We find out more about Derek Jeter’s parents including father Dr Charles Jeter after the first episode of The Captain aired on ESPN.
Derek Jeter is a Yankees legend who was instrumental in the team’s success during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The five-time World Series champion and 14-time All-Star called time on his illustrious career eight years ago, and now there’s a docuseries chronicling his life and career.
New docuseries The Captain chronicles his life
The New York Post reports The Captain will: “Delve into topics such as how race impacted Jeter’s childhood and his journey from a kid with a dream to one of the greatest Yankees in franchise history.
“It will also show previously unseen footage of Jeter getting drafted and his time growing into a star.”
The series will air on ESPN and ESPN+ with the first episode releasing on Monday, July 17, then weekly on Thursdays for the next six weeks.
Derek Jeter’s parents
The Yankee icon was born on June 26, 1974 in Pequannock Township, New Jersey. Derek Jeter’s parents are mother Dorothy (née Connors), who has English, German and Irish ancestry, and father Sanderson Charles Jeter, who is African-American.
Derek is biracial and has often spoken out about injustices and racism he experienced in the past.
“When I grew up, at the time interracial marriage was not as common as it may be nowadays,” Jeter told ESPN’s Harold Reynolds (per Empire Sports Media). “Growing up, every time you went somewhere with just one of your parents, people would look at you and they’d wonder who’s this person you’re with? When you went out to eat or to a store with both parents, you really got some uncomfortable looks.
Jeter’s parents met while serving in the US Army in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1972. His parents, especially mother Dorothy, instilled a strong work ethic and positive attitude in Derek and famously told him he couldn’t use the word ‘can’t.’
Per ESPN: “Derek remembered: ‘We weren’t allowed to use the word can’t – ‘I can’t do this, can’t do that.’ My mom would say, ‘What? No.’ She’s always positive.”
Derek moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan, but spent summers with his grandparents in New Jersey. It was there where his love for the Yankees grew, often attending games with his grandparents.
More on Dr Charles Jeter, Derek’s father
After leaving the army, Derek’s mother went on to become an accountant, while his father Charles became a substance abuse counselor.
Derek Jeter’s father played baseball at Fisk University in Tennessee as a shortstop. He and the family eventually moved to Michigan so he could get his PhD in psychology at Western Michigan University
Derek spoke about his father in a 2004 Sports Illustrated article: “I always idolized my dad so I loved baseball too, but I spend my summers with my grandparents in West Milford and I always rooted for the Yankees.
“Once or twice a year, when the Yankees came to Detroit, we would make the two-and-a-half-hour drive to Tiger Stadium. On one of those trips, my father recalled I promised him I would play in that ballpark some day.”
Charles and Dorothy also have a daughter, Sharlee Jeter, who is Derek’s younger sister. She is president of the Turn 2 Foundation, a non-profit organisation established by Derek Jeter in 1996 to help young people reach their full potential by fostering leadership development, academic achievement, healthy lifestyles and social change.
Will you be watching the new Jeter documentary? Let us know in the comments what you think of it!
