John Spalding

Great guy,met him through the sport collectible hobby. He was always a great source of knowledge and information and a great guy to trade with. I later would see him at my daughters CCS playoff games
Jack McGuire

Very sorry to hear about John. True story: sometime in the late 70s, Granny Goose potato chips inserted vintage baseball cards in its large, family-size bags. Purchases were limited because it was a special, one-time offer.
John made a sweet deal with bunch of us Merc-News reporters: Buy a case of chips, give him the cards and in return, he would reimburse us and we could keep the chips. What a deal. He couldn't have cared less about the chips, he wanted those damn cards.
He was a...

John was on the staff of the pm edition when I joined it in 1987. What a lovely guy. And a font of local knowledge. Ask him for background on local politics and stories of all kinds and he would deliver. Please accept my condolences on your loss.

What a wonderful guy -- and a tremendous resource. It was like being able to call the Baseball Encyclopedia. I am forever grateful for John's expertise, and for the things he did to make journalism a better place.

I often think of John and credit him for teaching me to write news and op ed pieces. We met in 1972 when working for Norm Mineta. John was kind, funny, talented snd generous. A good man.

I worked with John on our old p.m. edition, the San Jose News. He was the definition of a skilled journalist - fast, accurate and knowledgeable. As a person, he was direct, honest, easy to work with and unfailingly cheerful. I'm sorry someone who enjoyed life so much is gone.

John was a gentleman and a scholar. He first got me interested in Bay Area sports history as a hobby. John was a wonderful man and he will be long remembered by his friends, fellow journalists, sports hobbyists and historians. My heartfelt condolences go out to Barbara and the Spalding family.

The day I met John for the first time is a day I will remember fondly for the rest of my life. His passion for collecting baseball cards and memorabilia was infectious. He unknowingly became my mentor and the single reason behind what has become one of the passions of my life for over 35 years. Thank you John....

As longtime newspaper guys, we shared a lot of things. But his interest in sports history and sports collectibles mirrored mine, too. He was one of the classiest people I knew, always eager to share, to help, to simply be a friend. I'll miss him a great deal.

--Dwight Chapin, Mill Valley, California