Sherman Maxwell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sherman Maxwell
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| Born | December 18, 1907 |
| Died | July 16, 2008 (aged 100) |
| Occupation | Sportscaster |
Sherman Leander "Jocko" Maxwell (born December 18, 1907 – died July 16, 2008) was an American sportscaster. He was also a historian of Negro league baseball, which was a professional baseball league for African Americans. Many people, including other journalists, believed that Maxwell was the first African American sports broadcaster ever. He was known by his nickname, Jocko, for most of his life. Even though he had a successful career in broadcasting for over 40 years, he was often not paid by the radio stations he worked for.
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Who Was Jocko Maxwell?
Sherman Leander Maxwell was born on December 18, 1907, in Newark, New Jersey. He lived there for most of his life. His parents, Bessie and William, named him after a famous Civil War general, William Tecumseh Sherman. His father was a journalist, which was rare for a Black man at that time. He even worked at a mostly white newspaper called The Star-Ledger.
Jocko went to Central High School in Newark. He loved baseball so much that he purposely failed his final exams one year. He did this just so he could stay in high school for another year and play on the baseball team! He wanted to go to college, but the school he chose, Panzer College, did not accept Black students.
How Did Jocko Get His Nickname?
Sherman got his nickname "Jocko" when he was a teenager. He loved baseball from a young age, but he didn't think he was good enough to play professionally. One day, he climbed a tree to watch a baseball game. He was trying to catch a fly ball. Someone watching yelled, "Hey, look at Jocko!" At that time, "Jocko The Monkey" was a popular character in movies from the 1920s. The nickname stuck with him.
Maxwell later served in the United States Army during World War II in Europe. He was part of the Army Special Service Department, which entertained soldiers. He served until 1945. Before going overseas, he married his girlfriend, Mamie Bryant, in June 1943. They had two children, a son and a daughter.
Jocko's Sports Broadcasting Career
Maxwell started his broadcasting career in 1929 when he was 22 years old. He began doing a five-minute weekly sports report on WNJR, a radio station in Newark. WNJR was known as the "voice of Newark" in the 1920s. Many experts believe Maxwell was the first African American sports reporter. In the 1930s and early 1940s, Black newspapers often said he was the only Black sportscaster on radio, especially in the East or in big cities.
Maxwell broadcasted on stations all over northern New Jersey and was also heard in New York City starting in the early 1930s. He was a sports commentator at station WHOM in Jersey City. There, he hosted a show called "Sport Hi Lites." He also reported on local teams. Later, he hosted "Runs, Hits and Errors" on WRNY. This station had a studio in Manhattan. His reports grew to include interviews with Negro league baseball players.
In 1938, he joined station WWRL. His program, "Five Star Sports Final," became very popular. On this show, he interviewed famous sports stars like Hank Greenberg and Sid Luckman. By 1942, he became the station's sports director.
Maxwell also became the public address sports announcer at Ruppert Stadium. This was for the Negro leagues team, the Newark Eagles. He first announced games only on Sundays. Maxwell continued broadcasting for both games and radio stations until 1967.
Other Contributions to Sports
Maxwell also started and managed the Newark Starlings. This was a semi-professional baseball team with players of different races. He also wrote for Baseball Digest, where he discussed topics like the integration of baseball and Jackie Robinson. In 1940, Maxwell wrote a book of interviews with players called Thrills and Spills in Sports. He also wrote stories about the Newark Eagles for the Ledger newspaper in Newark, which later became The Star-Ledger. In the 1950s and 1960s, he wrote historical articles about the Negro Leagues. His work was published in many Black newspapers, helping new generations learn about these players.
He was honored and inducted into the Newark Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994. In 2001, Maxwell visited the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. He was 93 years old, and it was a lifelong dream for him. However, he was not inducted into the Hall of Fame during his lifetime.
Jocko Maxwell's Final Years
Sherman Maxwell passed away on July 16, 2008, at Chester County Hospital in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He was 100 years old. He died from problems related to pneumonia. He was survived by his sister, Berenice Maxwell Cross, and his son, Bruce Maxwell. His wife, Mamie, and daughter, Lisa, had passed away before him.
After Maxwell's death, Bob Kendrick, who worked for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Missouri, said something important. He mentioned that Negro league players knew Maxwell well. They knew him as someone who saved records and scores that would have been lost forever without his efforts.
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Sherman Maxwell, a pioneering sportscaster.
