LIFE AND TIMES OF HANK GREENBERG, THE

-By Ed Kelleher

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Aviva Kempner's The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg chronicles the real-life story of a sports hero who served as a beacon of hope and admiration for many of his fellow Jews during the years when Adolf Hitler was dominating Europe. Hank Greenberg was a tall, sturdy Detroit Tigers power hitter who, in 1938, came within two round-trippers of tying Babe Ruth's record of 60 home runs in a single season. Greenberg played major-league ball at a time when Jewish baseball players were a rarity and anti-Semitic taunts and even threats could be heard from the grandstands. But, despite the hecklers, Greenberg prevailed, becoming the first star ballplayer to enlist in the Armed Forces and eventually gaining entry to the baseball Hall of Fame.

Kempner's lively and informative movie celebrates Greenberg's career both on and off the baseball field. A power-hitting first baseman and outfielder, Greenberg played in the majors from 1930 to 1947, first for the Tigers, taking time off for four years during World War II when he served as an Army Air Corps bombardier, and winding up his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1947.

While celebrating Greenberg's impressive baseball career-he hit 331 home runs and had a lifetime batting average of .313-Kempner also focuses on the ballplayer's character and the pride he took in his Jewish heritage. Greenberg encountered bigotry both from fans and from opposing players, but he refused to let it sway him from his goal of proving that 'a Jew could play ball.' Eventually, we are told, Jewish mothers in the 1930s would routinely ask their children: 'What kind of day did Hank have?'

Kempner's on-camera lineup of longtime Hank Greenberg fans runs the gamut from lawyer Alan Dershowitz, who thought the slugger 'would become the first Jewish President,' to veteran actor Walter Matthau, who admits: 'I joined the Beverly Hills Tennis Club to eat lunch with Hank Greenberg-I don't even play tennis.' The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg is informative and fun and one doesn't have to be a baseball expert to appreciate its fervor and genial charm. If Kempner's documentary has a flaw, it is the film's reliance on clips from baseball-themed fictional movies, such as The Pride of the Yankees and Woman of the Year, which have little in common with actual events.

--Ed Kelleher