{"id":74900,"date":"2023-06-02T14:37:50","date_gmt":"2023-06-02T19:37:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=74900"},"modified":"2023-06-02T14:37:50","modified_gmt":"2023-06-02T19:37:50","slug":"this-holocaust-survivor-and-longtime-mets-fan-threw-out-the-first-pitch-at-thursdays-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/this-holocaust-survivor-and-longtime-mets-fan-threw-out-the-first-pitch-at-thursdays-game\/","title":{"rendered":"This Holocaust survivor and longtime Mets fan threw out the first pitch at Thursday\u2019s game"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By JACOB GURVIS<\/p>\n<p>(<em>New York Jewish Week<\/em> via JTA) \u2014 As a child, Holocaust survivor Leo Ullman attended baseball games at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn with his aunt, who believed it would help him become more American.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_74901\" style=\"width: 235px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/6-2-23-LeoUllman.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-74901\" class=\"wp-image-74901 size-medium lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/6-2-23-LeoUllman-225x300.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/6-2-23-LeoUllman-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/6-2-23-LeoUllman-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/6-2-23-LeoUllman-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/6-2-23-LeoUllman.jpeg 1512w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 225px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 225\/300;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-74901\" class=\"wp-image-74901 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/6-2-23-LeoUllman-225x300.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/6-2-23-LeoUllman-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/6-2-23-LeoUllman-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/6-2-23-LeoUllman-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/6-2-23-LeoUllman.jpeg 1512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-74901\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Holocaust survivor Leo Ullman, 83, threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the New York Mets game at Citi Field, June 1, 2023. (Courtesy of Robert Brodsky\/Twitter)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Yesterday, Ullman, a longtime New York Mets fan and prolific memorabilia collector, made an appearance at Citi Field. But this time, he was on the mound.<\/p>\n<p>Ullman, 83, threw out the first pitch at the Mets game against the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday afternoon before a crowd of more than 38,000 fans. The event was organized by the Holocaust Memorial &amp; Tolerance Center of Nassau County. (Ullman\u2019s first pitch comes just weeks after another survivor, Helen Kahan, threw out the first pitch at a New York Yankees game in Tampa.)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt wasn\u2019t a perfect strike, but at least it got to the catcher,\u201d Ullman said after the game. He had been practicing his throw for weeks and had watched videos of failed first pitches.<\/p>\n<p>At 83, Ullman is likely among the youngest Holocaust survivors. He was born in the Netherlands in 1939 and when the Nazis invaded, his parents put him into hiding with a policeman\u2019s family in Amsterdam, where he hid for two and a half years before being reunited with his parents with the help of the Dutch Resistance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s important for people to know that they have to fight hatred in every way they can, including antisemitism,\u201d he said yesterday. \u201cAnd it\u2019s very, very important to not be a bystander, but to confront hatred when you see it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Ullmans immigrated to Long Island in 1947. Ullman still lives in Sands Point today.<\/p>\n<p>Ullman would go on to serve in the Marines, attend Harvard and Columbia, and become a successful lawyer. He has been involved with various Holocaust organizations, including the U.S. National Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Anne Frank Center USA. He has also competed in more than 145 triathlons.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Yesterday was unforgettable. Thank you <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Newsday?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Newsday<\/a> for capturing it so beautifully. Sands Point Holocaust survivor Leo Ullman throws out first pitch for the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Mets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@mets<\/a> on behalf of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hmtcli?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@hmtcli<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/lgm?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#lgm<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/KEVHHK1ntU\">pic.twitter.com\/KEVHHK1ntU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Dana Arschin (@DanaArschin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DanaArschin\/status\/1664600396298420225?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 2, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>But ever since he was a child, Ullman\u2019s primary love has been baseball. When his Brooklyn Dodgers left New York, Ullman was heartbroken \u2014 until the Mets were born in 1962.<\/p>\n<p>In 1995, when Ullman traveled to Madison, Wisconsin for the birth of his grandson, he went to a card show near the hospital and bought 12 Nolan Ryan baseball cards for one dollar each. That moment would become the start of a collection that eventually grew to 15,000 pieces \u2014 or, as MLB.com put it, \u201cthe largest collection of Nolan Ryan merchandise on the planet.\u201d Ryan played four seasons as a Met at the start of his career in the late 1960s.<\/p>\n<p>Ullman donated his collection \u2014 which was valued at $1.2 million \u2014 to Stockton University in New Jersey last year.<\/p>\n<p>At Citi Field on Thursday, Ullman was surrounded by family, dressed from head to toe in regalia for the team he has loved since its inception.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s very thrilling to be out there at this beautiful stadium with all the people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Ullman wasn\u2019t the only person to throw out a ceremonial first pitch on Thursday afternoon. Jewish indie rocker Ira Kaplan, of the band Yo La Tengo \u2014 who for years played a series of Hanukkah-themed shows on each night of the holiday \u2014 also threw a ceremonial pitch before the game. (His throw was more of a strike.)<\/p>\n<p>Kaplan is a lifelong Mets fan, and the band was named after a nugget from the team\u2019s history: During their first season, in 1962, the team\u2019s center fielder Richie Ashburn kept colliding with the shortstop Elio Chacon while trying to catch fly balls. Ashburn began calling \u201cYo la tengo!\u201d (\u201cI got it!\u201d in Spanish) to remedy the situation.<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"This%20Holocaust%20survivor%20and%20longtime%20Mets%20fan%20threw%20out%20the%20first%20pitch%20at%20Thursday%E2%80%99s%20game\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1491],"tags":[8790,8795,13145,3005,8788,13146],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74900"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74900"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74900\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74902,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74900\/revisions\/74902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}