A Tribute to Dr Ed Weiner

Congratulations to Dr. Ed Weiner, former star basketball player at the University of Tennessee, who is being honored as one of the former greats of the Southeastern Conference member institutions.

Dr Weiner will be named a 2014 Allstate® SEC Basketball Legend at the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament in March at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. In addition to his support for his alma mater, the University of Tennessee, Dr Weiner has been a pillar of the Memphis orthodox Jewish community. Any of us who have attended the Memphis yeshiva high school tournament have had the pleasure of meeting Dr Weiner and hearing him speak of his unusual history including a successful college career after never having played high school basketball and a stint in the pros which he voluntarily gave up (to the team’s dismay) to pursue a dental career. One personal story that Dr. Weiner relates about an off the court experience stands out.

In 1953 he traveled to Israel as a member of the USA Maccabiah basketball team. That year he and the other members of the USA Maccabiah team, which included all-time YU great “Red” Blumenreich, had the distinction of being escorted by US Marines to the Kotel (wailing wall) on a very unofficial impromptu visit, thus becoming one of a very select few Jews to visit the Kotel between 1948 and the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967.

On behalf of the YU MACS we applaud Dr. Weiner and his wonderful wife Rochelle on this great honor.