Our class lost a wonderful coach, educator, and mentor with the passing of Mr. John Radcliffe.  Below is his obituary followed by a nice tribute by our classmate, Eric Peterson.

 May 28th 1936 - Sept. 22nd 2009

  Radcliffe, John Richard (73) beloved husband, father, grandfather,
  educator, and coach passed away Tuesday September 22, 2009 after a long
  battle with heart disease.
  
  John was born in Orange, California and moved to Los Angeles at a young
  age. He graduated in the winter class from Manual Arts High School in
  1953. Post graduation he joined the Navy and was stationed in New
  Jersey. Upon his return to California he enrolled at Pepperdine College
  and played baseball, earning the nickname, "Wheels." John graduated with
  a bachelor of science degree and began teaching and coaching in Compton.
  
  In 1968 John was named Varsity Baseball Coach at Torrance High School.
  Then in 1970 he married his wife of 39 years Carolyn Christopher, whom
  he had met at Pepperdine. During his more than three decades at Torrance
  High along with being baseball coach, he coached track, football,
  volleyball, and softball as well as being the schools athletics and
  activities director. After "retirement" John went on to work in the
  compliance office at Long Beach State often joking that, "Now that he
  had finished high school, he was off to college!"
  
  John was also well known for his work with the Lakers. He was employed
  by the organization for 48 years, most of those serving as the teams
  Official Scorer.
  John was a member of First Lutheran Church of Torrance since 1978
  serving as a head usher and in various other capacities, which brought
  him great joy.
  
  He is survived by his wife Carolyn, son Kris (wife) Eden, granddaughters
  Victoria and Courtney, daughter Suzanne Hannemann (husband) Nick,
  grandson Hunter, sister Susan Radcliffe and her husband Lee Zitko, and
  many nieces and nephews.
  
  Services will be at First Lutheran Church, 2900 West Carson St. in
  Torrance, at 3:00 PM on Sunday September 27th. A reception in Faith Hall
  at the same location will follow. All are welcome to come and celebrate
  John's life.
  
  In lieu of flowers the family asks for contributions to "Project Faith"
  at First Lutheran Church in memory of John Radcliffe. John will be
  missed by so many but most of all by his loving family who are so
  thankful for everyday that they had with him.

The following is a nice tribute to Coach Radcliffe from Eric Peterson.

Fellow Tartars,

Oh my gosh. Coach Radcliffe, what a wonderful man! Here is a little story of the "Kind and Faithful" man Coach was.The year Coach became the Head Baseball coach at THS, I lost my own father while playing freshman football. Coach was there even though he was not my coach at the time.Sophmore year, Coach was the B-Football Coach along with Frank Simon, he always went the extra mile for me, my Mom worked to support my older brother and I, so getting home from Football was a 4 1/2 mile walk in the dark, because I lived close to West High.Coach saw me walking home the first day after practice, pulled over and took me home, what insued from then on was just Love.He began to mentor me even though I was an oblvious teenager, spoke into my life on many occasions, and he never lost his objectivity about his coaching decisions. He could have very easily put me into the starting line-up, but coach always made the right decision, I was too small and slow at 15 to play football, but he saw the fire in me when it came to Basketball.He encouraged me to follow my passion and stayed in touch, even after Coach Strong cut me from the JV Basketball team. I was devastated, Coach Radcliffe sat me down and said you have choices to make, work hard and succeed or get lost in self pity. I spent the rest of my Junior year committed to improving, he would even check out some of the Intramural games, I was playing on several teams, trying to get as much experience as possible. Summer Leagues started up in 1971 and Coach Little decided to give me a shot to make the team, I think Coach Radcliffe might have a had a say in this, but don't know for sure. At 17, I shot up from 5'4" to 6'1" and the hard work and opportunity Coach Little gave me, allowed me to make the Varsity Basketball Team for the Torrance High Tartars. What an honor!Coach Radcliffe, again, sat me down, and said, "don't settle for anything than your best", he knew I was frustrated with the typical politics which occure with Dads, Sons and coaches, remember I lost my Dad as a freshman. Several games into the season, sitting on the bench, yet I continued to work hard to get playing time, the team was below 500 after being touted as a very strong contender in the South Bay, this was very unusual position for Coach Little, as he was always firecely competitive while getting more from his teams the expected! Coach Little was a great man too! He and Coach Radcliffe had such a dramatic inpact on my life and I am so very grateful for the both of them. Coach Little eventually gave me a shot one night when we were getting blown out by 26-28 by halftime. I don't think Coach Little expecting to much. I remember the opportunity as clear as yesterday. We went "berzerk" and rallied all the way back to tie the game in the second half only to loose at the last second on inbounds play under our opponents basket. But make no mistake about it, Coach Radcliffe's belief and time spent with me pushed me to new level of competitiveness and Coach Little recognized it and put me as starting guard at the 1 spot. We turned our season around modestly and Coach Radcliffe was there every step of the way. After playing ball  @ Whittier College, I remember coming home on Sunday afternoons to play with the THS alumni, pick up hoops, some of the most fun and competitive games I ever played in.Coach Radcliffe and I became friends and I would visit him every time I went to the Fabulous Forum and/or Staples to see the Lakers(had season seats for several years). He loved the games, but I know he loved people more, he was just a Godly man who shared his life with grace and passion.I know his mansion in heaven is great! For he was a faithful servant.Thank God for John "Coach" Radcliffe.I am sure his Baseball players good testify to good works even further.

Sincerely,

Eric Peterson
Class of 72' Torrance Tartars