Arizona was training Sunday when a team manager told Wildcats coach Jay Johnson that Kobe Bryant had died. Like everyone else, Johnson was stunned.
When practice ended, Johnson grabbed his phone to find out what happened. The first thing he saw shook him even more: John Altobelli, the longtime baseball coach at Orange Coast College, also was aboard the helicopter that crashed Sunday morning north of Los Angeles, killing nine people.
Johnson’s heart sunk. Altobelli not only was a colleague but a friend. Johnson had recruited Altobelli’s son, J.J., who ended up going to Oregon. The coaches had known each other for more than 15 years.
“It kind of knocked you out for a while,” Johnson said Thursday. “I just went home and sat on the couch for a couple hours in disbelief.”
Others lost in the crash included Altobelli’s wife, Keri, 46; their daughter, Alyssa, 13; and Bryant’s daughter, Gianna, also 13. They were on their way from Orange County to a basketball game in Thousand Oaks when fog and fate intervened.
“He was just such a good dude,” Johnson said of Altobelli, 56. “There’s coaches in your mind that you deal with that stand out. When you called him, he always called you back or picked up the phone and was very engaging.”
Johnson recalled attending an OCC practice in the early 2000s. He was an assistant coach at Point Loma Nazarene, an NAIA school at the time. He said Altobelli regarded him as if he were the head coach at an NCAA Division I program.
“He treated me awesome,” Johnson said. “That’s something that always stuck with me.”
Altobelli, who is survived by J.J. and a daughter, Lexi, led OCC to the 2019 state baseball championship. It was his fourth such title, tied for third most in the history of California community college baseball.
Altobelli compiled a 705-478-4 record over 27 seasons as the head coach of the Pirates. During that time he formed countless relationships with players and coaches, including Johnson and UA assistant Dave Lawn.
One of Lawn’s former players at Servite High School in Anaheim, Jeff Belger, played for Altobelli and is a member of the OCC staff. Another, Ryan Doran, went on to pitch for San Diego State and made it to Double-A in the minor leagues.
“You start thinking about all the players on his team,” Lawn said. “Then you start thinking, ‘God, when was the last time I talked to John?’ ”
Lawn last spoke to Altobelli in November, when one of his pitchers happened to be in Tucson and wanted to check out the facilities at Hi Corbett Field.
“I wouldn’t say I knew him well, but I’d talk to him three or four times a year,” Lawn said. “It’s certainly a gaping loss, a gaping hole for that league. It’s a horrible deal.”
Several of Johnson’s former players also played for Altobelli. They included pitcher Calvin Drummond, a standout for the 2012 University of San Diego club for which Johnson served as associate head coach. Drummond would go on to play pro ball for six seasons.
Altobelli let Drummond transfer from OCC to USD after his freshman year. Johnson said that gesture spoke to Altobelli’s character.
“Not many coaches really are on board with that sort of thing,” Johnson said. “He felt like that was best for him, so he gave it the thumbs up.”
Johnson tried to get J.J. to play for USD. He had a stellar career at Oregon, played two seasons in the minors and is now a scout for the Boston Red Sox. He also spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton.
“Just knowing he was John’s son,” Johnson said, “there was no question about what his qualifications as a coach would be.”
Johnson exchanged text messages with J.J. on Monday morning to see how he was doing. Johnson described the younger Altobelli as “devastated.”
“I think one of the best titles that anybody can have is being a good dad,” Johnson said. “He obviously had a great dad. They had a great relationship. I can’t imagine the pain that him and his sister are going through right now.”
