From The All-Jewish Cartoon Collection (Zeus Media)
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September 16, 2009
A page in Mort Gerberg’s latest book, The All-Jewish Cartoon Collection, depicts a man walking his dog. The setting, judging by the background, is Central Park where he stands, observing a softball game. The caption states, “A shocking springtime revelation,” and we read his thoughts. “I can no longer name a single big league player who’s Jewish.”
Hello!! Kevin Youklis? Ian Kinsler? Ryan Braun? This all-star trio, plus an additional half dozen or so are a source of pride and joy for Jewish fans of the national pastime. Obviously this fellow is out of touch.
Gerberg, who was voted best magazine cartoonist of 2007 by the National Cartoonists Society, is probably most recognized for his work in The New Yorker, as well as Playboy, Harvard Business Review, Publishers Weekly, among many others. He’s also a staple on the popular website, Huffingtonpost.com.
All-Jewish Cartoon was a “repurposing of a couple of collections I had published a long time ago, so it’s a new package,” said Gerberg — who has written/and or illustrated almost 40 books for adults and kids — in a telephone interview with NJ Jewish News. “It’s simply my view of the entire universe, but looking at it with a very specific focus: Jewish, ethnic, religious, cultural ways of viewing things. So it’s not ‘bread,’ it’s ‘rye bread.’”
Gerberg — who could not recall exactly when he created the baseball-themed cartoon — grew up as a fan of the New York Giants, “which was a bit of a challenge because I was born and raised in Brooklyn and all my relatives were Dodger fans.”
He doesn’t follow the major leagues much anymore. “It’s hard to apply older standards today,” he said. “There’s no loyalty. I don’t even know who’s on the teams anymore.”
Gerberg was the keynote speaker at the third annual Positive Aging fair of the JCC of North Virginia. Asked for his age, he replies, “I’d rather be ageless…rather than be tethered to a number that is not really an accurate description of a person, but is often prejudicial.”
He still plays softball on the New Yorker team, wearing uniform number 23 in honor of Bobby Thompson, whose famous “shot heard ‘round the world” against the Dodgers made him “persona non grata among the rest of the family.”
Gerberg served as cartoon editor for Joy in Mudville: The Big Book of Baseball Humor, a 1992 collaboration with the late sportswriter and broadcaster Dick Schaap. Most of the items were reprints, gathered with the help of Schaap’s son, Jeremy, a correspondent for ESPN and author of Cinderella Man, a biography about the boxer Jim Braddock.
One classic conspicuous by its absence is Abbot and Costello’s “Who’s on First” routine. According to Gerberg, the comedians’ estates “wanted something like $5,000 for it and we didn’t have that kind of money.” So he and Schaap took advantage of the “fair use” provisions. “You had a taste of it without having the whole thing — and we saved a lot of money.”
Gerberg wanted to produce another version of the book for a different sport — he wouldn’t elaborate because he is still interested in the project — but Schaap passed away in 2001.
Joy in Mudville continues to bring in some money. “How many books do you know that are still throwing off royalties after so much time? That’s not bad. Of course, I can’t actually buy anything with the checks, but it’s still better than nothing.”
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