On Saturday evening, Long Beach lost one of its greatest sports fans and supporters with the passing of Dr. John Kashiwabara, who died of pancreatic cancer after a brief struggle.  If you didn’t know Dr. John—well, we’re sorry we didn’t get a chance to introduce you before now.

Despite having been put into a Japanese internment camp in World War II, Dr. John served as chief medical training officer with the US Air Force during the Korean War, and was heavily involved in Long Beach sports from the high school, to the junior college, to the collegiate level from 1954 until his passing.  In addition to his incredible fundraising efforts, part of how he ended up in the Century Club Hall of Fame, Long Beach State’s Hall of Fame, Dr. John served Long Beach’s athletes as a physician, working with Moore League athletes, LBCC Vikings, and Long Beach State 49ers.

His willingness to give generously of his time and his money over the last 46 years are a big part of why Long Beach sports are something we can all be proud of.  You would be hard-pressed to find a person who gave more of himself to this city’s athletics at every level—there will never be a full reckoning of the lives he’s improved, and touched.

For our part, we can say this—we took a pretty big leap of faith in launching this website.  It was our goal to do something very new in a city with over a hundred years of history, with very established pecking orders and traditions.  Dr. John, from the first moment he met us at the Century Club, made us feel like we were part of that history, and tradition.  At every game he saw us at, he would always come over, shake our hands, and ask us what we thought.  He was one of the friendliest, kindest men either of us have ever met—for him to express a genuine interest in our opinion, about everything ranging from Moore League football to Long Beach State basketball, meant the world to us.

We can promise you that there are hundreds of stories like this, scattered over the last half-century of this city’s history.  In addition to his pivotal role in athletics, Dr. John was a central figure in the Long Beach Japanese-American community, and volunteered his time with the Lions Club, the California State University system, and Long Beach’s Sister Cities programs, among others.

Over the next week, we’re going to be gathering remembrances of Dr. John from those who knew him in all walks of his life—it’s our wish to post those remembrances as a large, fitting tribute to a man who gave so selflessly, for so long.

If you have something you wish to add, no matter how small it may seem, please click “Contact” at the bottom of the page to send us an email.