The Life And Times Of Hank Greenberg

By Richard Schickel Sunday, May 28, 2000
    • He was a large, good-natured, hardworking man whose competitive heart transcended even his impressive baseball stats. More than his great contemporaries Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams, it was, a teammate says, Hank Greenberg you wanted at bat in the clutch. He was also, of course, the first great Jewish sports hero, at a time when anti-Semitism was open and virulent, and he carried that burden with exemplary grace too. His bat spoke for his people, and many boys of summer, now grown old, return that favor in this documentary's fond recollections. Sharing its subject's virtues, it is a lovely addition to the annals of the Greatest Generation.