In honor of the recent Maccabi Games, this month’s column pays tribute to Rosy Kaplan, an early Orange County Jewish teen athlete. Rosy was born in Fresno on June 7, 1913, to Hyman (later Herman) and Yetta Kaplan, immigrants from Minsk, Russia. The family moved to Santa Ana, where Hyman and his brother-in-law, Samuel Roth, operated the Santa Ana Junk & Auto Wrecking Co. Rosy attended Santa Ana High School and then went to the Santa Ana Junior College, where she played on both the hockey and baseball teams. Majoring in English, she continued her education at U.S.C., getting a degree in nursing.
