By Amy Samin
On Monday, 13 October at 1:00 p.m. at Nokia Arena, the public is invited to a viewing of the casket of Tanhum Cohen-Mintz, of blessed memory. At 2:00 p.m. eulogies will be delivered, and the funeral will be held at 3:30 p.m. at Kiryat Shaul.
Tani was one of the pillars and foundation stones of the club back in the days when the team played on the old court on Maccabi Street near the tennis courts, where he and his parents used to play. Yehoshua Rozin noticed his rare height, and convinced Tani to quit tennis and play basketball.
Tani, who was nicknamed “the Tall One”, was a man of rare qualities, wisdom and knowledge that were reflected in his contribution to Israeli’s security system.
Tani died at the age of 75. The club sends its sincere condolences to his wife Dafna, to his children, and to all the members of the Cohen-Mintz and Rabinovich families.
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From the Maccabist Book, The Amazing Story of Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C., The 20 Greatest Players of All Time:
Tanhum Cohen-Mintz was the first truly tall Israeli basketball player at 6’7” (2.04 meters).
From an early age he was called “the Tall One”, but was known to everyone by the nickname Tani. He was the Israeli youth champion in tennis, and at age 15 was convinced by the coach Yehoshua Rozin to move to basketball. Cohen-Mintz was considered one of the best centers in Europe, and in 1964 appeared in the starting five of the European All-Star team against Real Madrid.
During his 16 seasons with Maccabi Tel Aviv (1957 – 1972), he won 11 Israeli Championships and 10 Israeli Cups, and scored 5,170 points. Together with Tal Brody, he is responsible for the Badalona Miracle and the spectacular 1967 season, when Maccabi qualified for a European final for the first time.
With the Israeli Nation Team, Cohen-Mintz won the gold medal at the Asian Games in Bangkok in 1966. Tani Cohen-Mintz was one of the most beloved symbols of Maccabi Tel Aviv and the Israeli National Team. May his memory be blessed.