Isidore Goldstein (June 6, 1908 – September 24, 1993) was an American

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 t ...

player. A native of

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who grew up in

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, he was a right-handed pitcher who played seven years in professional baseball from 1928 to 1934, including 16 games in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

with the 1932 Detroit Tigers. He compiled a 3–2 record and 4.47 in his 16 major league games.

Early years

Goldstein, who was born in 1908 in

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 ...

(now part of

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

), was Jewish, and moved with his family to

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

in New York City as a boy. He dropped out of high school to join a local semipro baseball team. When his semipro baseball career did not work out, Goldstein re-enrolled in high school, at James Monroe High School in The Bronx. He was teammates with future Baseball Hall of Fame slugger

Hank Greenberg Henry Benjamin Greenberg (born Hyman Greenberg; January 1, 1911 – September 4, 1986), nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank", "Hankus Pankus", or "The Hebrew Hammer", was an American professional baseball player and team executive. He played in Major Leagu ...

on the James Monroe baseball team. The team lost 4–1 at the

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in the city championship game. Goldstein again returned to semipro baseball, this time with a team from Long Island, as a right-handed, , pitcher.

Professional career

Minors

The Tigers signed Goldstein and assigned him to the

Wheeling Stogies The Wheeling Stogies was a minor league baseball team based in Wheeling, West Virginia, that played under several different names at various times between 1877 and 1934. They played mostly in the Central League and the Middle Atlantic League, as we ...

of the

Mid-Atlantic League The Middle Atlantic League (or Mid-Atlantic League) was a lower-level circuit in American minor league baseball that played during the second quarter of the 20th century. History The Middle Atlantic League played from 1925 through 1951, with t ...

where he compiled a 12–9 record and a 3.61 ERA in 1928. In 1929, Goldstein played for the Evansville Hubs of the Three I League, compiling a 12–8 record with a 2.74 ERA. Goldstein remained in Evansville in 1930, compiling a 14–11 record and a 3.52 ERA. Goldstein spent most of the 1931 season with the

Beaumont Exporters The Beaumont Exporters was the predominant name of a minor league baseball team located in Beaumont, Texas that played between 1920 and 1957 in the Texas League and the Big State League. Beaumont rejoined the Class AA Texas League (1983-1986) and ...

of the

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. In Beaumont, Goldstein was reunited with his high school teammate Hank Greenberg. Goldstein compiled a 16–11 record and 3.58 ERA at Beaumont in 1931.

Detroit Tigers

In 1932, the Tigers invited Goldstein to spring training but sent him back to Beaumont to start the season. Goldstein compiled a 6–1 record and 1.58 ERA at the start of the 1932 season with Beaumont. He was promoted to the Tigers and made his major league debut at

Navin Field Tiger Stadium, previously known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit. The stadium was nicknamed "The Corner" for its location at the intersection of Michigan and Trumbu ...

on April 24, 1932. In May 1932, Goldstein got his first major league win. On June 27, 1932, Goldstein pitched a complete game and allowed five hits, defeating the White Sox 9 to 3, though he also walked five batters and hit two batters. The victory over the White Sox was Goldstein's last game in the majors. In 16 games, including six starts, Goldstein compiled a 3–2 record with a 4.47 ERA and a 1.846 WHIP rating. He also compiled a .294 batting average (5 for 17) showed considerable talent, Izzy's skills were not fully harnessed during his short stay in the majors.

Return to minors

Goldstein finished the 1932 season with the Class AA

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

of the International League. He sustained a major arm injury late in the 1932 season. He returned from the injury in 1933 and compiled a 9–7 record with a 4.17 ERA in 1933.

Personal life

Goldstein retired from baseball after the 1938 season and began selling men's clothing in New York City. In 1943, Goldstein was drafted and served in the South Pacific theater from 1943 to 1945. After the war, Goldstein returned to his career selling men's clothing until 1975, when he moved to Florida. He died in 1993 at

Delray Beach, Florida Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020 was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States Census. Located 52 miles (83 kilometers) north of Miami, Delray Beach is in the ...

, at the age of 85. He was buried at the Jewish Eternal Light Memorial Gardens in

Boynton Beach, Florida Boynton Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is situated about 57 miles north of Miami. The population was 68,217 at the 2010 census. In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 78,679 according to the University ...

References

External links

The Jewish Baseball Hall of Fame: A Who's who of Baseball Stars
by Erwin Lynn, Shapolsky Publishers (1986). {{DEFAULTSORT:Goldstein, Izzy 1908 births 1993 deaths American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Detroit Tigers players Jewish American baseball players Jewish Major League Baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Ukraine Sportspeople from Odesa Jews from the Russian Empire Ukrainian Jews James Monroe High School (New York City) alumni 20th-century American Jews Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States