- John Stearns was a one-time MBL star who was born and raised in a family of athletes
- He got married to Martha Jo whom he fondly called ‘Marthi’ and together, they bore a son named Justin
- John’s career as a baseball player was somewhat short-lived as he had an injury that kept him out of play for a long time, however, he still served as a baseball scout, manager, and coach before he died of cancer in 2022.
John Stearns is a former American professional baseball player who played as a catcher and also had a brief stint with the NFL. He was born into a very athletic family as his parent and siblings were all into one sport or another.
Stearns got married to Martha Jo some years after making his professional MLB debut for the Philadelphia Phillies. With her, he welcomed a son named Justin. Before his marriage and the birth of his son, John played for the New York Mets from 1975 to 1980.
Despite having an impressive debut, incessant injuries kept John out of play for a while before eventually causing him to retire from playing in 1986. He then went on to work as a scout, coach, and manager for different teams until sometime in the 2000s.
On September 15, 2022, John Stearns died at the age of 71, from cancer.
John Stearns Learned to Love Sports from a Very Young Age
John Stearns was born John Hardin Stearns on August 21, 1951, in Denver, Colorado. His parents, Carle Stearns and Joan Stearns had always encouraged him and his siblings to love and be active in sports.
Asides from encouraging his kids to be athletic, Carle was also an athlete himself. During his university days, he played American football for the University of Colorado and the University of Denver. Additionally, he was a teacher at the Denver East High School and also doubled as a long-term coach at the same school.
John grew up with two brothers and a sister. He had an older brother named Will Stearns who played baseball as a catcher for the New York Yankees organization for 6 years (1971-1977).
Stearns’s other sibling, a younger brother named Richard Stearns played as a line-back with the CU Buffaloes. Carla, John’s younger sister wasn’t left out of the sporting world as she also played as a softball catcher while at the University of Northern Colorado.
Education-wise, John Stearns attended and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Denver. Here, he played football, basketball, and baseball and led his teams to state championships.
In 1969, he attended Colorado University on an athletic scholarship despite being drafted by the Oakland Athletics, at the age of 17. On May 12, 2022, he had his jersey number retired from his former team.
Martha Jo ‘Marthi’ was a Supportive and Understanding Wife
Martha Jo was in a relationship with John Stearns during the 1970s. By the time he was at his career’s height, their relationship had gotten very serious as they were already engaged.
After the 1979 season, John Stearns married Martha Jo on October 27, 1979, in Boulder, Colorado. The baseball catcher fondly called his wife ‘Marthi’. A little over a year later, their family grew with the inclusion of their baby boy.
Marthi and John welcomed their son, Justin Stearns who was still a baby when his father’s career became threatened following his first arm injury.
Martha was, however, a very supportive wife during that period. She stood by her husband who was going through one of the worst times of his life, in 1983. According to the baseball player, Marthi was understanding and supportive despite feeling most of the brunt of her husband’s frustration.
John Stearns’ Impressive Baseball Career was Short-lived because of His Injuries
As earlier stated, the Colorado-born had a brief footballing spell as a young man. He was very good at both football and baseball in college and was even selected by the NFL drafts.
His football skills earned him a place in NFL’s 1973’s 17th-round draft for the Buffalo Bills. During the same period, he was also selected by the Major League Baseball draft’s first round by the Philadelphia Phillies. John Stearns chose to play in the MLB in September 1974, choosing the Philadelphia Phillies instead of the Buffalo Bills.
In 1974, John was traded to the New York Mets where he spent 10 seasons. He even held a National League record for a catcher with .260, 46 home runs, and 312 RBI’s in 809 games.
His most impressive plays were from 1977 to 1982 – a period of 6 years, which saw him earn an ‘All-Star’ title (1977 to 1982). Additionally, he earned the title of ‘Bad Dude’ for his infamous ways of tackling people.
Soon after his monumental performance, he suffered an arm injury which he ended up nursing and dealt with its consequences for the rest of his career.
The injury lasted from 1981 to 1986 and prevented him from playing. He tried getting back on track several times but was unable to perform as well as he should have because of the nagging irritation the injury gave.
However, by August of 1984, he played with Tidewater but could only make one solid impression in 5 months. His final attempt at redeeming himself was with Texas Rangers in 1986. Unfortunately, he couldn’t pull through and eventually had to retire.
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Upon Retiring, John Stearns Remained in the World of Baseball
In 1986, John was named a scouter and minor-league catching instructor for the Milwaukee Brewers. He spent three years with the team before joining the New York Yankees in 1989.
Stearns served as the bullpen coach for the Yankees, and a year later, he was hired by Toronto Blue Jays. He served as their manager of Knoxville for a year. While with the Double-A team, he led them to a 67-77 impressive record.
By 1992, the former safety and punter served as a Cincinnati Reds scout before taking a break. He then moved on to work as a broadcaster with ESPN in 1993. The next year, he was back with the Reds.
His career as a scout, coach, and manager continued for years until 2015. A year before, he had to step down from his coaching position at the Mariners because his hiatal hernia surgery was difficult to recover from.
His final work in baseball was in 2015, although he wished he wanted to do more and continue to be useful to the sport.
The ‘Bad Dude’ Died on September 15, 2022, from Cancer
At the age of 71, former MBL star turned coach, broadcaster, and manager died on September 15, 2022. Before his death, he battled prostate cancer for a long time.
Despite his illness, John Stearns made a final public appearance on August 27, 2022, when he attended an Old Timers Day at Citi Field in New York. This ceremony also coincided with the 60th anniversary of the Mets.
While at the event, he was looking thin and pale in the jersey he wore. He however made his way to the batting cage where he took a few swings reminding fans of why his nickname ‘Bad Dude’ stuck for long. Three weeks after this appearance, John Stearns’ death was announced.
Despite having a brief career as a professional baseball player, John Stearns had an impressive career. He also left a lasting legacy in most of the teams he had his post-playing career at. Even when battling cancer, the 71-year-old proved to still be solid and aggressive as he was while he played. He proved this by his last appearance three weeks before his death. Ultimately, Stearns would be remembered as one who gave his career his all.
