Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Dramatic 1977 Victory Put Israel “On the Map”

The underdogs of basketball defeated the Soviet team in a dramatic game that led to the championship. Meet Tal Brody, the American Jew who made Aliyah and led the team to victory when he uttered the now famous words, “we’re on the map, and we are staying on the map – not only in sports, but in everything.” The dramatic reaction of Israel beating the Russian Soviet Union Red Army team led to cheering Israeli fans dancing through the streets.

Plus, coach Ralph Klein, the German-born Jew who survived the Nazi Holocaust and became a sports hero, Aulcie Perry, who found a new home in the Jewish homeland, Miki Berkovich, Lou Silver, Shuki Schwartz, Shmuel Machrovsky, Jim Boatwright and the others that helped clinch the FIBA European Champions Cup.

Tal Brody (left) & Micky Berkowitz holding the European Cup at the mass reception held at Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park, 1977. Credit: Ya’acov Sa’ar, Israeli Government Press Office

Tal Brody during a tense moment of the game between Maccabi Tel Aviv & the Dutch champions held at Yad Eliyahu stadium, 1975 - Credit: Moshe Milner, GPO

Ralph Klein (first row, far left), with the Israel national basketball team, 1960. Credit: GPO

Israeli general Moshe Dayan congratulating Maccabi Tel Aviv upon their victory. Credit: Ya’acov Sa’ar, 1977

Maccabi Tel Aviv returning home from Belgrade after winning the European Basketball Championship. Credit: Dan Hadani collection / National Library of Israel / The Pritzker Family National Photography Collection / CC BY 4.0

NOTES:

• On The Map - The Big Reunion Maccabi Tel Aviv 1977

• Israelis Beat Russian Hoopsters - Feb. 1977, JTA

• Israel Beats Italy in Championship 78-77 - April 1977, JTA

• From Tal Brody to European Champions: the Golden Age of Israeli Basketball

• Interview with Aulcie Perry, 2020 Maccabi Tel Aviv Basketball

• Aulcie Perry coaches wheelchair-bound youth in Israel, 1998 - Channel 2 News

• 1977 FIBA European Champions Cup Final: Maccabi Tel Aviv vs Mobilgirgi Varese

• Ari Louis interviews basketball legend Tal Brody

• Maccabi Tel Aviv marks iconic 1977 title - Jpost

• Film on Israeli basketball’s ‘miracle on hardwood’ set to screen in the US - Times of Israel

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