Millions heard his broadcasts — in five-, 10- and 15-minute chunks — all over the New York and New Jersey region each week for over 30 years. Sportswriters like the New York Daily News’ Jimmy Powers respected him and Tigers commentator Ernie Harwell called him a friend. Without his radio broadcasts, the stories of the Negro Leagues and some of its finest players could have been lost to history.
And yet, for anyone without a media studies degree and an obsessive knowledge of sports or broadcast history, his own story has largely been forgotten.
His name was Sherman “Jocko” Maxwell, and he was the first Black sportscaster in radio history.
Tyrone Brooks, MLB’s senior director of front office and field staff diversity pipeline program, was given a shot to work in baseball when he was a 22-year-old. Now he’s trying to pay it forward.
With one brother (Christian) who played QB for the Jets and another (Brandon) who plays pro soccer, White Sox prospect Adam Hackenberg is looking to keep the legacy alive.
NL Rookie of the Year winner Michael Harris II burst onto the scene as soon as he arrivedwith the Braves in 2022. Here’s a window into his debut season.