The year was 1980, and Grayling Tobias began to see the writing on the wall.
A basketball and baseball standout at McCluer and the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Tobias was entering his third season of pro ball and was assigned to the Montgomery (Ala.) Rebels, an AA affiliate of the Detroit Tigers.
Tobias always had been good at both sports, but hadn't really caught the baseball bug until his days at UMSL, when he played on coach Jim Dix's 1977 team that finished third at the NCAA Division II College World Series.
"I wasn't one of those kids who dreamed of playing pro baseball as a kid," Tobias said. "But it was in my bloodlines, and by then I wanted to take it as far as I could."
But Tobias was aware the odds of a long professional baseball career were stacked against him. So he gave himself a deadline of three years to make it to the major leagues.
That spring, his baseball future took a U-turn when the Tigers released the speedy outfielder.
"The decision was pretty much made for me," said Tobias. "I knew it was time to move to Plan B."
Tobias' backup plan was a career in education. And he commited to that as completely as he once had to basketball and baseball.
"I've seen a lot of guys try and catch on as a free agent," Tobias said. "A lot of guys didn't have a plan B."
For Tobias, Plan B turned out to be exactly what he had hoped.
Tobias returned to St. Louis to coach baseball and basketball at Lindenwood University. From there, his career in education took off.
A health and physical education major, Tobias moved on to coach and teach at Parkway North. During the next decade, he climbed the professional ladder, holding teaching and administrative jobs at the high school and middle school levels in the Parkway and Riverview districts.
Today, Tobias, 55, is in his ninth year as assistant superintendent for learning in the Hazelwood School District.
"Education made a difference in my life," Tobias said. "And I wanted to make a difference in the lives of kids."
Tobias said many people made a difference in his. He grew up in north St. Louis, then moved to North County, where he starred at McCluer, leading the Comets to back-to-back state titles in basketball.
In 1974, playing for coach Larry Jacob, Tobias scored 17 points in a 57-48 game win against St. Louis Central in the state finals. The nex season, with Mark Bernsen heading the McCluer program, Tobias had 24 points as McCluer knocked off Sumner 71-66 to repeat as the Class 4A state champ.
"I was a 5-foot-11 guard, but was probably 6-3 with my afro," Tobias said, laughing. "It made me feel a lot taller."
Current McCluer athletics director Kurt Jacob, son of Larry Jacob, was a fifth-grader the year his dad's team won the title.
"The thing I remember the most about Grayling was how competitive he was," Kurt said. "He always made the big shot.
"The next year they won it, Grayling carried them. He had a very explosive first step and was very, very smart."
He may not have been the tallest player around, but Tobias was quicker than most. At UMSL, he finished with 911 career points, 20th on the school's all-time list.
"I probably got more accolades through basketball than anything else," Tobias said. "But I went the furthest with baseball."
A career .392 hitter at UMSL, Tobias also swiped 83 bases. He was inducted into the UMSL Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.
Tobias and his wife, Guen, live in west St. Louis County. They have two sons, Martin, 19, and Nicholas, 17. A soccer standout, Nicholas Tobias is a member of the St. Louis Scott Gallagher Metro Academy squad.
Tobias, the first African-American certified central office administrator in the Hazelwood district, is a member of the Herbert Hoover Girls and Boys Club ring of honor and a member of the St. Louis Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame. For the last four years has coached the Southwest Stars of the St. Louis Amateur Baseball Association (SLABA).
"It's an honor and a privilege to be associated with SLABA," said Tobias, who played for the American National Legion team. "I played for Jim Medlock, and he has a special place in my heart."
While he is proud of his considerable athletic achievements, Tobias is most passionate about his work as an educator.
"We're saving kids lives," he said. "There's a passion and a calling for educators. Custodians, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, my job is not any more important than theirs. They're the ones on the frontlines.
"My parents weren't rich. I had strong, supportive parents -- my dad worked for the U.S. Postal Service -- and they instilled the values of hard work, discipline and education. I've always remembered that."
And he is determined to pass it along.
