Reuben Ewing (born Reuben Cohen on November 30, 1899) was a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
-
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
player for the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
.
Early life
Ewing (then Cohen) was born in
Odessa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
,
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
to Jewish-Ukrainian parents and emigrated with them to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in 1904, and was Jewish.
As a child he showed brilliant athletic talent, a foreshadow of his later achievement of making the major leagues. In order to avoid
anti-semitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
Cohen became "Ewing". He later attended
Hartford High School
Hartford Church of England High School is a voluntary aided Church of England secondary school on Neot Road in Hartford, Cheshire, for students aged between eleven and sixteen. The school has dual specialist college status in both languages an ...
and
Lebanon Valley College
Lebanon Valley College (LVC, Lebanon Valley, or The Valley) is a private college in Annville, Pennsylvania.
History
Lebanon Valley was founded on February 23, 1866, with classes beginning May 7 of that year and its first class graduating in 1870 ...
.
Professional career
In 1921, while still a student at
Lebanon Valley, Reuben received a contract with the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
.
His short career featured no highlights and lasted only three games and spanned only seven days from June 21 to June 27.
In the only
plate appearance
In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner ...
of his professional career, he was struck out by future
Hall of Fame
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
pitcher
Eppa Rixey
Eppa Rixey Jr. (May 3, 1891 – February 28, 1963), nicknamed "Jephtha", was an American baseball player who played 21 seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds in Major League Baseball from 1912 to 1933 as a left-handed p ...
while
pinch hit
In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, America ...
ting for pitcher
Tink Riviere
Arthur Bernard Riviere (August 2, 1899 – September 27, 1965) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals in and the Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based i ...
.
References
External links
1899 births
1970 deaths
American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
Jewish American baseball players
Jewish Major League Baseball players
Major League Baseball shortstops
Major League Baseball players from Ukraine
People from West Hartford, Connecticut
Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States
Jews from the Russian Empire
Ukrainian Jews
Sportspeople from Odesa
St. Louis Cardinals players
20th-century American Jews
Baseball players from Connecticut
Lebanon Valley College alumni
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