MARTY GLICKMAN

An acclaimed historian chronicles a uniquely significant Jewish American life.

Gurock, a prolific author and professor of Jewish history at Yeshiva University, presents the first detailed biography of Marty Glickman (1917-2001), the undisputed voice of New York City sports during the second half of the 20th century. The author manages to fit an amazing amount of detail into a relatively short book, and he is particularly adept at describing the atmosphere of the New York and Jewish culture in which Glickman was raised and excelled as a multisport star in Brooklyn. He also deftly explains the lasting significance of Glickman's broadcasting career and his influence on his legions of New York listeners. Glickman would intersperse Yiddish words and phrases while vividly broadcasting the likes of the Knicks, Giants, and Jets, trying to adhere to the timeless advice given to him by broadcasting legend Red Barber: "Don’t hurt your vocal cords. Never raise your voice. Never yell." The author examines the vital role Glickman played in the careers of several prominent sportscasters, including Marv Albert and Bob Costas. Glickman also ushered fellow ex-athletes into the broadcast booth, notably basketball great Bill Walton, who credits Glickman with changing his life by helping him overcome a stammer, an affliction that Glickman knew firsthand how to mitigate in part by reciting the poetry of Chaucer and Poe prior to broadcasts. Gurock is at his best in his complete accounting of how Glickman and fellow Jewish American Olympian Sam Stoller were sidelined from the 400-meter relay at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin by American Olympic coaches and officials such as the odious Avery Brundage. Gurock ably examines the events of 1936 and their impact on Glickman's views on antisemitism, and he shows why Glickman shed his evenhanded stance about the vile motivation behind the snub. It’s a fitting coda to a striking story of the all-American life of a quintessential New Yorker.

A fascinating portrait of an important voice in American sports history.