Elyria football icon Ike Maxwell dies

Elyria football legend Ike Maxwell has died. Ethan West, the founder of the Elyria Black Legacy Connection and a friend of the family, said that Maxwell died on Tuesday. Maxwell was known throughout Lorain County as "Dynamite Ike" when he played as Elyria's star running back in the late 1960s and early '70s. He rewrote the Elyria High School record books and was named an allAAmerican as he led the team to an undefeated season in 1971. After his college football career sputtered and Maxwell returned to Elyria, his younger brother, Daryl Maxwell, was shot in the back and killed by a white Elyria police officer in 1975. Maxwell's life and his brother's killing were chronicled in the recently released documentary, "Dry Bones" by filmmaker and Elyria native Tara Conley. Maxwell had been unable to attend the Feb. 6 premiere. After his brother's killing, and after he was shot and beaten with a bat in two separate incidents, the trajectory of Maxwell's life changed, those who knew him told Conley. For years, several members of the community, including West, have been pushing for Maxwell to be inducted into the Elyria Sports Hall of Fame, but he has never been selected. In 2021, the city held an "Ike Maxwell Day" in Ely Square led by then-Mayor Frank Whitfield to provide what he and other organizers said was a long overdue display of gratitude for all Maxwell had done for Elyria. "Ike was just one of those iconic names that everybody knew throughout the generations," West said on Wednesday. "Ike had his own journey, like all of us have, and he brought a lot of good pride and spirit to the city of Elyria. His transition is a sad day for us, and a big loss for the city." The Black Legacy Connection and Conley have organized a GoFundMe drive to raise money to cover Maxwell's funeral expenses and support his family. Funeral arrangements were incomplete Wednesday evening. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.