By Raymond G. Hebert, Ph.D.
Thomas More University
(This is part of an irregular series on the sports athletes who went on to careers in their chosen sports fields.)
David Justice, after a brief baseball career at Thomas More College under legendary coach Jim Connor (1984 and 1985), went on to have a solid major league baseball career from 1989–2003 with the Atlanta Braves (through 1997) and then the Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, and Oakland Athletics.
Not insignificantly, his career included 5,625 at bats, 1,571 hits (including 305 home runs), 1,012 RBI’s, and a slugging percentage over .500. He was Rookie of the Year in 1990, a three-time All-Star, a two-time World Series participant, a two-time Silver Slugger, and even an ALCS Most Valuable Player. As noted in BaseballReference.com, he has a track record of postseason success, having played in several playoffs and World Series games, including “a home run to win the deciding game of one World Series and a go-ahead three-run homer to clinch a World Series berth in another.”
His Thomas More College baseball career is less well known. During his playing years of 1984 and 1985, the team struggled with a 15-13 overall record in 1984 and 14-23-1 in 1985. Dave, however, had a .368 batting average in 1984 and a .380 batting average in 1985. His totals, besides a .377 career batting average, included 138 at bats, 47 runs scored, 52 hits (12 doubles, 5 triples, and 6 home runs), 15 stolen bases, and 34 RBIs. Of his 6 home runs, it has been reported that one he hit totally out of the park at Xavier University’s field was the longest some of the observers had ever seen at that field.
Less known than his hitting prowess, often linked to his “perfect swing,” was his success as a pitcher at Thomas More with a 5-0 record in 1984 and a 3-2 in 1985. His combined 8-2 record included 67 1/3 innings pitched with 47 strikeouts, 35 earned runs, and an ERA of 4.68.
On several occasions, including recently when Justice was back in Northern Kentucky for a visit and agreed to give his former team a pre-game talk in April 2023, he shared an oft-told story about how he became involved with the baseball team in the first place, since he had come to TMC to play basketball. His high school, Covington Latin, did not have baseball as one of its offerings, but Justice was a basketball star there. As told by him, his least favorite part of basketball training was the off-season running expectation, particularly in the heat outdoors. So the option was to join the baseball team instead, also coached by Jim Connor. He had been an exceptional athlete and being 6’3” with a beautiful, natural swing, it seemed only a matter of time before he could display his potential.
In a recent article by Dan Weber about Justice’s path to the Atlanta Braves, Weber described a day in May 1985 when two local Braves scouts, Larry Grefer and Hep Cronin, came to watch Justice play in a doubleheader:
“All David did was go eight-for-twelve in the two games, hitting line drives in every direction. A preview of his major league career that saw him finish with 1,571 hits, 305 home runs, 1,017 RBIs, and with a .279 batting average.” (Dan Weber, “Dan Weber’s Just Sayin’: Justice Comes Home to Thomas More,” NKyTribune, April 13, 2023). The result was a fourth round draft pick, #94, by the Braves in 1985.
Significantly, in a special tribute to Justice (in a separate article also in the NKyTribune three days later), Weber told of how Justice had been brought back by Thomas More to talk to his former team on the Senior Day at the newly christened Thomas More Stadium in Florence, which hosts the Florence Y’alls Minor League Baseball team.
In Weber’s words: “as on the money as the decision the Atlanta Braves made 38 years ago in selecting David Justice in the fourth round of the MLB Draft, his alma mater may have matched it Saturday.”
The players loved having the opportunity to interact with Justice about baseball and all enjoyed having him sign memorabilia and souvenirs. The Thomas More community was thrilled to hear him say “You all don’t know how happy I am to be here . . . I haven’t been back to my alma mater since I signed in 1985 . . . You have no idea how many times I talked about Thomas More. I put Thomas More on the map with my major league teammates . . . I could talk all day.” Clearly, Thomas More University was honored to have him back as well (Don Weber, “David Justice plays the role of designated talker For Thomas More as well as he hit it back in the day,” NKyTribune, April 16, 2023).
The Society for American Baseball Research concludes its article about Justice by saying that after his baseball career, he worked as an ESPN broadcaster for two seasons, was an analyst for the Yankees’ YES network for a few years “before leaving the network in 2008 after the 2007 California wildfires destroyed his family’s home in San Diego County.” He had married the well-known actress, Halle Berry, on New Year’s Day 1993, but they divorced in 1997. Interestingly, as an example of the influence of such celebrity marriages on American culture “in 1993 Halle Berry was rated by People Magazine as one of the most beautiful people in the world and in 1994, Justice made the list” (John Ed Bradley, “Justice Prevails,” Sports Illustrated Vault).
In February 2001, David Justice married the CEO of Exotic Spices Calendars, Rebecca Villalobos. They have three children together: David Jr., Dionisio, and Raquel. They now reside in the San Diego area (“Where is David Justice Now 2023,” vimbuzz.com).
Back at Thomas More University, Justice’s Hall of Fame biographical sketch is much more basic, to match his special time there, when he was above all else a Coach Jim Connor protégé:
David Justice played three seasons at Thomas More and was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 4th round of the 1985 Major League Baseball draft following his junior year. Played 14 seasons in the major leagues, for the Braves, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, and Oakland Athletics. Justice was named the National League Rookie of the Year in 1990 following a season in which he had 124 hits, 78 RBI, 28 home runs, and 23 doubles. Justice was a three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger winner.
Clearly, David Justice, with his Covington Latin and Thomas More College roots, will always be remembered as belonging to Northern Kentucky first, despite his other successes. It meant a great deal back in April to hear that his memories of Thomas More mean just as much to him as they do to us.
Dr. Raymond G. Hebert is Professor of History and Executive Director of the William T. Robinson III Institute for Religious Liberty at Thomas More University. He is the leading author of Thomas More University at 100: Purpose, People, and Pathways to Student Success (2023). The book can be purchased by contacting the Thomas More University Bookstore at 859-344-3335. Dr. Hebert can be contacted at hebertr@thomasmore.edu.
We want to learn more about the history of your business, church, school, or organization in our region (Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and along the Ohio River). If you would like to share your rich history with others, please contact the editor of “Our Rich History,” Paul A. Tenkotte, at tenkottep@nku.edu. Paul A. Tenkotte, PhD is Professor of History at Northern Kentucky University (NKU) and the author of many books and articles.