Al Rosen

Indian Chief 

 

Of the many outstanding Jewish baseball headliners in the long history of the national game, few have ranked with the superstars of the sport. But in the winter of 1953 there occurred an event which indicated that a Jewish diamond ace named Al Rosen had the potentialities of becoming a legend in the game. On November 27, 1953 the American League announced that Al Rosen, slugging third baseman for the Cleveland Indians, had been named its most valuable player for 1953.

Other athletes had won a similar honor, so there was nothing extraordinary about the announcement. What made it remarkable was that all twenty-four members of the Baseball Writers Association, three from each American League city, had listed Rosen as the best player of the year. It was an unprecedented unanimous vote. Rosen received 336 points, highest in history - and in winning the award saw himself lifted to the ranks of the great players of his time.

It was no wonder that Rosen had been acclaimed in this fashion. He led the circuit with home runs - blasting forty-three; was first in runs batted in with 145 and missed winning the batting championship of the league by the proverbial hair. Casey Stengel, manager of the New York Yankees, called Rosen a great player. Marty Marion, once