Famous Voits: Jimmy Foit

Jimmy Foit was a 6-1, 192 lb. shortstop who played baseball for Mount St. Joseph High School in Baltimore, Maryland and college ball for Virginia Tech.  He was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 26th round of the 1982 Major League Baseball June amateur draft.  He played five years of minor league ball with the Rangers.  But that's not why Jimmy Foit is famous.

Jimmy Foit's fame goes back to 1978, the year the Baltimore News American picked the paper’s high school All-Metro baseball team. Ripken was a three-sport standout out at Aberdeen High School.  Jimmy Foit was the star shortstop for Hal Sparks’ powerful Mount St. Joseph team, which played in the Maryland Scholastic Association A Conference — the best in those days. Ripken dominated his competition as a shortstop and pitcher, but The News American gave the edge to Foit. Ripken made second team, as a pitcher.

At least one Ripken, Cal Sr., expressed his displeasure with the choice. “He chewed out one of our Oriole writers,” recalled Mike Marlow, who worked at The News American back in the day and was still thankful he didn’t have to field Cal Sr.'s call.

Jim Foit is a descendant of the Baltimore Foit family.  They are a different family from the Baltimore Voits that the New York Yankees' Luke Voit descends from.  Here is the genealogy for the Baltimore Foits:

1 Valentine Bernard Foit (1845-1918)

+ Barbara

     2 Andrew Bernard Foit (1883-1946)

     + Levina Starkey

          3 James Bernard Foit Sr. (1905-1983)

          + Marie Murphy

               4 James Bernard Foit Jr. (1933-2020)

               + Living

I think this family was originally from the town of Breisach am Rhein in the Baden region of Germany, however, the 1900 census for Baltimore shows Valentine Foit as being born in Pennsylvania.  

DNA testing should confirm any relationship to other Voit families, therefore I would like to add Foit descendants of this family to a Voit DNA project.  If you are a Foit descendant and interested in such a project please contact me to join.