The first time I “discovered” myself was in an airport in Milwaukee, coming back, appropriately enough, from a SABR convention. In the time since, when I’ve Googled myself to see where mention of The Bookshelf might have appeared. I’ve discovered I share the name with a New Jersey rabbi, a jazz singer, and an aviation artist and executive director of the National Aviation Hall of Fame.

Let’s focus on the last for now.

That Ron Kaplan actually has a baseball connection. And since art, in theory, qualifies as fitting on a bookshelf…

That RK discovered me by googling himself as well and sent the following email:

When I was a full-time aviation artist in the mid to late 1990s, I created a line of hand-painted aircraft aluminum panels, each autographed by the famous pilot associated with the insignia or nose-art from their aircraft adorning each. I would typically create an edition of these in the range of 10-15 per aviator. I would mount them in a hand-crafted wood shadowbox frame, with an engraved ID panel beneath.

Fortunately for me, I was able to convince Ted Williams to participate, and further found a small supply of actual scrap F9F Panther aluminum for his edition. Unfortunately, though we agreed to an edition total of 100, I did not have that much aluminum (or cash per signature, as negotiated with his son, John Henry) to have him sign all of them in the two signing sessions we had together in Ocala [Florida].

The "Splendid Splinter" meets the splendid artist

In 1998, I was offered and accepted a job at the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton. In 1999, I took time off to make what turned out to be that final signing session in Florida. While there I spoke to his son, John Henry, about having his Dad come up to Dayton in July 2000, when I had NAHF enshrinee Joe Foss come back to serve as the emcee for our annual enshrinement ceremony. I was trying to build it into the annual “Oscar Night of Aviation,” and thought reuniting these two, and possibly NAHF enshrinee John Glenn (who flew with Williams in Korean combat), would certainly be quite a show.

John Henry said OK, under two very clear conditions. 1, it had to be a secret to all, save for my essential production staff. 2, had to be private jet up on Saturday morning, the day of the enshrinement gala, and back on Sunday morning.

It actually worked like a charm…. Foss and Ted, as you likely know, went way back together. They still talk about that night here in Dayton. Glenn had to pass, however, as he was in China at the time.

I had Ted sign a total of 21 panels, and painted and sold 5 (at $1600 each) before pulling them off the market upon his passing. A local military toy and collectible store recently opened here in Dayton that has invited me to display and sell my autographed panel editions. They are encouraging me to bring back the Williams edition, citing a growing market. I think I will do it.

Anyway, thought you might find this Kaplan-to-Kaplan baseball connection of interest.

A few of these panels are available for purchase. For more information, contact that Ron Kaplan at mrsurfohio@surfohio.com.

Bob Stein

The other players listed in the suit are Jim Marshall, Ed White, Joe Senser, Fred Dryer and Dan Pastorini.

Stein played seven years with the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers, and Vikings.

Rachmones for the underdog!

Roth is instantly recognizable to anyone who’s ever passed a newsstand. His work has appeared in dozens of magazine over the years, from The New Yorker to Playboy to Scientific America, to name but a few. Most recently, his Oscar-themed picture graced the cover of The Sunday Times’ arts and leisure section. But for the purposes of this blog, it’s his sports work that makes us smile.

I had the pleasure of interviewing him for this piece a couple of years ago. Our correspondences have been conducted by e-mails, but occasionally he would respond via fax, drawing a spur-of-the-moment cartoon suitable for the situation.

One of my favorite Roth caricatures appears on the first-edition cover of Triumph and Tragedy in Mudville, a collection of essays on baseball by the late Stephen Jay Gould. He was given the task of portraying several legends of the game, including Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, and other more contemporary athletes.

The cover, which spans the entire book jacket rather than just the front, “was probably done within what would be three normal working days,” Roth said in 2006. But for him, a “normal working day” can be almost 14 hours. “I really got into it. It probably looks more tedious [to draw] than it was.”

On a personal note, he also did me the amazing kindness of rendering me in his unique style. I was floored when the full-sized image was delivered shortly after the interview ran. A version appears on this blog.

When I sent him a note this morning just to catch up following the Times’ latest cartoon, his charming wife, Caroline, replied that he was in his studio, working on another piece for The New Yorker.

So happy birthday, Arnold. Here’s looking forward to many more
covers to come.

]]> http://njjewishnews.com/kaplanskorner/2009/02/23/and-birthday-greetings-to-arnold-roth/feed/ 0 http://njjewishnews.com/kaplanskorner/2008/12/16/all-i-want-for-hanukka-is/ http://njjewishnews.com/kaplanskorner/2008/12/16/all-i-want-for-hanukka-is/#comments Tue, 16 Dec 2008 21:02:01 +0000 Ron Kaplan http://njjewishnews.com/kaplanskorner/?p=296 I asked some Jewish sports personalities what was on their wish list this year:

“A definitive spelling of Hanukka…Hanukkah…Chanukah…Argh!”
— Jonah Keri, author of Baseball Between the Numbers: Why Everything You Know About the Game Is Wrong

“More hours in the day.”
— Cleveland Browns guard Lennie Friedman (Which was a repeated theme)

“More time in the day,”
— Linda Cohn, ESPN sports broadcaster

“More time.”
— Baseball author John Thorn

“A bullpen for the Mets.”
— Howard Megdal, baseball writer for the New York Observer and author of the upcoming book, The Baseball Talmud. (Megdal got a good start to the holidays when the Mets acquired Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz. On the down side (?), they lost Scott Schoeneweis.)

“For the United States to remain a capitalist country.”
— Olympic fencer and MetroWest Jewish Sports Hall of Famer Jeffrey Bukantz

“Job security.”
— Jonathan Mayo, sportswriter and author of Facing Clemens: Hitters on Confronting Baseball’s Most Intimidating Pitcher

“An Academy Award nomination.”
— Photographer Neil Leifer (Ballet in the Dirt), for his documentary film short Portraits of a Lady

“Barack Obama to be safe and successful…[and] a bench-coach job for me.”
— Martin Abramowitz, president, JewishMajorLeaguers.org.

“A visit from our four Israeli granddaughters.”
— Baseball writer Murray Chass

“For 2008 never to have happened (except for the Obama part).”
— Dave Kaplan, author and executive director Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center

“For America to become energy independent within 10 years. And one of those little digital tape recorders.”
— Dan Gutman, children’s sports novelist

“A World Series win for the Chicago Cubs.”
— Burton Boxerman, coauthor of Jews and Baseball

“A Giants-Jets Super Bowl, a peaceful Obama presidency, and a Yankees-Mets World Series.”
— Sportswriter Maury Allen

“Do I have to pick ‘world peace’?”
— Elinor Nauen, author of Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend

“Some great reference for paintings.”
— Sports artist Graig Kreindler (Which works out nicely because…)

“A Graig Kreindler original oil painting…I have reason to believe that’s what my wife is buying me since I’ve more or less been lobbying for the better part of the year.”
— Jonathan Eig, author of Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig and Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson’s First Season

“Security from harm and security from the Economy,”
— Richie Scheinblum, former Major Leaguer and the first Jew to play pro ball in Japan.

“Some good news for the newspaper industry.”
— Harvey Araton, sports columnist, The New York Times

“A long-lasting peace in the Middle East with a functional Palestinian state accepting Israel and its other neighboring states and vice versa. However, being realistic, I hope more modestly for even-burning Hanukka candles that serve eight solid days.
— Lee Lowenfish, author of Branch Rickey: Baseball’s Ferocious Gentleman

“Good health for my family. Many wants, but they begin there,”
— Marvin Goldklang, president of the Goldklang Group, which owns several minor league baseball franchises.

“Patience, swagger, and peace,”
— Jewish Major Leaguer Gabe Kapler, who played for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2008.

“The return to health of Brian Hickey.”
— Sportswriter/author Jeff Perlman (Hickey is a friend of Perlman’s who was severely injured by a hit-and-run driver the day after Thanksgiving.)

“Fewer unsolicited e-mails.”
— Alan Schwarz, author of The Numbers Game: Baseball’s Lifelong Fascination with Statistics

Well, Leifer is at it again, this time with a collection of his football photos. Only this time, it will cost you at least $500 for Guts and Glory: The Golden Age of American Football, 1958-1978.

From Taschen’s press release:

This collection represents the best of his best, culled from over 10,000 rolls of film on the sport, including hundreds of previously unpublished pictures. It’s impossible to conceive of Peyton Manning hovering over an impromptu wood fire on the sidelines during a blizzard, but Leifer captured Tittle’s Giants doing exactly that during the coldest game in his living memory (the 1962 Championship in New York, a game “far colder than the famous Ice Bowl”). From Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers dynasty to the Miami Dolphins’ perfect season in 1972 to the Minnesota Vikings’ terrifying Front Four — the “Purple People Eaters” — they’re all here.

Following an introduction assembled from the best football columns of the era by famed sports columnist Jim Murray, this collection is divided into four chapters: “On Any Sunday” is Leifer’s homage to the game.”The Legends” includes heroes like Johnny Unitas, Jim Brown, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Namath, Dick Butkus, Frank Gifford, and “Mean” Joe Greene.

“The Bosses” delves into the victories on and off the field of immortal coaches Vince Lombardi, John Madden, Tom Landry, Weeb Ewbank, and others.

Finally,”The Big Game” traces major championship games from 1958 through Super Bowl XII. The in depth captions put the images into their historical context, making the book highly accessible and informative.

The release further states that an even more limited edition OF 200 will be available, “numbered and signed by Neil Leifer and accompanied by one of two chromogenic prints, numbered and signed below the image by the photographer.”

A bargain at $1,350.

This is the “original” design:

Compare that with this essay by Reb Reuven Goldfarb.

The major differences are almost strategic, with Abramson positioning the Yesod on the mound, the Tiphareth at second, and the Chesed as the first base umpire. Goldfarb, on the other hand, is more “offensive minded”: His Yesod is in the batter’s box, with the Chesed at second and Tiphareth pitching.

That’s one of the wonderful things about Judaism: the ability to interpret.