Doctor Louis Babrow (24 April 1915 – 26 January 2004) was a South African rugby union player and medical doctor.Godwin, p32 He was of Jewish origins.

Playing career

He attended, and played for

Grey College, Bloemfontein Grey College (Afrikaans: ''Grey Kollege'') is a semi-private English & Afrikaans medium school for boys situated in the suburb of Universitas in Bloemfontein in the Free State province of South Africa, it is one of the 23 Milner Schools. Th ...

and

Cape Town University The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

in South Africa, as well as

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. ...

in England, where he finished his medical training. He later played for

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...

and . In 1937, Babrow faced the dilemma of whether or not to play a game against on

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day's ...

, a Jewish holy day. In the end, Babrow played, with the rationale that he was playing in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, not his homeland: :"''I'm a South African Jew, not a New Zealand Jew and New Zealand is eight hours before South Africa in time. When we are playing our holy day will not yet have dawned in South Africa''". At 22, Babrow was the youngest member of the touring party. One of Babrow's cross-kicks set up a try for

Ferdie Bergh Willem Ferdinand van Rheede van Oudtschoorn Bergh (2 November 1906 – 28 May 1973), better known as "Ferdie" Bergh, was a South African rugby union player.Cotton, p74Scrum.com player profile, retrieved 20 February 2010 Biography He was origina ...

to score. He recalled that some members of the Springbok party were Greyshirt sympathisers, but that he never experienced anti-Semitism on the tour.

Test history

Personal life and opinions

Babrow was the cousin of

Morris Zimerman Morris Zimerman (8 June 1911 – 10 January 1992) was a South African rugby union player.Profile
on ...

, the first Jewish Springbok. Babrow was a lifelong opponent of

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

, campaigning for the release of

Bram Fischer Abraham Louis Fischer (23 April 1908 – 8 May 1975) was a South African Communist lawyer of Afrikaner descent, notable for anti-apartheid activism and for the legal defence of anti-apartheid figures, including Nelson Mandela, at the Rivonia T ...

, the radical lawyer, and against the whitewashing of the

Steve Biko Bantu Stephen Biko (18 December 1946 – 12 September 1977) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. Ideologically an African nationalist and African socialist, he was at the forefront of a grassroots anti-apartheid campaign known ...

affair. In 2004 he said: :"'' Rugby in South Africa has always had its prejudices and it could take another 20 years until those issues are sorted out in the game. But if you look at the game in the country now, for the first time ever there is not one Jewish player in the

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

n 2004'' :"''It used to be a good luck superstition for the Boks to have at least one Jewish player and a policeman in the side. Now there are neither.''" In 2004, Babrow voiced concern that rugby was becoming mainly an

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from Free Burghers, predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: ...

sport in South Africa.

Professional career

Babrow was an elected member of the Medical and Dental Council for 21 years, and was on the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

council for twenty five years.

Bibliography

* Godwin, Terry ''The Complete Who's Who of International Rugby'' (Blandford Press, England, 1987, ) *

References

External links

SA veteran concerned for rugby's future

Book review: The Glory of the Game
about the Ten Jewish Springboks.
Springbok Rugby Hall of Fame - Louis Babrow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Babrow, Louis South African rugby union players South Africa international rugby union players Jewish rugby union players Jewish South African anti-apartheid activists 20th-century South African physicians University of Cape Town alumni People from Mohokare Local Municipality 1915 births 2004 deaths Jewish South African sportspeople Western Province (rugby union) players Rugby union players from the Free State (province) Rugby union centres