There is an old joke that lists the world’s shortest books. Prominent in most versions is Great Jewish Sports Heroes. This leads us to believe that Jews and professional sports are not synonymous. The Pigskin Rabbi is the story of an orthodox Rabbi who becomes a star football player.
Needless to say, this is a fantastic work of fiction. The only way in my mind a story such as this could be believed would be immediately after consuming several cups of wine at the Pesach Seder. How else can one explain an orthodox rabbi’s ambitious climb to quarterbacking the New York Giants?
Ziggy Cantor graduated from Yeshiva University with the full expectation of his father and community that he would accept his birthright and become a Rabbi. His father, Rabbi David Cantor is a much revered Rebbe in the Bronx who totally loathes the game of football and has no sympathy for his son’s love of the sport.
Ziggy played football with his friends, including his closest buddy Tommy DiVecchio (also known as “The Hook”) for as long as he could remember. Being a professional football player was Ziggy’s true passion. Assuming the name of Etoain Shrdlu, he leaves New York with his girl friend Rachel and settles in Amsterdam, Holland with his new identity as an Albanian football “kicker.”
How Ziggy as “Shrdlu” is discovered by a scout for the New York Giants and brought back to New York where he becomes the Jewish hero of the team makes for fascinating, thoughtful, and extremely humorous reading. I do not want to give away the many complications and surprises that go into weaving this wonderful tale, but just to wet your appetite here are some of the characters you will meet:
Homer Bloetcher – Scout for the New York Giants foot ball team who discovers the “Albanian kicker” and brings him into the professional game.
Tommy DiVecchio – Who aside from being an extremely talented player has one other physical attribute that leads to his nickname “The Hook.”
Gus Schimpf – The Giant’s coach who runs the team like a military installation and owns his own padded cell where he works out his frustrations.
Bubbe - Ziggy’s grandmother who breaks with family tradition and becomes an important member of the New York Giants football team.
These are but a few of the colorful personalities that inhabit this most charming tale. Not since The Jazz Singer has the story of a young man’s parting with deep rooted family tradition been so elegantly told. The Pigskin Rabbi is recounted with great humor, warmth and respect, and readers who are not familiar with Jewish traditions will learn about them along with the non-Jewish characters.
It is important to remember that this book overall is meant to be fun. Sure, there are levels of symbolism that can be explored, and centuries of tradition and religious law at its hub, but most of all, this book is just plain FUNNY! It is impossible to keep a straight face while envisioning a team of shtarke football players guzzling gallons of Bubbe’s home made chicken soup during the game and running around the field with yarmulkes under their helmets while calling out plays in Yiddish.
I highly recommend The Pigskin Rabbi to the readers of the Megillah. I am also delighted to inform you that the author of this book, Will Manus is a member of our Megillah Family. It is truly a work worth supporting.