Zacharia Ofri

Zacharia Ofri
Zacharia Ofri (captain of Israeli National Basketball Team) at Helsinki Olympics 1952
Personal information
Native nameזכריה עופרי
NationalityIsraeli
Born(1932-08-07)7 August 1932
Died9 March 2018(2018-03-09) (aged 85)[1]
Sport
SportBasketball[2]

Zacharia (Zekaarya) Ofri (Hebrew: זכריה עופרי; 7 August 1932 – 9 March 2018) was an Israeli basketball player. He was captain of the Israeli National team that competed in the men's tournament at the 1952 Summer Olympics[3] as well as in the 1953 European Cup in Moscow (name transliterated as Afari)[4] and the 1954 World Cup in Rio de Janeiro (name transliterated as Afri)[5]

Ofri was also captain of the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team in Israel.[6][7]

The Israeli national team was unable to play in the 1956 Olympics because of the Sinai War [8] (Ofri served in the Tank Corps). In 1957, as a compensation for missing the Olympic games, the team went on an exhibition tour in the United States.[9][10] Ofri was offered a scholarship to play on the NYU basketball[11] (and soccer) teams, and completed his degree in education at NYU.

Ofri taught mathematics at Lincoln High School in Yonkers, New York, until 1983 when he moved back to Israel.[12] In 2013 he was inducted into the Israeli Basketball Hall of Fame.[13]

His daughter is the physician and writer Danielle Ofri.

Israeli Olympic Basketball team 1952 (Zacharia Ofri, standing at far left)
Israeli National Basketball team on tour, 1957 (Zacharia Ofri 2nd from bottom)
European Cup (Basketball) Moscow, 1953. (Zacharia Ofri, #4, tipping off ball)

References

  1. ^ "כדורסלן העבר זכריה עופרי הלך לעולמו" (in Hebrew). Ynet. 11 March 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  2. ^ "Maccabi Tel Aviv BasketBall Club | Former Player | Zacharia Ofri". Maccabi Tel Aviv Basketball Club. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  3. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Zekaarya Ofri Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  4. ^ "Israel | 1953 European Championship for Men". archive.fiba.com. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  5. ^ "Israel | 1954 World Championship for Men". archive.fiba.com. Archived from the original on 3 August 2010. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  6. ^ "כדורסלע - מילון הכדורסל השלם | זה א-ב של כדורסלע". www.cadursela.co.il. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  7. ^ "Maccabi Tel Aviv BasketBall Club | Former Player | Zacharia Ofri". Maccabi Tel Aviv Basketball Club. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  8. ^ Ofri, Danielle (13 November 2019). "The Yemenite Giant and the Death of Stalin". Tablet Magazine. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  9. ^ "February 08, 1957 - Image 5". The Detroit Jewish News Digital Archives. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  10. ^ "Jewish Post 8 February 1957 — Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana's Digital Historic Newspaper Program". newspapers.library.in.gov. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  11. ^ "New York Journal American". New York Journal American. 17 July 1957.
  12. ^ "Ma'ariv". Ma'ariv. 1983.
  13. ^ זכריה עפרי הכדורסלן, retrieved 26 February 2022
NYU Violets soccer team, 1957-58 (Zacharia Ofri seated, far right)
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