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What started as something to do after his playing days were done, John Haar took the proverbial bull by the horns and took his first coaching opportunity and made it into a Hall of Fame career, and what a career it has been.

On Saturday, June 23^rd, Haar will be inducted into Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame along with Sparky Anderson and Sherry Robertson.

“It’s truly an honour,” says Haar.  “Never did I ever imagine that I would’ve been selected for something like this.”

His coaching career started after he decided to call it quits as a player, reaching the Double-A level with the San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees organizations.  He would get his start with the British Columbia Selects team before getting in with Baseball Canada and coaching internationally.

His first coaching assignment with Team Canada was at the Intercontinental Cup in 1975.  He would gradually move up the coaching ranks with the National Teams program until becoming the field manager in 1986 for Canada’s entry in the World Cup in Cuba. He also would help lead Canada to qualify for the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games in 1987.

But in 1991, Haar was at the helm for arguably the greatest moment in Canadian baseball history.  At the World Junior Baseball Championships in Brandon, Manitoba, the hometown Canadians did what no other National Team has done before or since, win a gold medal.

“We had a great bunch of kids that worked well together,” says Haar.  “Those kids accepted their roles no matter what they were and worked hard.  Some people say that chemistry in a team is not necessary, but I firmly believe if we hadn’t of had chemistry, we wouldn’t have done as well as we did.”

One of those kids on that team was Jason Dickson.  Dickson, who was the final player selected to that 91 team, has gone on to a Major League career, appearing in the 1997 All-Star Game while with the Anaheim Angels.  He was a member of the 2004 Olympic Team in Athens and is now Executive Director for Baseball New Brunswick and is a coach with the Junior National Team program.

“He did a great job helping us prepare to compete, most of us for the first time, at the international level,” says Dickson. 

A moment that gave the young team some confidence in the tournament was there comeback win against the heavily favoured Team USA.  After falling behind 4-0 in the second inning, Haar put in Dickson in relief of Joe Young with one out in the second to try and stop the bleeding.  Dickson would shut down the Americans for 5 2/3 innings, allowing only one run in Canada’s 10-6 victory.

“The confidence he showed in me after almost being cut, to put me in that situation was very uplifting,” remembers Dickson.

At the most recent Baseball Canada Cup, Dickson who was coaching the New Brunswick Selects team faced off against his former Junior coach, who was at the helm of Team B.C.

“It was kind of funny, because he was coaching the B.C. Selects and I was coming back as a coach and competing against him,” says Dickson.  “It was a full-circle moment.”

Another member of that magical team was Stubby Clapp.  Currently a hitting coach with the Houston Astros Extended Spring Training Squad, Clapp has gone on to compete at every level of baseball both professionally, and internationally. One thing sticks out for Clapp concerning Haar.

“He was intense,” remembers Clapp.  “He was intense about the game and I have nothing but gratitude toward him because he gave me an opportunity to play.” 

“There was an older kid who was ready to play third,” adds Clapp, “instead he took me and that had a real significant impact on my baseball career.”

Clapp, who has always had to prove himself in the game because of his size (he’s 5’8”), was given some words of advice that stuck with him his entire career.

“He always told me ‘keep going.  You’re on the right track,’” says Clapp.

Gary Picone was Haar’s pitching coach on that 91 team and is now the Athletic Director with Lewis-Clark State College.  He sees Haar as a savvy tactician.

“John is much respected in the baseball world,” says Picone.  “He has such a wide knowledge of the game and I know when he was with the NBI, college coaches respected his knowledge of the game.”

The NBI is the now defunct National Baseball Institute which Haar was the manager for 14 years.

“In my time there, we worked closely with Baseball Canada on developing players and getting them ready for college, and life in general,” says Haar.

Before his journey started toward the Hall of Fame, Haar would pass a lot of time with the man who influenced him in life.

“My father is the one who gave me my love for the game,” recalls Haar.  “We would play catch in the backyard and he taught me a lot about the game.”

“I would post my lineup in the backyard and I would play for hours… I had a wild imagination,” adds Haar with a laugh.

John Haar has influenced a lot of people over his coaching career.  He has a lasting influence that very few people in the game can claim.  His induction in to the Hall is well deserved

“He has a passion for the game,” says Picone.  “He doesn’t have an ego.  He is not in it for himself; he’s in it to help others.  He is the only man I know who lives that on and off the field.”