(1904-1998)
Inducted into Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, 1985
Judge Saul Seidman was born in Hartford and graduated from Yale University in 1925 and Yale Law School in 1927. At Hartford High School, he excelled in high jump and broad jump competitions, equaling the world’s record in a 20-yard dash indoors. At Yale, he was a member of the freshman and varsity track teams. Later, as a member of the YMCA volleyball team, he helped them win the state championship.
Seidman was majority leader of the Hartford Board of Aldermen from 1935-37, then became judge of the City Police Court and Juvenile Court. During World War II he was OPA Price Administrator for the State of Connecticut. In 1960, Judge Seidman was appointed the U.S. Referee in Bankruptcy for the District of Connecticut and served in that capacity through 1979.
In the Jewish community, he served the Greater Hartford Jewish Community Center, Jewish Family Service, the Greater Hartford Jewish Federation, and was a founder of the Hall of Fame for Hartford Jewish Athletes. Nationally, Judge Seidman was a former Vice President of the Council of Jewish Federation and Welfare Funds and was a National Vice President of the United HIAS Service. He was a former member of the board of the Greater Hartford Community Chest, a president of the Hospital Council of Greater Hartford, a corporator of Mt. Sinai and St. Francis Hospitals in Hartford, a member of the Rotary Club of Hartford, and a lifelong member of Temple Beth Israel of West Hartford.