Jeff Seidel Remembered as Consummate Sports Journalist and Adored Family Man

When it comes to sports reporting, there is the perception and there is the reality.

The perception is the image people often see when tuning in to ESPN. It is of a glamorous lifestyle where reporters have up-close views and access to the biggest stars in sports while being paid to attend the Super Bowl, the World Series, March Madness or other high-profile sporting events.

But the reality for most sports reporters is much different. That reality is of scribes sitting in stands on a Friday night during a high school football game. A reporter could also be standing under an umbrella hoping their notes don’t get wet while on the sidelines of a girls’ soccer game on a Tuesday night. Oftentimes, that reporter has to keep their own stats, racing back and forth between the winning and losing teams before dashing to their car to file the story before deadline.

Jeff Seidel had the opportunity to do both kinds of sports journalism and spent four decades writing the first draft of Baltimore sports history, from the Orioles and Ravens, to UMBC and Towson University, to high schools across the country.

Seidel was just as grateful to speak to a high school track star as he was interviewing Brooks Robinson or Ray Lewis. With the Ravens set to begin their 26th season and high schools slated to return to fulltime play following the pandemic, Seidel would typically be right there to find the big story.

Unfortunately, Jeff Seidel will not be in the press box, locker room or on the sidelines. The lifelong Pikesville resident passed away last Saturday, Aug. 28, from health complications following a five-year battle with colon cancer. He was 59.

Born Aug. 3, 1962, Seidel, a married father of two, earned a reputation as one of the hardest-working sports reporters in the Baltimore area. He had to be since he was a full-time freelance writer.

Over the past four decades, Seidel’s work appeared in everything from The Baltimore Sun to The Washington Post, Jmore, PressBox, Associated Press, Forbes, the Catholic Review, Rink Side, Lacrosse Magazine, the Baltimore Jewish Times, ESPN: The Magazine and NFL.com.

A 1980 graduate of Pikesville High School, Seidel’s passion for writing grew while attending the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He graduated from UMBC in 1984 with a political science degree.

Seidel was an editor at the university’s weekly newspaper, The Retriever. Jmore Editor-In-Chief Alan Feiler worked closely with Seidel at The Retriever, but their friendship began years earlier.

“I first met Jeff when we were 11 years old and in the same bunk at Camp Milldale, and we became instant friends. We were even at each other’s bar mitzvahs,” Feiler said. “Our mutual obsession with baseball brought us together, and Jeff never lost that passion for sports. It was always in his lifeblood. We also worked together as editors at The Retriever, and for decades after that. He wrote some wonderful stories for Jmore, and he had a great nose for news.

“Jeff was simply a wonderful character and journalist, and a genuine mentsch who had so much heart and soul and empathy for others. He truly cared about people and stood up for what he believed was right. He was there for many of us when we were down. I’m going to miss him a great deal, as I know a lot of people will. His passing is truly a tragedy for our community.”

A Passion for Mentoring

Camp Milldale and journalism provided the source of many of Seidel’s friendships. Rich Scherr was among those closest to him.

Scherr said Seidel was a friend and mentor to him since childhood.

“Jeff was my champion,” he said. “When I lacked direction in high school, he helped get me into journalism, allowing me to shadow him at the Jewish Times. He also helped open doors for me at The Baltimore Sun, where I started writing as a freelancer in 1990 and have been writing ever since. Whenever I had any issue in life, personal or professional, Jeff was there.

“I grew up across the street from Jeff in the Milbrook Park Apartments, and have basically known him since I was 6 when my mom asked him to keep an eye on me on the bus to Camp Milldale,” Scherr said. “He was basically my big brother [and] the best man at my wedding who I could always turn to for advice. That’s the kind of friend you just can’t replace.”

Seidel’s daughter, Kara, said she wants her father to be remembered as someone with a big heart, who was more excited about the accomplishments of those close to him than of his own achievements.

She also wants him to be remembered as someone who was always trying to encourage others to do their best in life.

“Anytime we were unsure about how we did in something … my dad always asked the same question: ‘Did you try your best? Then that’s all that matters.’ And if we didn’t, he’d say, ‘Then how are you going to fix it or make sure it doesn’t happen again?’ He had the biggest passion for mentoring others and teaching them.’”

Josh Smith was one of those mentored by Seidel. The longtime sports editor at The Frederick News-Post, Smith knew Seidel for close to 25 years, dating back to his time as a student at Towson University. He said Seidel helped open doors for him in the journalism field, and the two remained friends until Seidel’s passing.

“I can count on two fingers the professional mentors I’ve had in my career,” Smith said. “Jeff Seidel was number one. I met him in 1998 through my mother, who worked with his wife, Nadine. Jeff remembered picking me on The Sun’s All-Carroll County track team in 1996. At least that’s what he’d said, probably to make me — the nervous, hopeful sports journalist — more comfortable when we first talked.

“And, man, Jeff could talk. You never quite knew where he’d take a conversation, except that he was definitely going to ask you about you, about your life, your family, your well-being. He genuinely cared about all of those things.”

Smith said Seidel helped him get his first byline as a budding college writer.

“He guided me through the start of my career, sometimes with a gentle touch, occasionally with strong advice and always with humor. Jeff had all the answers. The guy had covered just about everything. And he wanted nothing more than to share his knowledge, to help me find my way, even though he was so busy chasing or working freelance jobs for any number of publications.

“I am forever indebted to that big guy who had an even larger heart. … He loved his job. He loved life. And we all loved him.”

Along with his many newspaper and wire service bylines, Seidel published several books, including two in recent years with fellow veteran freelance reporter Todd Karpovich.

“Skipper Supreme: Buck Showalter and the Baltimore Orioles” (Sports Publishing) examined how the Orioles overcame more than a decade of losing to reaching the American League Championship Series in 2014. “If These Walls Could Talk: The Baltimore Ravens” (Triumph Books) provided an inside look into the NFL franchise.

Seidel also wrote the books “Baltimore Orioles: Where Have You Gone?” (Sports Publishing), “Baseball’s Iron Man: Cal Ripken Jr.: A Tribute” (Sports Publishing) and “Tom Matte’s Tales from the Baltimore Ravens Sideline” (Sports Publishing).

“Whether he was covering a high school track meet or an Orioles game at Camden Yards, Jeff wrote well and did it with a smile,” said recently retired Associated Press sports reporter David Ginsburg. “His warm personality made him a favorite among his peers in the press box for decades. His skill and experience in journalism — along with his willingness to share those traits — enabled him to serve as a mentor to many young writers.

“Out of the athletic arena, Jeff was a wonderful husband, a caring parent and a good friend who coached my son in roller hockey at the Jewish Community Center,” Ginsburg said. “I’ll miss Jeff wishing me, ‘Good Shabbos,’ at Orioles and Ravens games, even when it wasn’t Saturday.”

Family Man

For all of his professional accomplishments, Seidel was most proud of his family. From his wife of 32 years, Nadine (nee Handwerger), to his son, Zach, and daughter, Kara, he was known to brag about them at every opportunity.

This was especially true in 2018 when Kara and Zach, both UMBC alumni like their parents, made headlines of their own.

First, Kara was named valedictorian of her graduating class. At about the same time, Zach, who is director of digital media for UMBC Athletics, gained international fame for his social media posts as the school’s men’s basketball team became the first No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed, with its historic upset over the University of Virginia in the NCAA Tournament.

“I will never forget how much pride he had in me when I was valedictorian,” Kara Seidel said. “I would catch him re-watching my speech at least once a week. He was also so proud of Zach and his Twitter fame. He saved the articles written about him so that he could re-read them.”

Seidel was offered full-time jobs at newspapers and other publications but opted to remain a freelancer, in large part to ensure he didn’t miss time with his family, especially as his children grew up in the Pikesville area.

“He never missed any of our events,” Kara Seidel said. “Our house was the central house for friends growing up. All of our friends just adored him and turned to him for advice. They would text him and chat about their lives.”

Even as Seidel battled cancer for much of the past five years, he was more concerned with his family’s wellbeing than his own medical issues.

“I had quite an array of health issues, and he worked so hard to make sure I could live a productive and successful life,” Kara Seidel said. “I was in the hospital in December 2019. I had gone to the ER and had acute colitis. He had to work 10 hours that day in Annapolis, but he came home when he was done, ate a quick dinner, then came to the hospital that was on the complete other side of town and sat with me for three hours, even though all I did was sleep, because he wanted to make sure I was OK.

“He saw my brother struggling with dealing with his cancer, and he worked so hard to make it a learning experience for him. Not because he wanted Zach to deal with his cancer in that moment, but he wanted to make sure that when Zach has a family, he can be there to support him.”

Kara Seidel said she wants people to remember her father as a determined person — determined to beat cancer and determined to live.

“He said he would never die in a hospital and he would never die in hospice,” she said. “The last day, he called us [from Rehabilitation Services at Levindale] and said, ‘I rode the exercise bike for 10 minutes. I want to do more but they don’t have any more open slots today. I am ready to do it, I am going to fight this cancer.’ He always said he would be fighting until that very last minute, and that’s what he did.”

Along with his wife and children, Seidel is survived by his mother, Elaine Goldman Seidel, and his sister, Sara Jane (Lenny) Armuth. He was predeceased by his father, Zane Seidel. Graveside services were held on Aug. 30 at B’nai Israel Cemetery in Northeast Baltimore.

Contributions in Jeff Seidel’s memory may be sent to Jewish Big Brother and Big Sister League, 5750 Park Heights Ave, Baltimore, Md. 21215.

In addition, a GoFundMe page has been set up to assist the Seidel family during this time. To make a donation, click here.

Ron Snyder is a Baltimore-based freelance writer who was friends with Jeff Seidel for more than 20 years.