How Hockey Saved a Jew from the Holocaust: The Rudi Ball Story

Gordie Howe, Maurice Richard, Boom Boom Gefferion, Mario Lemeiux, Sidney Crosby and Wayne Gretsky are familiar names to hockey fans, but mention Rudi Ball and you will get a quizzical look from people. Rudi Ball was a German Jew, who, thanks to hockey and the loyalty exhibited by his team-mates, was able to survive the Holocaust for one simple reason. He played that most beautiful of all games – hockey. Few people recognize the name, but he was the premiere European player of his time, and one of the best hockey players to ever lace up skates. Yet, his prowess on the ice was more than a way to exhibit his athletic abilities. It was his ticket to survival in a country where being Jewish was a death sentence in the 1930’s and 1940’s. His remarkable story is a testament to the power of hockey to bring out the very best in people.

The Summit Series between Canada and the then USSR (Russia) proved in 1972 that hockey is not just a game, it is a war on ice, but when the war is over, the victors do not subjugate the losers. Rather, they line up and shake hands in recognition of a warriors’ code that instils mutual respect and admiration for one another’s drive, desire and determination. This is the story of one of those warriors, and how his fellow warriors stood by him, refusing to bow to tyranny.