OAKLAND – On a nondescript September morning last fall, John Beam sat in his Laney College office, one decorated with trophies, photos and other reminders of his nearly innumerable football successes as a high school coach at Skyline and at the collegiate level down the road at the Oakland junior college, and admitted that the rumors were true.
But in the same building where Beam was tragically gunned down Thursday, he did not spend the next hour reminiscing about past glories or fretting over how a then-65-year-old would find purpose after four decades leading young men from the sidelines.
“It’s time to leave,” Beam, who died Friday, told me in the same, forceful, intense tone that was his trademark. He then added, “But I can give back in a different way.”
It was quintessential John Beam.
The man who dedicated his life to uplifting thousands of young men in the East Bay’s biggest city saw “retirement” as a way to continue to improve the town he loved.
If he had wanted to take it easy, spend his golden years with his wife, daughters and grandchildren while snorkeling and surfing to his heart’s content, nobody would have blamed him.
If Oakland sports had a Mount Rushmore, Beam would have been a lock for one of the four spots. If his football triumphs were the only item on his resume, he would have been justified in believing that he had accomplished everything possible.
But again, that is not who Beam was.
As a retired coach, his days and schedule were free … to begin new ventures that would positively impact the lives of those around him.
Beam had dreams of helping young entrepreneurs start tech businesses, and creating a program that educated parents and athletes on Name, Image and Likeness endorsements within college sports.
He even floated the idea of using his tackle football expertise to introduce young women to flag football, if he found time.
He probably would have.
Over the last 12 months, Beam, who remained Laney’s athletic director, was often seen at various sporting events around Oakland, and not just the big Silver Bowl football championship.
A boys basketball contest at tiny College Prep? He was there, talking to a friend whose son was on the team.
A Ballers independent baseball league game? Sure, why not?
A regular season Monday night football showdown between Skyline and Oakland Tech after wildfires forced the odd schedule change. Of course Beam was there to lend support.
He assured me that his post-football life would be a continuation of the mission he began when the coach/educator moved from San Diego to Oakland in the early-1980s: to make his home a better place.
That is exactly what Beam did.
His 15 Oakland Athletic League titles at Skyline and the college championship at Laney were but a brief footnote in his mind when listing his greatest successes.
Almost every high school and college football coach espouses a desire to to turn boys into outstanding young adults, but few were as successful at doing that as Beam.
His eyes lit up and his mouth turned into a wide smile under his distinctive mustache as he recounted one, two, three, 10 or was it 12 instances of a former player going from a troubled background to a productive career as a police officer, plumber, Marine or public servant while becoming a devoted husband and father.
John Beam, Skyline head football coach, the All-ANG Coach of the Year.
A national audience was introduced to the bombastic Beam in the fifth season of “Last Chance U” – a Netflix documentary series that followed the coach’s Laney Eagles.
His colorful language and forceful personality were not just for show, though.
His optimism towards both his city and the young people he interacted with on a daily basis was boundless and one of his core beliefs.
“I’ll always believe in you, so you can believe in yourself,” Beam declared. “Because I don’t think people believe in these young kids. They give them no hope, right? Here, they’ve been told they don’t belong. We’ve got to show them they do, that they can.”
There may not have been a more popular man in the East Bay. The outpouring of support following the news of his shooting was a testament to the mark Beam left.
From law enforcement to his former rival coaches in the OAL – and throughout the Bay Area, and beyond – hundreds shared thoughts about a man who made Oakland a better place.
“He’s a tough guy,” said LeRonne Armstrong, a former Oakland police chief who knew Beam well. “You knew how tough he had to be to reach student athletes who came from broken homes in ways that other people weren’t able to.”
Beam always saw the best in Oakland, even as it was ravaged by corruption, drugs and the gun violence that took the coach’s life.
“I think what ‘Last Chance’ really did was show them the city of Oakland and how special it is,” Beam said, while looking out his window and focusing his attention on downtown Oakland.
For all of its many faults, Oakland is a special place, and Beam’s influence is a big reason why.
He deserved to enjoy retirement, earned the right to use his post-football life to do all of the things that he could not as a coach.
Instead, another senseless act of gun violence stopped a man who had already achieved so much from doing even more.
Now, rather than watching Beam transition into the next, almost certainly successful, phase of his life, he instead must be eulogized far too soon.
So how should John Beam be remembered? As Skyline’s indomitable coach? As Laney’s wisecracking, fiery leader who graced the silver screen? As the mentor to many?
How about this: John Beam represented the best of Oakland.
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