Lee Jordan

Lee Jordan became one of the most influential figures in Takoma Park history through his work with young people, his service at Parker Memorial Baptist Church, and his leadership in the Ritchie Citizens Association. Raised on Ritchie Avenue, he was a talented baseball catcher who spent a short time in the Negro Baseball League before returning to Takoma Park in 1937 to work as a custodian at the then all-white Montgomery Blair High School. He began coaching basketball there on Saturdays, mentoring boys who had been caught by police breaking into the school gym, and over the years built a broad athletic program in baseball, basketball, and football for generations of boys and girls, black and white. Known as Mr. Lee, he picked children up at their homes in his station wagon, often taking twenty at a time to practices and games, and police often sought his help as many teenagers avoided criminal records by joining his teams. The Boys and Girls Club he founded was the first racially integrated one in Montgomery County, his baseball teams were pioneers in integration and won the county league championship in their first season despite abuse from spectators, and the first girl to play in the league was on one of his teams and hit a home run in her first game. His poise and good humor as a trailblazer were recognized as a primary factor in the peaceful integration of Takoma Park schools in 1955 after the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision. The field at Takoma Park Middle School, where he later worked in custodial service, was named in his honor in 1981, and he was inducted posthumously into the Montgomery County Human Rights Hall of Fame in 2006.

Takoma Park, Maryland · United States