Northwest Baltimore resident Jeffrey Ira Amdur was a genuine renaissance man who had three primary passions in life: education, sports and … Millard Fillmore.
“To those of you who cavalierly ask, ‘Why Millard Fillmore?’ I respond, ‘Why not Millard Fillmore?’” Amdur wrote in a whimsical 2019 Jmore tribute to the 19th-century statesman known as the “Rodney Dangerfield of U.S. presidents” on the occasion of his 219th birthday.
But aside from his tongue-in-cheek role as co-founder of the “Students Committee for the Glorification of Millard Fillmore,” Amdur — who lost his battle to cancer last September at age 74 — was particularly passionate about the Baltimore Orioles throughout his life.
In the Baltimore native’s memory, his family and friends are hosting a “Jeff Amdur Day at Orioles Park at Camden Yards” fundraiser for the Orioles’ game against the Kansas City Royals on Sunday afternoon, May 4, to raise money for the nonprofit Stand Up to Cancer.
“Baseball, and especially the Orioles, were Jeff’s first love in sports — yes, even more than Clippers/Skipjacks AHL hockey or professional wrestling,” said Amdur’s sister, Marlene Ferguson. “Jeff was a stalwart member of the old ‘Section 34 Rowdies’ from the Memorial Stadium days … As the group has done in past years to honor the memory of [the late Orioles superfan] Wild Bill Hagy, they wish to pay tribute to Jeff’s memory — and to contribute to Stand Up to Cancer, MLB’s cancer charity. Renal cancer took Jeff’s life far too soon.”
For more than three decades, Amdur taught in the Anne Arundel County Public Schools system. For the last 20 years of his life, Amdur, who belonged to Chevrei Tzedek Congregation, served as a beloved part-time teacher and assistant librarian at Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community High School in Pikesville.
In addition, he worked as a sports announcer for the Baltimore Clippers, Skipjacks and at professional wrestling matches, as well as an announcer and scoreboard operator at Beth Tfiloh and Anne Arundel games.
“You don’t know how people will impact your life,” wrote Beth Tfiloh student Noah Abramowitz at the time of Amdur’s passing. “Your high school librarian is probably someone you think won’t. How wrong you’d be.
“Jeff Amdur was not just a person to file books, check systems, and give you a talking to if something was past due. He was a man with a breadth of knowledge and a booming voice,” he wrote. “[He was] a man with a heart for sports, language, and for his students. And yes, maybe the only lessons he taught me and others happened in the two or three minutes you’d spend talking to him between classes or in looking for a specific title, but those lessons meant something. You can’t teach being a mensch in a classroom … Mr. Amdur was that kind of soul you just don’t think the world could manage without, but I guess we’ll have to.”
Friends and family members who organized “Jeff Amdur Day” note that $5 from each $18 ticket ordered through their group will be donated to Stand Up to Cancer. For those who cannot attend the game, they ask for tickets to still be purchased to be donated to Special Olympics athletes.
They also encourage attendees to bring kazoos, clipboards and scoresheets to the game in Amdur’s memory. “He was a treasure loved my many and is greatly missed,” posted his longtime friend Glenn Carr, who helped organize the May 4th tribute.
Payment is accepted via Venmo (Glenn-Carr-53) or Zelle. For information, visit facebook.com/events/986043342941155
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