John Edward Altobelli (May 8, 1963 – January 26, 2020) was an American

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

who worked for 27 seasons at

Orange Coast College Orange Coast College (OCC) is a Public college, public community college in Costa Mesa, California, Costa Mesa in Orange County, California. It was founded in 1947, with its first classes opening in the fall of 1948. It provides Associate of Ar ...

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish language, Spanish for "coastal tableland") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including ...

. During his career, he led the Pirates to four California state junior college titles and in 2019 was named National Coach of the Year by the

American Baseball Coaches Association The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) is the world's largest Amateur baseball in the United States, amateur baseball Manager (baseball), coaching organization. It was founded in 1945 as the American Association of College Baseball Coach ...

. In January 2020, Altobelli, along with his wife Keri and daughter Alyssa, died in a helicopter crash in

Calabasas, California Calabasas (, ; Spanish language in California, Spanish for "winter squash, squashes") is a city in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States.Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 20-year career with t ...

Early life and education

Altobelli was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, on May 8, 1963. He was the sixth of seven children. His father, Jim Altobelli, was a

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

player. Altobelli graduated from

Newport Harbor High School Newport Harbor High School is a public high school in Newport Beach, California, Newport Beach, in Orange County, California, in the United States. It is part of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. The school primarily serves students in we ...

Newport Beach, California Newport Beach is a coastal city of about 85,000 in southern Orange County, California, United States. Located about southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach is known for its sandy beaches. The city's harbor once supported maritime indu ...

. He enrolled at

Golden West College Golden West College (GWC) is a public community college in Huntington Beach, California. Organization GWC is a public community college located in Huntington Beach, California. Together with Orange Coast College, and Coastline Community Colleg ...

, where he played

for the Golden West Rustlers as an outfielder. He transferred to the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

, where he finished his college baseball career with the

Houston Cougars The Houston Cougars are the athletic teams representing the University of Houston. Informally, the Houston Cougars have also been referred to as the Coogs, UH, or simply Houston. Houston's nickname was suggested by early physical education inst ...

from 1984 to 1985 and was a captain on the baseball team. In 1984, his junior season, Altobelli led the Cougars in

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(34),

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted bal ...

(47), and

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

(three). He shared leads in doubles (14) and

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s (eight). As a senior in 1985, Altobelli had a single-season record 57 walks and led the team in runs scored (68) and stolen bases (13). After his senior season, Altobelli played briefly in the 1985 season for the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

of the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

, which at that time was an independent full-season Class A team. Altobelli returned to school after playing only 15 games. He graduated from the University of Houston with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

in 1987. In 1988, he earned his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in education from

Azusa Pacific University Azusa Pacific University (APU) is a private evangelical research university in Azusa, California, United States. The university was founded in 1899 in Whittier, California, with classes first held on March 3, 1900, and degrees offered in 193 ...

Coaching career

Altobelli began his coaching career in 1986 as junior varsity coach at Newport Harbor High School. In 1987, he returned to Houston as an assistant

baseball coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decision ...

. From 1988 to 1992, Altobelli was an assistant coach at

UC Irvine UC may refer to: Education In the United States * University of California system * University of Charleston, West Virginia * University of Chicago, Illinois * University of Cincinnati, Ohio * Upsala College, East Orange, New Jersey (''defunct ...

under Mike Gerakos. Two months after UC Irvine cut its baseball team for budgetary reasons, Altobelli became head coach at

in July 1992. Altobelli led the Orange Coast Pirates to state championships in 2009, 2014, 2015, and 2019. He won his 700th career game in 2019. He was named National Coach of the Year for the Pacific Association Division by the

in 2019. In 27 seasons as Orange Coast head coach, Altobelli had a cumulative 705–478–4 record. For three summer seasons between 2012 and 2014, Altobelli served as head coach for the

Brewster Whitecaps The Brewster Whitecaps are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Brewster, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Whitecaps play their home games at Stony Bro ...

in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

. Among his players were

Aaron Judge Aaron James Judge (born April 26, 1992) is an American professional baseball right fielder for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is a six-time MLB All-Star and two-time American League (AL) Most Valuable Player Award (MVP ...

of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

Jeff McNeil Jeffrey Todd McNeil (born April 8, 1992), nicknamed "Squirrel" or "Flying Squirrel," is an American professional baseball utility player for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2018. In 2022, McNeil started ...

of the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

, and

Ryon Healy Ryon Cristopher Healy (born January 10, 1992) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, and Milwaukee Brewers, and in the KB ...

of the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

Personal life

Altobelli and his first wife, Barbara Jean WooSam, had one son, John James (J.J.). J.J. played college baseball for the

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon, Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCA ...

before playing professionally for the

Johnson City Cardinals The Johnson City Cardinals were a Minor League Baseball team based in Johnson City, Tennessee. The team was affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals organization from 1975 through 2020 and played in the Rookie League, Rookie-level Appalachian Leagu ...

, and later became a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

. Altobelli and his second wife, Keri L. Sanders, had two daughters, Alexis and Alyssa. Altobelli underwent open heart surgery in December 2012.

Death

Altobelli died on January 26, 2020, when the helicopter he was traveling in crashed in

, Bryant's 13-year-old daughter

Gianna Gianna is a female Italian given name, a diminutive form of ''Giovanna''. In English, it is translated as " Jane", "Jean", " Joan", " Joanne" or "Joanna". These names mean "God is gracious". See also ''John'' for the origin. Variations *Feminin ...

, Sarah Chester, Chester's 13-year-old daughter Payton, Mamba Sports Academy assistant coach Christina Mauser, and helicopter pilot Ara Zobayan. Alyssa Altobelli, Gianna Bryant, and Payton Chester were teammates on the Mamba Sports Academy basketball team. The group was traveling to Mamba Sports Academy in

Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, located in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles. Approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown Los Angeles, it is named after the many oak trees pr ...

for a basketball tournament when the helicopter crashed. Altobelli and Kobe Bryant became friends through their daughters and had previously traveled to practices and games together. Altobelli invited Bryant to speak to his baseball team in 2018. Orange Coast College associate baseball coach Nate Johnson said of Altobelli, "He kind of gets overshadowed by Kobe a little bit, but he was his own Kobe of the junior college baseball world". Like all of the other passengers, Altobelli's cause of death was

blunt trauma A blunt trauma, also known as a blunt force trauma or non-penetrating trauma, is a physical trauma due to a forceful impact without penetration of the body's surface. Blunt trauma stands in contrast with penetrating trauma, which occurs when a ...

Legacy

On January 26, 2022, on the second anniversary of the crash, the baseball stadium at Orange Coast College was renamed to John Altobelli Park. John Altobelli is mentioned in the line " A baseball coach and his family, the pilot died," in the song about the death of Kobe Bryant which is the parody of the Nebraska state anthem Beautiful Nebraska that honors the victims that died in the crash.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Altobelli, John 1963 births 2020 deaths Accidental deaths in California Azusa Pacific University alumni Baseball players from Newport Beach, California Baseball players from Chicago Cape Cod Baseball League coaches Golden West College alumni Golden West Rustlers baseball players Houston Cougars baseball players Houston Cougars baseball coaches Miami Marlins (FSL) players Orange Coast Pirates baseball coaches UC Irvine Anteaters baseball coaches University of Houston alumni Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2020 Victims of helicopter accidents or incidents in the United States 20th-century American sportsmen