Touchdown, Gamble!

The former NFL player turned Baltimore County teacher scores wins off the field.

- Suzanne Loudermilk

When asked if he considers himself a superhero, former NFL player Joel Gamble laughs and says no. But he’s written a comic book featuring himself as a larger-than-life champion of kids who dons a magical jersey, fights bullies, and goes after urban villains such as gentrification and food deserts. He may not think so, but, in the eyes of many, he’s as close to a real-life superhero as it gets. At 6-foot-2, 257 pounds, with 18 percent body fat, the West Baltimore native is a commanding figure with a sculpted bodybuilder’s physique and a magnetic smile. It’s no wonder he’s so respected by the students and faculty at Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts in Dundalk, where he is on staff as a special-education teacher.

And when he’s not teaching (or writing comic books), the 37-year-old Gamble—who was a two way player at the city’s Carver Vocational-Technical High School before going on to play tight end and fullback in the pros—runs The Joel Gamble Foundation to help boys and girls develop athletic ability and social skills. “It’s a passion of mine, helping youth be more successful,” he explains.

He wrote his comic-book series, The Justice Duo, with Tavon Mason, another former NFL player. Gamble doesn’t want to share too many details from the yet-to-be-published work. But he says the Black Panther movie inspired him to pursue the project after he saw the impact of the billion-dollar box-office blockbuster on Black youth. “Kids need positive role models of color,” he says. “Growing up, we didn’t always see it.”