Legendary South City coach Bob Brian dies

Brian started coaching the South City frosh-soph baseball team in 1955, and took over as varsity manager in 1959. Brian spanned the rest of the century as the Warriors’ coach, overseeing 1,170 games, including 729 wins until his retirement in 2001.

“To me, he is South City baseball,” said Tony Lucca, one of Brian’s former players who now manages the Cañada College baseball team. “Not just South City High School but the entire city of South City. You can’t talk about local baseball without talking about Mr. Brian. He’s the best.”

Growing up in San Diego, Brian served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and relocated to the Bay Area after the war. He graduated from University of California, Berkeley, in 1949 then took his first teaching job at Gustine High School in Merced County in 1950 before relocating to South San Francisco four years later.

At South City, he was a longtime physical education teacher, and also taught science classes. Brian’s first love, though, was baseball. And he not only innovated a unique style of play in the high school game, but helped build little league baseball throughout the city. In 1960, he founded the South San Francisco Pee-Wee League for ages 7-10, and later did the same with the SSF Midget League for ages 11-12.

The longtime coach became synonymous with an aggressive brand of baseball on the high school diamond.

“You had to prepare to play his style,” said Carlos Roman, former manager at El Camino, who coached against Brian for many years. “He didn’t change, regardless of his players, what type of players he had, he had his style — ‘You have to stop me.’ … It was very aggressive. Sometimes unorthodox, and I mean that in a very good way. His philosophy was to put pressure on high school players and make them play.”

Known as “Mr. Brian” to his players, Orange Park was his home away from home. It was a common sight to see Brian in a safari hat pushing a wheelbarrow of baseballs to the pitchers mound, where he’d set up his pitching machine for daily batting practice.

“He loved the game so much,” said Lou Zuardo, Roman’s predecessor as El Camino manager. “You go down to Orange Park and he’d be on that field every day.”

And his players loved him for it.

When Brian set out to retire five numbers of South City baseball greats, the first one to be honored was Lou Lucca, Tony Lucca’s older brother, who graduated in 1988. Lou Lucca was brought up to the varsity team as a wide-eyed sophomore and was immediately thrust into the top of the batting order. He went on to become one of Brian’s prized pupils, and one of the finest players South City ever produced.

Lou Lucca said Brian’s brilliance was in his teaching players how to compete. It’s something of a bygone era now, but in Brian’s heyday, he would employ games within the game during practices. His reward for the winners of various games? Watching the losing side clean up after practice.

“He taught us the game,” Lou Lucca said. “He taught us a lot about manners, about punctuality. He taught us how to be men. He made us all want to play at the next level, sure, but he impacted our lives. Especially, so many guys, we played together all year. You could see the average players become good players.”

Brian brought his share of new-school conventions to the diamond, as well. He coached year-round, modeling his offseason teams through the summer and fall after the Gordon Realty team in San Francisco founded by former Los Angeles Dodgers scout Dick Murray. Brian — between high school and the offseason — would coach up to 160 games per year.

His insistence that players should play baseball year-round was controversial in many circles, but he was diligent in this approach. It molded generations of players.

“And they were terrific players, fundamentally sound,” Roman said. “And if you were on the bases in front of them, on any passed ball or wild pitch, you had to look out or you’d have some guys running up your backside.”

Brian is a member of the California Baseball Hall of Fame, the American Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame and the San Mateo County Sports Hall of Fame. He was an avid baseball storyteller, and was adept at cataloging each of his years, and each of his players, throughout his legendary career.

Brad Brian, the youngest of Brian’s two sons, recalled a banquet for South City baseball in which approximately 125 players attended.

“He talked about every single one of them and had something specific to say about everyone from when they played at South City High,” Brad Brian said.

Robert E. Brian was born Nov. 3, 1925, in San Diego. He is survived by Leona, his wife of 70 years, sons Bruce and Brad, daughter-in-law Claire, four grandchildren Jeff, Lisa Leone, Allison and Leslie, and six great-grandchildren Tori, Brian, Michael, Caitlyn, Elena and Sean.

Brian was also a lover of jazz music, specifically the works of pianists Duke Ellington and Count Basie, and also had an affinity for rhythm-and-blues virtuoso Ray Charles.

When Brian retired in 2001, it was former South City Athletic Director Matt Schaukowitch who took over the team.

“Bob had a lot of wind and a lot of legacy behind him and to try to take over a program that he left was an honor,” Schaukowitch said. “And, no doubt, a challenge in the same aspect. It was a blessing.”

Brian was still a familiar sight at Orange Park for many years, sitting in his lawn chair beyond the left-field fence on the sidewalk of Orange Avenue, until he could no longer do so in recent years due to health reasons. He attended the South City baseball alumni game every year without fail, though, including the most recent one prior to the 2018 season.

Brian lived in his South San Francisco home through his last days, with family thanks going to caregiver Ira Aure “for her dedication and love.”

A private burial service will be held for immediate family. A memorial service for a future date has yet to be announced.