Shimon Shelah

Shimon Shelah was born in 1932 in Vilnius

Shimon Shelah was born Shimon Shmukler in Vilnius in 1932. His mother Sonia was a shot put champion of Poland and later a basketball player with Hapoel Tel Aviv, and his father Yaakov was a footballer. His parents stayed in the Land of Israel after the 1935 Maccabiah and later returned to Poland to bring him over.

He started in the youth team of Hapoel Tel Aviv. He played 4 years for Hapoel Ma'ayan Baruch and moved to Hapoel Tel Aviv in 1955, playing there 3 seasons as a point guard. With the national team he played at the 1952 Olympics, the 1953 European Championship, where Israel finished 5th, and the 1954 World Championship.

He coached Hapoel Ma'ayan Baruch, Hapoel Haifa, Hapoel Ashdot Yaakov and Hapoel Ramat Gan. He led Hapoel Tel Aviv to league titles in 1959/1960, 1960/1961, 1964/1965 and 1965/1966, and to the State Cup in 1961/1962. As national team coach he led Israel to 4 European Championships and to gold at the 1966 Asian Games and silver at the 1970 Asian Games.

He also served as coordinator of disabled basketball. He married Sima, a player on the women's team he coached, and they had 2 children, including footballer Amir Schelach. He died on 6 August 2026.