Sherman Leander "Jocko" Maxwell (December 18, 1907 – July 16, 2008) was an American sportscaster and chronicler of Negro league baseball.

[1] Many veteran journalists of his day, including Sam Lacy of the Baltimore Afro-American, believed that Maxwell was the first African American sports broadcaster in history.

[5] His father was a journalist, one of the few black men of his era to rise to an editorial position at a predominantly white newspaper, The Star-Ledger.

[5] One day, Maxwell climbed a tree while watching a baseball game, in an attempt to catch a fly ball; someone yelled, "Hey, look at Jocko!"

[11] It is believed by many authors and historians of the radio era that Maxwell became the first African American sports reporter.

[14] He later hosted a sports report called, "Runs, Hits and Errors" on WRNY, a station based in Coytesville, New Jersey, which had a studio in Manhattan at the Roosevelt Hotel.

[15] Maxwell later became the public address sports announcer at Ruppert Stadium for the Negro leagues team the Newark Eagles.

[3] Maxwell also founded and managed the Newark Starlings, a mixed race, semi-professional baseball team.

[1] In the 1950s and 1960s, he wrote historical articles about the Negro Leagues; his work was syndicated in a number of black newspapers, thus keeping the players' names alive for a new generation.