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In September 1934, Detroit Tigers first baseman Hank Greenberg, who would go on to become the first Jew inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, decided not to play during a close pennant race with the Boston Red Sox because it fell on Yom Kippur.

The decision to sit out was a symbolic moment of elation for many American Jews, though some, who worried about Jewish integration into American life, questioned the choice. Thirty-one years later, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax made history once again by sitting out to observe the Day of Atonement, this time on Game 1 of the 1965 World Series.

Now, 44 years later, after scheduling a Yankees-Red Sox game at the start of this year's Yom Kippur, Major League Baseball (MLB) and ESPN have agreed to move the starting time of the game to avoid conflicting with the holiday, after facing protests from fans and politicians.

The Sept. 27 game at Yankee Stadium was originally scheduled for 1 p.m., and then had been pushed back to 8 p.m. in order to appear on ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" national telecast.

On Sept. 1, the game was returned to its original 1 p.m. slot after public protest from fans and U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), who represents parts of Brooklyn and Queens.

Weiner, in a letter to baseball Commissioner Bud Selig and ESPN President George Bodenheimer, alerted them that Jewish ticket holders as well as team staff would not be able to attend the 8 p.m. game (or otherwise not observe the holiday) as Yom Kippur begins sundown that evening.

"Because the game was moved, it now runs into direct conflict with the religious requirement for players, such as Kevin Youkilis of the Red Sox, team personnel and fans to be home by sundown," Weiner wrote. "In New York in particular, home of the largest Jewish community in America, the current scheduling of this game ensures that any observant Jew who purchased tickets will lose their money because they will be unable to attend due to religious reasons."

After the game was rescheduled, Weiner issued a statement lauding the decision.

"As a Mets fan, it's hard for me to celebrate any victory for the Yankees, but ESPN and the Commissioner of Major League Baseball did the right thing. New York is home to the largest Jewish population in the country and practicing your religion shouldn't conflict with rooting for your home team. I'm pleased with ESPN's decision to move the game to a time when Jews can attend and watch," Weiner wrote.

Jeffrey Gurock, the Libby M. Klaperman Professor of Jewish History at Yeshiva University and author of "Judaism's Encounter with American Sports," said that the amount of public protest against the game time reveals how comfortable American Jews have become.

"There's a sense [among] Jews of belonging, entitlement, and [a] role as consumers," Gurock said in an interview with The Jewish State.

Gurock said that sports teams frequently cancel games on Jewish holidays, or at least allow those Jewish players to take the day off for religious observance.

In an article published on the Yeshiva University Web site before MLB and ESPN rescheduled the game, Gurock criticized the game's timing and argued that the Jewish calendar should be respected in such "community-defining situations" as sports.

"What the predictable Jewish response represents is an assertion that they are so much part of this country that all concerned must take cognizance of that minority group's inviolable, if particular, religious clock and calendar," he wrote. "Sports activities, it has been said, are community-defining situations. Today's American Jews count themselves squarely within that line-up. Let the protests begin."

In an interview after the change had been made, Gurock said that the rescheduling of the Yankees-Red Sox game is a positive development, though not particularly unexpected or unprecedented.

"It speaks to the acceptance of Jews in the U.S.," Gurock said. "Sports are community-defining situations and Jews increasingly have defined themselves as within as opposed to without. It's always good to hear about this, but it's no surprise."