Baseball season extended!

The World Series is scheduled to end on Nov. 1. Since we do not want anyone to suffer baseball withdrawal pains by going cold turkey, the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island is extending the baseball season through mid-December!

From Nov. 6 to Dec. 15, baseball will be on exhibit at the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center, in Providence. “Chasing Dreams: Baseball and Becoming American” is about the central role the national pastime has played in the lives of American minority communities as they sought to understand and express the ideals, culture and behaviors of their homeland – or challenge them. It is the first large-scale exhibit to weave together the history of American sports, leisure and national identity with the history of Jewish integration into American life.

As Philip Roth put it: “Baseball was a kind of secular church that reached into every class and region of the nation and bound millions upon millions of us together …. Baseball made me understand what patriotism was about, at its best. (“My Baseball Years,” The New York Times, Opening Day, April 2, 1973)

The free traveling exhibit includes several large panels that discuss this theme, a touchscreen to access an interactive baseball card database, and three short original films. Local baseball fans are also providing items from their own collections that illustrate minority participation in baseball.

“Chasing Dreams,” created by the National Museum of American Jewish History, in Philadelphia, has been endorsed by Major League Baseball Commissioner Emeritus Allan “Bud” Selig.

Rhode Islanders have an opportunity to participate in three ways. First, if you have any baseball memorabilia that has a Jewish angle and that you are willing to lend, please contact the Alliance. For instance, one baseball card collector has already offered several of his cards that depict Jewish ballplayers. Perhaps you have something related to Eddie Wineapple, the 1928 Providence College pitcher who left to play for the Washington Senators. Or maybe you have pictures of a synagogue baseball team or of a relative who played ball for a local high school or in college. You can contact the Alliance by sending an email to ChasingDreams@jewishallianceri.org.

You can also participate by coming to view the exhibit. Groups are welcome, too. Please schedule a group by sending an email to ChasingDreams@jewishallianceri.org. Lesson plans are available for school groups.

Finally, you can purchase items related to the theme of minorities and baseball. A well-illustrated catalog of the exhibit is available, featuring an array of authors, sportswriters, former players and commentators who offer evocative, compelling and touching essays. It is available for $45.

A few copies of the 2014 Update Edition of the “Jewish Major Leaguers” trading cards set are also available. This set depicts more recent Jewish ballplayers, from Craig Breslow to Kevin Youkilis, and the cards feature some of the artifacts from the original museum exhibit in Philadelphia, such as a ticket stub from Sandy Koufax’s perfect game and Shawn Green’s spikes. The decks are $36 each.

There are also a limited number of children’s books available for purchase at less than $10. They feature ballplayers such as Roberto Clemente, Hank Greenberg, Sandy Koufax and Jackie Robinson. All of these items are currently on sale at the Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence.

LARRY KATZ (lkatz@jewishallianceri.org)  is director of Jewish life and learning at the Jewish Alliance.