Cup of Tea for Harry Shuman

I have spent the last six days in Pittsburgh (and some in West Virginia). I was hired as a Rabbi to conduct services at Pitt/CMU Hillel. Yesterday my wife, sister-in-law, Dr. Adam Kessler, and I went to a Pirates game. Apparently PNC Park is the best of the new stadiums (I found it to be like a large minor league ballpark with an amazing view...Miller was better). And while the Pirates don't have any current Jewish ball players (they traded John Grabow to the Cubs mid-season) I decided to look around to see if the Pirates have ever had any Jewish ballplayers.

I found one (besides Hank Greenberg...figure I'll have enough to write about him through the next few years). A player by the name of Harry Shuman. Shuman played only three years in the bigs 1942-1944. He got in a total of 30 games where he pitched a total of 50.2 innings. His win-loss record was 0-0, never factoring in a decision. He played his first two seasons with the Pirates an ended his career with the Phillies.

Shuman was one of those players who got a chance to play during World War II. Many players got drafted by the Armt to defend our country and Shuman got his chance to play in the majors. He spent the later years of his life helping the Philadelphia Democratic Committee. Sadly, Shuman died in 1996.

While Shuman's playing days weren't so impressive you could say he loved his state. Besides helping them politically he played only for the Pirates and Phils. Kinda a cool fact.

Harry Shuman was a Jewish ballplayer and for that TGR is happy to inform you about him and his small imprint he left on the game of baseball.

And Let Us Say...Amen.
-Jeremy Fine
Temporary Photo by: TheZackMorrisExperience