John Altobelli

John Edward Altobelli

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 180 lb.

• Born May 8,1963 in Chicago, IL USA
• Died January 26, 2020 in Calabasas, CA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

John Altobelli was a College Baseball coach, for 28 years the head coach at Orange Coast College in California. He played college baseball at Golden West College then transfered to the University of Houston. He worked as a graduate assistant coach at his alma mater Houston, before getting his first full-time coaching position at UC Irvine. He was named head coach at Orange Coast in June 1992 when he replaced Mike Mayne. In his first season at OCC he led the Pirates to the CCCAA final four. To date Altobelli has won four state championships at OCC. In addition he was also manager of the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League for three seasons.

He played briefly for the Miami Marlins of the Florida State League in 1985, hitting .114 in 15 games as an outfielder.

Altobelli's son, J.J. Altobelli, played one season for the Johnson City Cardinals and became a scout for the Boston Red Sox.

On January 26, 2020 Altobelli was traveling with his wife and daughter on NBA star Kobe Bryant's helicopter, when the helicopter crashed killing everyone on board. [1]

Further Reading

• Bob Nightengale: "Killed in helicopter crash, John Altobelli remembered as 'Kobe of the junior college baseball world'", USA Today, January 27, 2020. [2]