By Sonya Hollins, editor
editor@comvoicesonline.com
ROCKVILLE (MD)-In 1952 Joe Black’s position in sports history would have put any other player on top of the world. He was one of the most famous pitchers in baseball; having carried the Dodgers to the World Series in a win against the New York Yankees.
While many know of Jackie Robinson as the first African American to play in the major leagues, little know of Black, who was the first African American to win a World Series game.
However, while Black’s baseball status was moving him into history, his mother still worked cleaning white people’s houses, and his brother worked hard in a factory in the poorest part of Plainfield, New Jersey.
“Joe knew those accolades were temporary. He saw the reality of what was going on around him and came back to his hometown to make a difference in the lives of kids,” said Steven Michael Selzer, author of, Meet the Real Joe Black:An Inspiring Life-Baseball, Teaching, Business, Giving. Selzer, a former student, player and friend of Blacks, tributes the man he said was an inspiration in baseball, education, business and philanthropy.
The book, released this year, is an informative and educational journey through the life of Black whose humility and leadership were admired by those in the sports, education and business world. Selzer’s relationship with Black began when he was a child. He was just five-years old when Black won Rookie of the Year and had roomed during games with Jackie Robinson during their years on the team together. However, it was when Black left baseball that Selzer began to know the real man.
It was during his first day of school at Hubbard Junior High School that Selzer walked into the class and saw Black who had recently left the Brooklyn Dodgers.
“We knew who he was, knew he pitched,” Selzer said. “He stood in front of the class in this beautiful suit and one kid walked in and said, ‘Hi Joe.’ Joe said to the student, ‘last year when I was a ball player, you could have called me, Joe. But this year I’m your teacher and it’s Mr. Black,’ and he pointed to the board where he had written, Mr. Black. After that, that’s what we called him, or coach. He taught us the importance of respect.”
Selzer, who has been a practicing attorney for more than 30 years, said Black never sought fame. He said while Black was offered jobs after his baseball career that paid three-times a teacher’s salary, Black told Selzer he didn’t want jobs where he was viewed as a token.
After years under Black’s tutelage as a student, coach and mentee throughout his life, Joe shared what Selzer called, “Pearls of Wisdom,” about life, and everyone wanted to hear them. “(Joe) didn’t seek fame,” said Selzer. “He sought to live a life of helping others.”
Black died in 2002 after a 45-year friendship with Selzer. During Black’s memorial service Selzer provided the memorial address which he said received a standing ovation from a crowd of family, former co-workers of Black during his years as a vice president at Greyhound, and major league baseball players.
During the event, Selzer also met the famed comedian and actor, Bill Cosby who said Black was like a brother to him. It was Cosby who offered to write the forward to Selzer’s book.
In the book Cosby says, “A friendship with a man like Joe Black is not measured in terms of money, or the discounts he gave me to ride the Greyhound bus, or the boxes we would sit in for Major League Baseball games, or how often we would go down to Morgan State University and hang out with professors and faculty. A friendship with a man like Joe Black is measured in emotion.”
Selzer said writing about Black was an honor. He said the city of Plainfield, NJ will honor Black this month with a special ceremony. Selzer said Black reminded him of his own father, the late Nathan Selzer.
Selzer said his father owned an auto garage next door to Joe Black’s family when Black was a child. While Selzer’s father never told him, it was Black who said how valuable Nathan was in his life.
“Years after I’d become great friends with Joe and after my father died, he told me that my father threw him a baseball one day while he was playing in the yard,” Selzer said. “Joe said he slept with that baseball for months after that—it was his first ball. Writing this book was an honor; I feel really lucky.”
Meet the Real Joe Black, is not the first book of Selzer’s. He also has written Life’s Little Relaxation Book, and By George! Mr. Washington’s Guide for Civility Today. He currently lives in Rockville, MD with his wife, Adrianne and has two grown sons, Ethan and Elliott. His self-published book, Meet the Real Joe Black, is available at www.MeettheRealJoeBlack.com .
