1977 basketball championship put Israel ‘On the Map’
“On the Map” is a brilliant documentary about Israel’s improbable run to the 1977 European Cup basketball championship — “one of the greatest sporting accomplishments ever,” according to NBA Hall of Famer Bill Walton.
How come I’ve never heard about this?
I shouldn’t feel too bad. ESPN basketball analyst and former Houston Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy was just as much in the dark. He watched the movie recently and came away impressed how this underdog Israeli team called Maccabi Tel Aviv, led by University of Illinois All-American Tal Brody, was able to overcome unthinkable political and social obstacles, in addition to toppling European powerhouse teams to win the title.
Call it “Miracle on Ice” … on a basketball court. And just like the upstart U.S. hockey team in the 1980 Olympics, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s unimaginable win over the Russians took place in the semifinal round. People forget there was one more game to be played for the championship. While the U.S. hockey team still had to beat Finland, the Israelis had to get past Italy for the gold.
“I thought I was an historian of the game, and I had never heard the story or even heard of Tal Brody,” JVG said.
It wasn’t the best or calmest of times for Israel, still a young country in 1977, reeling from the massacre of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972 and the Yom Kippur War the following year. The U.S. and Russia still waged a Cold War, with Israel a potential flashpoint.
The Israeli team had never gotten past the first round of the European Cup basketball tournament. For the other teams, playing Israel in the first round was a tune-up game, practically a bye.
Then 1977 happened. Led by Brody, a former first-round pick in the NBA draft who passed on pro ball in the U.S. to play in Israel, the Maccabi team caught fire. Brody was surrounded by other former U.S. college players, although none as celebrated as he. One was Bob Griffin, a shooting guard from Columbia University.
“No one gave us a chance to win,” said Griffin, now a professor at Texas A&M University. “The most that people (in Israel) were hoping for was that we didn’t lose by too much. CSKA (the Russian Red Army team) had beaten Real Madrid, one of the elite teams in Europe, by 20 points the previous week in Madrid.
“Although Maccabi Tel Aviv had not gotten very far into the European Cup tournament in previous years, we knew we had a good team and were eager to prove it. Our attitude was, maybe they beat Madrid last week, but they still have to beat us this week.
“It’s nothing that anybody said. It was just the general attitude of the guys, and the fact that it was the Russians sharp- ened our appetite even more.”
And that’s when the story of the 1977 European Cup basketball tournament becomes shocking, surreal and, looking back, hard to believe.
Maccabi Tel Aviv, comprising Jewish players from the U.S. and a few Israelis, was to meet the big bad Russian bear in the semifinals. The Russians were heavily favored to win, but this would be much more than just a basketball game.
The game was supposed to be played in Israel, but Russia didn’t recognize Israel, and the government refused to allow the Russian team to travel there. On top of that, Russia refused to allow the Israeli team to come to Russia to play their “home” game in Moscow.
Facing disqualification, Russia agreed to play Maccabi Tel Aviv in a small village in eastern Belgium, in a building that held only 400 spectators.
“We all knew what was at stake.” Griffin said. “There were no diplomatic relations between Israel and the Soviet Union. On top of that, it was the middle of the Cold War. The Soviet Union represented dictatorship, no freedom of the press and no civil rights.”
Van Gundy adds: “To hear the obstacles that the game against Russia was played in such a small gym boggles my mind. It’s an example of how politics and sports oftentimes influence each other. Even though I had never thought about it, the ‘Miracle on Ice’ comparison is very apt and on target.”
When the Russian players entered the cramped gym, they were stunned to find 400 European Jews waving Israeli flags and screaming their yarmulkes off. Poor Russians never had a prayer. Macabbi Tel Aviv 91, the Russian Red Army 79.
After the game, amid the oncourt celebration, an announcer stuck a microphone in Brody’s face and, in his heavy American-accented Hebrew, he said, unrehearsed and unprepared, “We are on the map! And we are staying on the map — not only in sports but in everything.” To this day, that quote is the rallying cry for all of Israel, in everything.
Back in Israel, the country went nuts. It was the biggest victory in its history. But there was still one more game to be played — and much, much more drama.
Maccabi was scheduled to meet the mighty Italian team — four-time winners of the European Cup — in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Again, a country that didn’t recognize Israel.
This wasn’t a blowout like the game against the Russians. The game came down to the final seconds, Israel up by one point, and Italy with the ball. Brody stole a pass and … Maccabi Tel Aviv 78, Italy 77. Israel was the champion of Europe.
“After winning the championship against Italy, there wasn’t a whole lot to do,” Griffin said. “The game was played in Belgrade, in the former Yugoslavia … Special permission had to be granted just to allow a few El Al planes to land there. Aside from a brief tour of the city, with heavy security, and busing to the arena for practice and the game, we were sequestered in the hotel.
“Then the flight back to Israel was delayed for a day or two, I forget why, and we were in the hotel the entire time. I was finishing up my B.A. at Tel Aviv University at the time and, believe it or not, read Jane Austen’s ‘Emma’ while we waited. But when we got back, there was a large public celebration.”
There is one bright and humorously painful moment in “On the Map.” A U.S. player, Aulcie Perry from Newark, N.J., joined Maccabi Tel Aviv after being cut by the New York Knicks. He fell in love with his new team and new country, to the point that he decided to become an Israeli citizen and convert to Judaism. But first one small detail. “Even though I was already circumcised, I had to be circumcised again,” he says in the film.
“On the Map” will be shown several times over the next few weeks as the Jewish Film Festival celebrates its 13th year in Houston. Happy bar mitzvah.
For admission prices and locations, visit ERJCCHouston. org.