John Hardin Oldham

John Hardin Oldham, age 91, of San Jose, California passed away on Saturday, February 24, 2024.

John Oldham made a name for himself as a winning and much-loved baseball coach at the high school, junior college, and college levels. He is one of the finest baseball players and most successful coaches to come from San Jose, California. Baseball and family were most important to him, he cherished his time with both.

John Oldham was born in 1932, his father, Frank, was 24 and his mother, Irma, was 23. He was born in Gilroy, California. Oldham lived in Salinas and Vallejo as a child before his family settled in Santa Cruz, California where he began to play sandlot baseball. He did not play organized baseball until his family moved to Campbell in the late 1940s. There he became a standout player at Campbell High School, where he pitched on the varsity squad for four years. After being named the top player in the 1950 North-South Prep All-Star Game, he went on to pitch for the Spartans of San Jose State University on a scholarship. Oldham was a three-year letter winner, from 1952 through 1954. A member of the school's Hall of Fame, Oldham still holds the Spartans' career and single-season records for strikeouts and walks; he also ranks among the school's top ten for career wins, and career and single-season innings pitched. In the off-season he played for the Humboldt Crabs and was the first player from the organization to enter the Major Leagues.

Oldham was signed by the Cincinnati Reds out of San Jose State in 1954 as a pitcher. He spent that season with the minor league Columbia Reds of the South Atlantic League. In 1955, he pitched for the Seattle Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League, and in 1956, the Cincinnati Reds called Oldham up to the major leagues. Oldham batted right and threw left-handed, which was itself unusual: (about 3% of all MLB players) hit right and threw left. Oldham left the Cincinnati Reds in 1958 after an injury to begin a long career of teaching, coaching, and mentoring.

Oldham first made his transition into a career of coaching at Campbell High School, and later to Westmont High School, where he led his teams to championships during most of the seven years he coached. In 1966 Oldham transferred to San Jose City College where he coached and taught classes for the next 18 years and led his teams to 390 wins and five conference titles. Oldham’s next opportunity came in 1985 with the Broncos of Santa Clara University, where he spent the next 12 years leading the team to four NCAA appearances and three West Coast Conference championships. After Oldham ‘retired’ in 1997, he accepted an invitation to coach the San Jose Spitfires, a professional ladies baseball team, and won the league championship that same year. When the program folded mid-season the following year, Oldham was hired by the California League where he spent the next few years supervising and managing the minor leagues umpires. During that same time, and over the course of the next 20 years, Oldham selflessly volunteered his time coaching at Leigh, Los Gatos, and Leland high schools and West Valley and Santa Clara colleges, helping lead teams to numerous championships. Along the way he mentored countless youth athletes, some of whom have also now played professional baseball and have since started coaching careers of their own. Oldham was inducted into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 as one of the most respected baseball coaches and players of his time.

Oldham’s surviving family members are his beloved wife Maryann Oldham, whom he often called a Saint (and she is), his 3 daughters Terryl McFarland, Kilene Lewis, and Cindy Oldham. Son in Law Jim McFarland, grandchildren Jason and his wife Heather McFarland, Blake and his wife Jessica McFarland, Brodie and Brett Lewis, and Dakota and Haley Griffiths. Oldham is also survived by his great grandchildren Harper, Miles, and Coby McFarland.

Oldham will be remembered by many as a great coach and mentor with a quick wit and sharp mind. To his family, he will always be Dad, Big Thunder, Papa, Scary ha ha, the storyteller and magic man, the patriarch. We know he is watching over us all and enjoying our laughter as always.

John Oldham Memories

ON MAKING A BAD DECISION:

“Someone told me that when I get my contract, don’t sign it—just send it back because they always try to low-ball rookies. I didn’t know any better, so I sent it back. I wasn’t aware of the fact that the Reds GM was Gabe Paul, who was known for being tough and cheap. A few weeks later, I got a letter from Paul and he said, ‘I’ve never been so insulted in all my life. You’re sold to Seattle!’ Oops. The lesson is don’t take bad advice.”

ON ANOTHER SHOT AT THE MAJORS:

“The Reds were pleased with my performance in Seattle, so Cincinnati repurchased my contract at the end of the 1955 season and signed me to a contract in excess of $5,000. Back in those days, if you signed a contract for more than $4,000, they had to carry you on their 25-man roster and that’s why I was with the big team in 1956.”

BUT THEN THE MILITARY CALLED:

“Right in the middle of Spring Training, I got a draft notice and I had to report to San Francisco to be inducted into the Navy, and then I was sent to San Diego. I got to play baseball and it was great, and before the season was over, I got released by the Navy on a medical discharge and rejoined The Reds.”

ON THE BENEFITS OF HAVING A GORGEOUS WIFE:

“While I was at San Jose State University, I kept hearing about this beautiful girl named Maryann. The guys would hang out on the quad waiting for her to walk by and everyone went crazy. When I first saw her, I said wow—she looks like a Hollywood star—she is amazing! Well, I ended up marrying her while I was in the Navy and we’ve been married now for more than 60 years. Having an attractive wife has its advantages. When we were looking for a place to live in San Diego, this one manager said he had no vacancies, but then when he saw Maryann, he quickly changed his tune. One day, I came home and the apartment had new drapes and a new refrigerator, and I knew he wasn’t doing it for me!”

ON HOW IT ALL ENDED IN VISALIA:

“It was 1960, and my arm was done. I was married and had a kid, so I had to make a business decision. I walked out of that ballpark and saw my wife and my child sitting in the car and I said, ‘This is it, we’re going home’. I got my teaching credential and when I got home, I discovered that Campbell High School had an opening and they hired me. In five years at Campbell High, we won the league four times and finished second once. My best player during that time was Craig Morton, who went on to be a star quarterback for Cal, the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos.”

ON COACHING JUNIOR COLLEGE KIDS:

“I got hired at San Jose City College, and I took that team to five conference championships in 18 years and produced four Major Leaguers—David Stieb, Jack Pierce, Randy Kramer, and Dave Righetti.”

ON COACHING DIVISION ONE:

“After a few false starts, I finally got the job at Santa Clara University, where we won four conference crowns and produced four more big leaguers—Randy Winn, Mike McFarlane, Greg Gohr, and Ed Giovanola. We never made it to the College World Series, but I was there for 13 seasons and I loved it.”

ON THE HALL OF FAME

It wasn’t uncommon for Bert Bonanno to stop by John Oldham’s office at San Jose City College to share a story or two, catch up on the events of the day or just to say good morning. After all, both were successful coaches for the Jaguars — Bonanno in track and field and Oldham on the baseball diamond.

Bonanno called Oldham to say that he wanted to stop by for a visit, after the two had long since retired from their San Jose City College careers. “Bert called and said he wanted to stop by my office,” said Oldham. “He sounded so serious I looked outside to make sure that all the buildings weren’t falling down.”

They weren’t. It wasn’t bad news that Bonanno wanted to share with his old friend. It was good news … very good news.

Bonanno stopped by to tell Oldham that he would be among the four inductees into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame.

“I was very surprised,” said Oldham, who will inducted along with legendary Stanford tennis coach Dick Gould, former Olympian Margaret Jenkins and sports executive George Gund III at a November dinner ceremony at the HP Pavilion.

It was appropriate that Bonanno delivered the good news to his friend. A year ago, the legendary track coach was himself a Hall of Fame inductee.

“I’ve been to some of those induction ceremonies before. I’ve looked at those people and I’ve been in awe of them,” said Oldham. “This is very humbling.”

Oldham, a member of the 14th class of inductees, now joins the 66 other San Jose Sports Hall of Fame members recognized with bronze plaques that are on display on the concourse at HP Pavilion.