Yakov Springer was born in Poland in 1921. After World War

 II, Yakov studied at the Academy of Sports in Poland, and 

 married Rosa, his second wife. In 1957, Yakov made aliyah

 to Israel with his wife, son, and daughter, and coached 

 weightlifting. Yakov was a five time Olympic weightlifting 
 judge and instructor, and a beloved teacher at the Ramot
 High School in Bat Yam. He gave generously of his free time
 organizing sports clubs for the slum children in Jaffa, trying 
 to wipe out juvenile delinquency the best way he knew. 
 He was internationally respected as a weightlifting judge. 
 Yakov lost his entire family to the Germans in World War II.
 He was reluctant to attend the 1972 Olympics in Munich, but
 decided to go as an act of solidarity with his fellow Israelis.