Alan Veingrad
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| Date of birth: | July 24, 1963 |
| Place of birth: | Brooklyn, New York |
| Career information | |
|---|---|
| Position(s): | Tackle Guard |
| College: | East Texas State University |
| Organizations | |
| As player: | |
| 1986–90 1991–92 |
Green Bay Packers Dallas Cowboys |
| Playing stats at NFL.com | |
Alan Stuart Veingrad, now known as Shlomo Veingrad (born July 24, 1963, in Brooklyn, New York) is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League.[1]
Veingrad played for the Green Bay Packers for five seasons, and two seasons for the Dallas Cowboys (who won Super Bowl XXVII), playing in a total of 86 games.
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[edit] Early life
Veingrad was born in Brooklyn and lived in New Jersey from ages 3 to 9, before moving to Miami. He went to Miami Sunset High School, and grew up in a Jewish household, but never embraced religion until a later point in his life.[2]
[edit] College career
He played college football on scholarship at East Texas State University (now Texas A&M University–Commerce), where he was an All-American and also won National Strength and Conditioning All-America honors. He was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in October 2006.[3]
[edit] NFL career
In 1986, Veingrad made the Green Bay Packers as the opening day starting offensive tackle.[1]
Veingrad played for the Green Bay Packers for five seasons, from 1986–90, and two seasons for the Dallas Cowboys, 1991–92, who won Super Bowl XXVII on January 31, 1993, playing in a total of 86 games.
- National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
Alan "Shlomo" Veingrad was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame on Sunday, April 19, 2010. The ceremony was held at at the Suffolk Y Jewish Community Center in Commack, New York. The organization chronicles and celebrates Jewish involvement in all sports, and includes Jewish sports legends such as Sandy Koufax, Red Auerbach, Kerri Strug, and Hank Greenberg.[4]
[edit] Retirement and Jewish roots
When Veingrad had begun his NFL career with Green Bay, a local Jewish man who ran a shoe store had reached out to him and asked him to join his family for the Rosh Hashana services at K'nesses Israel, a synagogue near the site of the Packers’ original home field, City Stadium.[1] Veingrad had not spent much time in shul.[1] “But when I heard the Hebrew,” he said, “I felt a pull.”[1]
Following the Super Bowl win, Veingrad retired from football back to Florida. He rediscovered his Jewish roots, and became an observant Jew, affiliated with the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. He now uses his Hebrew first name, Shlomo, wears a kippah and ritual fringes called tzitzit, and travels around the country giving inspirational talks about his spiritual transformation.[1][5]
Veingrad lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he is employed in commercial real estate lending by a major national firm.[6][7]
[edit] Tailgate Party
He and fellow Chabad-Lubavitch adherent, Rabbi Shais Taub, made headlines by hosting a "kosher tailgate party" at Lambeau Field during the 2007 season.[8]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f Freedman, Samuel G. (February 5, 2010). "A Rare Blend, Pro Football and Hasidic Judaism". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/06/us/06religion.html. Retrieved February 8, 2010.
- ^ "Grid to God's Squad", New York Post, January 20, 2008
- ^ Texas A&M University–Commerce / East Texas State University – Athletic hall of Fame Members, CSTV. Retrieved October 31, 2007.
- ^ Decotis, Mark. "Veingrad to Speak Locally"[dead link], Florida Today, September 25, 2009
- ^ Heinen, Tom. "TAKES FIVE ALAN VEINGRAD Ex-lineman makes leap from Lambeau to life of faith", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 13, 2005. Accessed October 19, 2007. "Alan Veingrad, an offensive lineman for the Green Bay Packers from 1986 to 1990, has turned from football to faith since retiring from the National Football League in 1993. These days, he talks to Jewish organizations around the country about his journey from being a secular Jew to an observant Orthodox Jew."
- ^ Horn, Barry. "Ex-Cowboy Finds Faith After Football.", Dallas Morning News, September 23, 2007.
- ^ Dallas Morning News interactive site about Alan (Shlomo) Veingrad http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spe/2007/shlomo/
- ^ Glauber, Bill (Oct. 15, 2007). Have prayers and Packers, too" Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
