Sam Massell

1927 - 2022

MASSELL, Sam

Sam Massell, Atlanta mayor who guided the city's transition from white to Black government, dies at 94.

Iconic Atlanta political and business leader Sam Massell passed away peacefully in his sleep in the early morning hours of Sunday, March 13, 2022.

Massell will be chiefly remembered for his 1970-1974 mayoralty.

In his single term, the Black population in Atlanta surpassed the white population for the first time. Massell adroitly managed the city toward its future – he was the last white mayor of Atlanta – awarding groundbreaking appointments to Black and female administrators at a time when such progressive moves were rare.

"Mayor Massell doesn't get nearly the credit he earned and deserves for steering us through the transformation of Atlanta from an all-white government to Black control," wrote former Ambassador to the United Nations, U.S. Congressman, and Mayor of Atlanta Andrew Young in a foreword to Massell's 2017 history, Play It Again, Sam: The Notable Life of Atlanta's First Minority Mayor.

"I don't know of any other city in America that experienced such a magnitude of change in such a short period of time … and that accomplished it peacefully and to the benefit of the greater good," Young added.

As mayor, Massell also championed the creation of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA). In one of many colorful moments from his career, Massell lobbied potential voters for MARTA by famously hovering over snarled Atlanta traffic in a helicopter, announcing through a bullhorn to astonished motorists, "You wouldn't be in this mess if we had mass transit!"

One of Atlanta's most influential public servants, Massell served 22 years in elected offices, first running for president of Atlanta's Board of Aldermen (now Atlanta City Council) in 1961. In winning that election, he became the first Jew to lead a city council in a major city in the South. When, at age 42, he won the mayor's office in the 1969 election, he not only became the first Jewish mayor of a major Southern city … and one of only a few Jewish mayors nationally … but also the youngest mayor in Atlanta's history.

Massell was an enterprising citizen from his early years. He set up his visionary version of a lemonade stand when he was 9, gradually expanding it to sell sundries and Coca-Cola. It became such a success, sprawled across an empty lot in the Druid Hills subdivision where Massell grew up, that two policemen arrived to shut him down for operating a business without a license. (Sam suspected they'd been dispatched by jealous local merchants.)

"These officers got out of their car, and I saw a shiny dime," Sam said. "Then, all of a sudden, my whole business was going down the drain."

Massell took up real estate during and after the acquisition of degrees from three separate universities, University of Georgia, Georgia State University, and Atlanta Law School. (His scholastic career was interrupted by military service near the end of World War II.) In 20 years as a Realtor became financially independent, largely by pioneering medical office complexes that located multiple specialists in a single location. That success allowed him to enter politics free of the temptation to offer or withhold political favors, a reason he often cited for his reputation for integrity and for his success in city government.

Massell left politics after losing the 1973 mayoral election to Maynard Jackson, Atlanta's first Black mayor.

Exploring what to do next, he scissored from the yellow-page listings in a telephone book all the jobs that looked interesting. He settled on travel (his second choice was florist), and he made his agency, Your Travel Agent Sam Massell, known with innovative practices and packages. (As an example, his in-bound travel business was the only one in Atlanta that had a partnership arrangement with Delta Air Lines.) Massell himself visited more than 100 countries during the 13 years he ran his agency.

In 1988, he founded and became first president of Buckhead Coalition, a group of 100 businesses dedicated to the quality-of-life improvement of Buckhead, Atlanta's most prosperous suburb. Massell led branding efforts that made the name Buckhead a synonym nationally and abroad for upscale life. Massell served with the coalition for 32 years, retiring in 2020. At age 90, he still went into the office seven days a week. During his long tenure, Atlantans privately … and respectfully … referred to Massell as the Mayor of Buckhead.

Massell took tremendous pride in all of Atlanta, and his accomplishments brought renown to the city.

As mayor, he structured development of the city's first enclosed arena, the Omni, without using taxpayer money.

The development of MARTA created a boom in downtown hotel space … a determining factor 20 years later in winning Atlanta the 1996 Olympic Games.

In 1970, Massell worked with State Senator Leroy Johnson to allow Muhammed Ali to stage a comeback fight in Atlanta. Ali had been banned from fighting, stripped of his titles, and given a prison sentence for refusing to obey a 1967 draft notice. In Atlanta, Ali defeated Jerry Quarry in a technical knockout after three rounds.

Massell was preceded in death by his first wife, Doris Middlebrooks Massell, from Hogansville, Georgia; and is survived by their three children, Cindy, Steve, Melanie, and three grandchildren, Dylan, Graham, and Isabel Massell.

Massell's beloved companion in his final years was Sandra Gordy Massell, whom he married in 2016. The couple spent time enjoying a happy hour every evening – Massell preferred Bloody Marys – and watching reruns of a favorite TV show, Hogan's Heroes.

Massell dedicated his 2017 history to Sandra, writing these words:

Thank you, Sandra, for serving such an important part of this story of my life. I love you.

Services for the Hon. Sam Massell will be held on Wednesday, March 16, 3 PM at The Temple, 1589 Peachtree St. NE. A private burial will follow with the immediate family at Oakland Cemetery. The family wishes to thank so many for the outpouring of support and condolences. Funeral arrangements are being handled by H.M. Patterson Funeral Home – Oglethorpe Hill. In lieu of flowers, a contribution can be made to Historic Oakland Cemetery Foundation, honoring Mayor Sam Massell.