Beating the Odds: The Al Rosen Story

Description

“An entertaining… documentary on Rosen.” – Les Levine, Cleveland Jewish News

“It’s worthwhile viewing, because serious Indians fans need to remember Al Rosen and serious younger Indians fans need to learn about him. The documentary works both ways.” – Jim Ingraham, The Morning Journal

“In the new documentary, Rosen, a one-time collegiate and Golden Gloves boxer, pulls no punches in interviews conducted with the film’s writer and producer, Bill Levy, a former baseball writer and now a film producer in Cleveland.” – TribeVibe Blog, MLBlogs Network

‘Forget Braun, new film reminds us we have Al Rosen to go with Koufax and Greenberg’ – Hillel Kuttler, JTA

‘Rosen hopes to be remembered for resilience’ – Mark Emery, MLB.com

‘Guest Review: Beating the Odds: The Al Rosen Story’ – Peter Ephross, Kaplan’s Kornoer on Jews and Sports

‘Documentary on former baseball MVP Rosen premieres at Chautauqua’ – Mark Haymond, The Chautauquan Daily

Synopsis

After an early childhood in South Florida in which he suffered from severe asthma attacks, Al Rosen emerged as one of the most feared sluggers in baseball in the 1950‘s. A Golden Gloves boxer, the Cleveland Indians third baseman led the American League in homers with 37 in his 1950 rookie season and won the AL Most Valuable Player Award unanimously in 1953, the first player to do so since his boyhood idol, Hank Greenberg, in 1936.

A tough, tenacious player, Rosen has generally been considered as one of the three top Jewish baseball players of all time, behind Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax. He retired because of lingering injuries after the 1956 season and eventually served as president of three major league teams — the New York Yankees, Houston Astros and San Francisco Giants. WIth the Giants, he was named major league executive of the year in 1987, making him the only person in the game’s history to win that award for management and an MVP prize as a player.

Director

Bill Levy, writer, producer and director of Beating the Odds: The Al Rosen Story, has had a long career as a journalist, public relations executive, video producer and sports historian. Levy, born in Cleveland, Ohio and now a resident of suburban Beachwood, has written nine books, including the histories of the Cleveland Browns, Ohio State University football and the Kentucky Derby. Levy on Rosen, “I admired Al as a player, as a sports executive and, mostly, as a person.”