giants football games, among the myriad events that Glickman covered, recall fondly, and can still recite, his descriptions of actions in arenas and stadiums.
Now Jeffrey S. Gurock, the Libby M. Klaperman Professor of Jewish History at Yeshiva University, has published the first-ever biography showcasing the life of this proud Jew and preeminent voice of New York sports. “Marty Glickman: The Life of an American Jewish Sports Legend,” is now available through NYU Press. Gurock teaches at Yeshiva University and has written or edited 25 books, including “Jews in Gotham,” which in 2012 was honored as winner of the Everett Family Foundation Award and as Jewish Book of the Year from the Jewish Book Council. Telling the story of Marty Glickman was a deeply personal and meaningful experience for the author.
“Like most New Yorkers of my generation, Marty Glickman was the sports voice of my youth when he described games from Yankee Stadium or Madison Square Garden,” said Gurock. “Glickman’s voice still resonates with me today. His life saga transcended the sports arena and was emblematic of the challenges and obstacles the children of Jewish immigrants faced in overcoming antisemitism as they tried to make it in America. His story of adversity and ultimate triumph captivated me and I hope it does for my readers, too.”
In addition to the stories of how he became a master of American sports airwaves, Marty Glickman has also been remembered as a Jewish athlete who, a decade before he sat in front of a microphone, was cynically barred from running in a signature track event in the 1936 Olympics by antisemitic American Olympic officials. This lively biography details this traumatic event and explores not only how he coped for decades with that painful rejection but also examines how he dealt with other antisemitic and cultural obstacles that threatened to stymie his career.
Glickman’s story underscores the complexities that faced his generation of American Jews as these children of immigrants strove to succeed in America amid challenges to their professional and social advancement. “Marty Glickman” is a story of adversity and triumph, of sports and minority group struggles, told within the context of the prejudicial barriers that were common to thousands, if not millions, of fellow Jews of his generation as they aimed to make it in America.
“Marty Glickman was one of the greatest sportscasters of all time, a true pioneer in the industry. He was instrumental in guiding me in my career, and he was equally generous in providing advice to young sportscasters throughout the country. His is a unique life story, all captured beautifully by Jeffrey Gurock.”—Marv Albert, Basketball Hall of Fame and inductee of the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
Visit the following link to purchase a copy of “Marty Glickman: The Life of an American Jewish Sports Legend”: https://www.amazon.com/Marty-Glickman-American-Jewish-Sports/dp/1479820873
