Ya'akov Hodorov

Ya'akov Hodorov was born in 1927 in Rishon LeZion

Hodorov was born in 1927 in Rishon LeZion to pioneer parents who had come from Russia in the Third Aliyah. He was born with a serious disability in his legs, and doctors advised him to play ball as a child. As a teenager he first took up athletics.

He began at Maccabi Rishon LeZion, then moved to Hapoel Rishon LeZion and reached the 1946 cup final. He then joined Hapoel Tel Aviv, where he played for 16 years and won the league title in 1957. He paused his sports career to serve as a Jewish settlement police officer and in the Givati Brigade in the War of Independence.

He first played for the national team in 1949 against Cyprus and appeared for it 31 times until 1964. In 1958 World Cup qualifying against Wales in Cardiff he kept playing after breaking his nose. He turned down offers from European clubs, including Arsenal.

In 1962 he moved to Hapoel Ramat Gan and won the league with it in 1964. He later played for Shimshon Tel Aviv, retired in 1967 and began writing for Maariv. He received the Israel Prize in 2006 but suffered a stroke before the ceremony, and he died on 31 December 2006.