Hank Greenberg
Baseball · Hometown: New York, NY
- High school
- James Monroe High School
- College
- New York University
- Pro team(s)
- Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates
- Hall of Fame
- ⭐ National Baseball Hall of Fame
Henry Benjamin Greenberg was born on January 1, 1911, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, and grew up on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx. He attended James Monroe High School, where he was a standout basketball and baseball player, then briefly attended New York University before signing with the Detroit Tigers in 1929. Greenberg became the first great Jewish superstar in American professional sports and one of the most dominant power hitters of the 1930s and 1940s. He won two AL MVP awards (1935 and 1940) and led the Tigers to two World Series championships (1935 and 1945). In 1938 he hit 58 home runs — one of the closest anyone came to Babe Ruth's record of 60 — amid widespread suspicion that Jewish pitchers were intentionally walking him to protect the record. He missed four and a half seasons to military service in World War II from 1941 to 1945, yet still accumulated 331 career home runs and a .313 lifetime batting average. He was also the first player ever to hit 400+ home runs and drive in 1,200+ runs while averaging over .300. Greenberg endured vicious antisemitic abuse throughout his career and carried the weight of representation with uncommon grace and dignity. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1956. Grew up in the Bronx, New York.