Jerry Bartow, baseball coach and character at Hoover High School and Southwestern College, dies at 91

Jerry Bartow, one of the winningest baseball coaches in San Diego County and a true character of the game, has died. He was 91.

Bartow spent 14 seasons as head baseball coach at Hoover High School, posting a 226-119 record with three San Diego Section championships between 1961 and 1975. Two of his top Hoover players, Mike Davis and Jerry DaVanon, went on to play in the major leagues.

From Hoover, Bartow moved on to Southwestern College. In 39 years there, he had a 907-658-9 record, winning 11 conference championships. The 2008 team finished second in the state, and five other teams made it to the Super Regionals. His final Southwestern team advanced to the 2014 Southern California championship.

Southwestern standouts Travis Taijeron, John Jaso, Alex Pelaez, Gino Minutelli and Tommy Hinzo all went on to play in the big leagues.

“Jerry was a great coach, but he was a character,” said Damon Oppenheimer, the New York Yankees’ vice president and director of amateur scouting and a former player under Bartow at Southwestern. “He was fun to play for, but was also super competitive. He had passion for the game. Our field was immaculate and our team always looked great; first-class uniforms.

“Guys wanted to play for him. He always knew the right buttons to push. And he was always there for you, whether it was on the field, in the classroom, a personal problem or at a job.”

Many in the game called Bartow “Forty” for his jersey number or “Lefty” because he was a left-handed pitcher who was the captain of the Washington State team that went to the 1956 College World Series.

As a coach, Bartow earned a reputation for his antics on the field.

The skipper slid into second base to show an umpire how he had missed a call. He took the mound between innings to show his left-handed pitcher how to better throw strikes. He was known to kick dirt on home plate while arguing balls and strikes.

But nothing tops the time Bartow climbed the backstop at old Beeson Field at Marine Corps Recruit Depot.

More than a decade after retiring, Bartow remained close to the Jaguars. Southwestern baseball coach Jay Martel said Bartow attended about a dozen games last season.

“He was a great character, but he was also a great coach, a motivator, a businessman and fundraiser,” Martel said. “I learned how to treat kids from Jerry: How important it is to go to class, to earn a college degree.”

Before becoming a longtime radio and TV personality in San Diego, John Kentera played for John Seeley at MiraCosta College and coached alongside Bartow.

Bartow “worked with the pitchers, coached third base and let his coaches do their jobs,” Kentera said. “He was a players’ coach. He liked to have fun, but he was so well-respected. He ran the concession stand at Southwestern events to raise money. I learned how to salt popcorn so people would buy drinks from him.

“He ran a Christmas tree lot to raise funds. He was truly one of a kind.”

Bartow was married to his wife Betty for 42 years before her death. They had four children: daughters Teresa, Brenda and Karen and son Bucky.

Funeral services will be held Sept. 29 at 12:30 p.m. at Glen Abbey Little Chapel of Roses in Bonita. A celebration of life is scheduled for the following day at Singing Hills Golf Club at Sycuan; that event starts at 4 p.m.