A flair for the dramatic characterized Joe Bostic's approach to his professional endeavors. As a sports announcer, radio broadcaster, journalist, socialite, and educator, Bostic was never demure. The hallmark of Bostic's attitude was his refusal to be intimidated--by his peers, by social standards, and especially not by organized crime or even by the so-called Mahatma of baseball, Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey. Bostic was confident of his abilities and aspired to positions few men of color had held before him, and he did so without worrying about his reputation from either the black or white communities. It is perhaps his audacity as a sportswriter that overshadows all his other accomplishments, though his sportswriting career was the shortest-lived of all.

Joseph William Bostic was born in Mt. Holly, New Jersey, on 21 March 1908 to Lawrence and Lillian Eldridge Bostic. His parents helped their son attain something that most sportswriters--or...