Rudi Ball
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rudi Ball (March 27, 1910 - September 1975) was one of two athletes of Jewish descent to represent Germany in the 1936 Summer Olympic Games in Berlin. The other Jewish athlete was Helen Mayer. He was considered one of the greatest ice hockey players of the pre-war era.
He and his two brothers, Gerhard Ball and Heinz Ball, represented Germany in many international competitions in their hockey careers.
While reasonably short, Ball was considered extremely fast on the ice and was admired as having much skill and ability.
Ball was included in the 1932 Germany ice hockey team, to play at the 1932 Olympic games, held in Lake Placid. The German team would win the bronze medal.
In 1936, having Jewish heritage, Ball (the 25 year old captain) was initially overlooked for selection in the German ice hockey team. His good friend and teammate, Gustav Jaenecke, refused to play, unless Ball was included. The German selectors promptly realized that without Ball and Jaenecke the team would not stand a chance of winning. Another factor was that the Nazis could not overlook the fact that Ball was without doubt one of the leading athletes in his sport. With much controversy Ball was included in the German team to play at the 1936 Olympic games. After Ball was injured, the Germans took fifth place in the tournament.
Ball followed his brother, Heinz, to South Africa in 1948.
He was inducted into the International Ice hockey Hall of Fame in 2004.
[edit] External links
 |
This biographical article relating to sports in Germany is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
