Tanhum Cohen-Mintz

Tanhum Cohen-Mintz (תנחום (תני) כהן-מינץ; also "Tanchum or Tani" and "Cohen-Minz"; October 18, 1939 – October 11, 2014) was an Israeli professional basketball player.[1] He was 6'8 ​1⁄2" (2.04 m ) tall, and he played at the center position.[2][3]

Tanhum Cohen-Mintz
Cohen-Mintz playing for Israel against Poland, 1962
Personal information
Born(1939-10-18)October 18, 1939
Riga, Latvia
DiedOctober 11, 2014(2014-10-11) (aged 75)
Tel Aviv, Israel
NationalityIsraeli
Listed height6 ft 8.5 in (2.04 m)
Listed weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
Playing career1956–1972
PositionCenter
Career history
1956–1972Maccabi Tel Aviv
Career highlights and awards

Early life

Cohen-Mintz, who was Jewish, was born in Riga, Latvia.[1][4][5][6][7]

Basketball career

Cohen-Mintz started his sporting career in tennis, following the footsteps of his mother, Edith Cohen-Mintz, who was Israel's women's tennis champion for several years in the 1950s. He himself was Israel's junior tennis champion. He was viewed on the tennis court by legendary basketball coach Yehoshua Rozin, who was impressed by his height and athletic abilities. Rozin convinced Cohen-Mintz to convert to basketball.

During his club basketball career, he played with Maccabi Tel Aviv.[7][8] He was a starting-five member of the 1964 and 1965 FIBA European Selection All-Star Teams.[3]

He also played with, and was the captain of the senior Israeli national basketball team, representing it 89 times, from 1958–1971, during which time he scored 1,076 points.[3][9]

In 1961, he was selected as Israel's Sportsman of the Year.[3] In 1998, Ma'ariv named him one of the five best basketball players in Israel's history.[3]

Hall of Fame

According to some sources, Tanhum Cohen Mintz is a member of the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, having been inducted in 1992,[10] but his name appears neither in the list of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame inductees[11] nor in the list of the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame inductees.[12]

Personal life

His son, Uri Cohen-Mintz, is also a former basketball player, and he also played for Israel's national team.

Death

Cohen-Mintz died October 11, 2014, at the age of 75, of cancer.[13]

References
  1. Bob Wechsler (2008). Day by day in Jewish sports history. KTAV Publishing House, Inc. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
  2. "Russell Puts New "Z-o-o-m" Into Celts Starting Lineup". The Telegraph. November 23, 1966. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
  3. "Cohen-Mintz, Tanny: Jews In Sports @ Virtual Museum". Jewsinsports.org. October 8, 1939. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
  4. Bernard Postal; Jesse Silver; Roy Silver (1965). Encyclopedia of Jews in sports. Bloch Pub. Co. Retrieved July 20, 2011. Tanhum Cohen-Mintz.
  5. Robert Slater (2000). Great Jews in sports. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
  6. Karen Breen; Judith Silverman (1988). Index to collective biographies for young readers. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
  7. Allon Sinai (April 14, 2008). "No.22 – Tanhum Cohen-Mintz". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
  8. Klein, Yossi (April 2, 2008). "Standing tall to be counted". Haaretz. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
  9. Yaacov Ro'i (2003). The Struggle for Soviet Jewish Emigration, 1948–1967. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
  10. Joe Hoffman (May 24, 1992). "Chodorov Tops List Of Inductees to Jewish Sports Hall of Fame". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
  11. Elected members of the International International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame: Basketball
  12. National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame inductees/honorees Archived 2007-02-13 at the Wayback Machine
  13. Israeli sports mourns the passing of Cohen-Mintz
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