HomeAUGUST 2024Orange County's Jewish History- The Silver Slugger

Orange County’s Jewish History- The Silver Slugger

Benny Wasserman baseball card from the Topps Trading Card Company, 2023.

“I’m calling it 90 at 90” retired areospace engineer Benny Wasserman told LA Times columnist Steve Lopez in January of 2023. Born on April 2, 1934 in Detroit, the son of a baker, Wasserman had wanted to be a professional baseball player when he was young, getting as far as trying out for the Washington Senators at age 19. Unfortunately he didn’t make the cut and swore off baseball for 60 years. He moved to LA to be near his sister, who set him up with her friend Fern Gail Slutske; six months later Benny and Fern were married and relocated to Orange County where they raised their three boys. After working for Hughes Aircraft and TRW (now Northrop Grumman) for 30 years, he retired and began his second career: as a sought after Albert Einstein look-a-like. He traveled the world for more than two decades, appearing in commercials, movies, and on TV. After retiring again, Benny rediscovered his love of baseball and decided that he would hit a 90 mile an hour fastball on his 90th birthday (his “90 at 90”). From that time on, he went every Friday morning to the Home Run Park batting cages in Anaheim to practice, practice, practice. And it worked! He regularly slammed homers in the 90MPH cage. However, just three weeks shy of his 90th, on March 11, 2024, Benny passed away. Despite the enormous loss, his family celebrated his life on April 2 at the batting cages, honoring the patriarch whom one of his grandsons called “… the most supportive person in the world.” Benny is survived by his wife of nearly 66 years, his three sons, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

DALIA TAFT, DIRECTOR OF THE ORANGE COUNTY JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY, HIGHLIGHTS IMAGES FROM THE ARCHIVES EVERY MONTH. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT HTTPS://WWW.JCCOC.ORG/PAGES/OC-JEWISH-HISTORICAL-SOCIETY. YOU CAN ALSO CONTACT DALIA AT DALIAT@JCCOC.ORG OR AT (949) 435-3400, EXT. 360. THE ORANGE COUNTY JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY IS A PROGRAM OF THE MERAGE JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER AND IS FUNDED BY THE JEWISH COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ORANGE COUNTY.

 

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