Laney College Football: A Legacy of Opportunity and Achievement
Laney College Football has proudly served the Oakland community since 1953. The program provides Hope, Opportunity and Respect to disenfranchised and marginalized young men of our community, and we stand with you for social justice. Together we can create change. It is our commitment to continue to help young Black men succeed in the classroom and on the field. We firmly believe that education is a vehicle for change.
A Foundation of Education and Athletics
The roots of Laney College trace back to the Central Trade School, founded by the Oakland Board of Education. Later, the school was renamed the Joseph C. Laney Trade and Technical Institute by the Oakland Board of Education in honor of Joseph C. Laney, who passed away on August 16, 1948. The Oakland Board of Education then established Oakland Junior College, comprised of two campuses: Joseph C. Laney Trade and Technical Institute and Merritt School of Business. The Peralta Junior College District was established, named for Sgt. Luis Maria Peralta, the last Spanish governor of the original land grant comprising the six cities of the Peralta district.
Coach John Beam: A Pillar of the Oakland Community
With all due respect to anyone associated with the Raiders, the godfather of football in Oakland is John Beam, the head football coach and athletic director at Laney. John Beam’s remarkable career shaping the lives of high school and college athletes in Oakland spanned over four decades. For nearly 40 years - 22 years at Skyline High, 16 at Laney - Beam has probably been the biggest football booster the city has known. In many cases, those efforts were probably unknown.
Beam began his coaching career in 1979 at Serra High School in San Diego, but the young couple ended up in Oakland not long after, where he would build an epic career. He joined Skyline High School in 1982 as defensive coordinator and went on to become head football coach in 1987. His tenure at Skyline ended in 2004 when he joined Laney College as running backs coach and then defensive coordinator. During his time as head coach, he led the team to the 2018 State Championship. As a coach, he achieved a 90% graduation and transfer rate from the community college.
For years, Beam worked behind the scenes to make sure Oakland high school kids got their just due. He’d call newspaper reporters to push for players to be considered for postseason honors, figuring the added exposure may just help them earn a scholarship. In almost every case, those Oakland kids didn’t even play for him.
Read also: Discover the Laney Flea Market
Oakland filmmaker Mario Bobino has known Beam since 1992, when Bobino was the sports director for KDOL-TV, the station run by the Oakland Unified School District. “We have lost a leader,” Bobino said. “You’re not going to come across somebody like this man ever again. He was so genuine. He is irreplaceable.”
Beam was born in San Diego. His father, a white Navyman, met his mother in Korea, and moved the family to Japan for much of Beam’s early childhood. The family then returned to San Diego, where, Beam once recalled, his mother grew her own vegetables in order to make home-cooked Korean food.
During a 2024 interview with KPIX, Beam told Vern Glenn that he had big plans after his coaching retirement. “I’ve coached everybody else’s kids. I got to coach my daughters a little bit when they were growing up, but now I got these two granddaughters. In reflecting on his long career of coaching Oakland football, Beam said, “My loyalty is to this community. They’ve given me more than I’ve ever given them. They gave me a place to belong. They gave me a place where I was valued as a human being.
News of the shooting sent shockwaves across Oakland, and an outpouring of emotion from people who knew Beam. “My thoughts are with Coach John Beam and his loved ones. We are praying for him. Coach Beam is a giant in Oakland - a mentor, an educator, and a lifeline for thousands of young people,” Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee in a statement.
Alexis Gray Lawson, a former WNBA player who is now athletic director and community school manager at Oakland Tech, shared a heartfelt message about Beam on Instagram. “Anyone who knows Coach Beam knows how incredible a human he was. He always showed me so much love and encouragement. “The Peralta community is devastated by his shooting,” Mark Johnson, a spokesperson for Peralta Community College District, said in a statement while Beam was being treated at Highland.
Read also: Applying for a Health Fee Waiver at Laney
Beam would often share his personal life on social media, posting about his travels - whether to attend a wedding or a game featuring some of his former players - or photos with his wife and grandkids. When news of the shooting broke, Rejzohn posted several pictures of the brothers with Coach Beam. Brothers Nahshon and Rejzohn Wright shared heartfelt posts when it was confirmed that Coach Beam was the victim of the shooting at Laney.
Beam’s family released a statement today, saying, “We are devastated that John Beam, our loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, coach, mentor, and friend has passed. Our hearts are full from the outpouring of love and support from all who cared about him.
Success on and off the Field
In all, Beam has coached more than 100 players who went on to play Division I football, and more than 20 who wound up playing in the NFL, including former Broncos and Raiders running back C.J. Anderson and ex-Steelers Pro Bowl tackle Marvel Smith. Beginning with his first season as head coach at Skyline in 1987, Beam’s teams went 160-33-3 and won 15 Oakland Athletic League titles, 11 section titles and had four unbeaten seasons. The Titans went through the entire decade of the 90’s without losing a league game.
He’s mostly proud that more than 90 percent of the players at Laney wind up graduating or transferring to Division I schools. Beam is also preoccupied with creating leaders among his players, which he notes can be more of a challenge than just winning games.
“Building leadership in today’s community is really hard,” he once said in an interview. “A lot of young people don’t want to be leaders. They don’t want to put themselves out in front. They want to hide within their peer group. No one wants to stand out and actually tell people that they are doing the wrong thing. Positive peer pressure works,” he added, “Showing up on time, finishing your work when the coach is not looking. How do we make that happen? Or, more importantly, letting the coach know if someone didn’t go to class or was late to class.
Read also: Guide to Laney College
"Last Chance U" and National Recognition
The Raiders won’t be the only football team in Oakland to have cameras following them around for a documentary series this season. Laney College was just chosen to be the featured school for the new season of Netflix’s popular “Last Chance U” documentary series. The series has examined the struggles and triumphs of junior college football teams the past four seasons as their players try to rejuvenate their collegiate careers. The Raiders, in fact, just cut defensive lineman Ronald Ollie from East Mississippi Community College, which was the featured school on the first two seasons of “Last Chance U.”
While a crew will be focusing on Laney and its players this fall, unlike “Hard Knocks”, the turnaround time for the shows on Netflix won’t be so quick. Viewers won’t see Laney’s season documented until next summer.“Last Chance U” is currently running its Season 4 docuseries, which features Independence Community College in Kansas. “Last Chance U” has spent two seasons on each of its first two schools, so it’s likely the cameras will be following Laney’s squad for the next two seasons.
Laney was chosen by “Last Chance U” for its fifth season from among thousands of junior college football programs around the country for a couple of good reasons. For one, the Eagles are the defending mythical national champions after going 11-2 and winning the state championship last year. Secondly, their program is run by a gregarious and difference-making coach.
Netflix will ship out of the Midwest and head to Oakland, California, where they’ll feature Coach John Beam and the Laney College Eagles. “Coach Beam has had a Hall of Fame career, and as he begins his 40th year coaching we’re thrilled at the chance we’ll get to tell the stories found on the team, the school, and within the city of Oakland itself."
After what happened to Independence in Season Four, it looks like we’ll be back to following a powerhouse program, like East Mississippi Community College in Seasons One and Two. Under Beam’s leadership, Laney has produced over 20 NFL players-not to mention the Eagles are coming off a championship season, as the 2018 CCCAA winners.
The Mercury News, a daily newspaper based in San Jose, spoke with Beam, who recounted his first address in front of Netflix’s cameras to his 2019-2020 squad.“I told them we’re not Last Chance U… We’re your first chance. We’re your Best Chance U,” he said. “I said you’re not [rejects]. All those kids from the other shows either left school, got kicked out from a four-year school or something. Well, that’s not us. You’re the kids who came here for a reason. To better your grades or better you football outlook.
Notable Laney College Football Players
The Laney College football program has a rich history of developing talented players who have gone on to succeed at higher levels. Here are some examples of players who have continued their careers at four-year universities and beyond:
- 2023: DB Bobby Brooks (St. Patrick - St.), LB Nate Glenn (Dr.
- 2023: LB Jackson Kink (Mt.
- 2022: DB Khai West (St.
- 2022: OL Will Jones (St. Pat’s - St.
- 2021: DB Isaiah Tobias (St. Pat’s - St.
- 2021: TE Nick Robinson (St.
- 2018: DB Dominic Williams (Mt.
- 2017: RB Marcel Dancy (Merrill F.), DB Vasti St.
- 2016: LB Joe Pohiva (Booker T.
- 2015: TE Darneail Jenkins (Mt.
- 2014: DB Chris Salinas (Mt.), P Martin Rodriguez (Mt.
- 2013: DB Jason Keobounheung (St.
- 2010: OL Virgil Hart (Hayward) - Univ., K Ernie Collins (Cal High) - Univ.
- 2009: DL Mason Taugavau (Mt.), LB Godwin Enagabare (Cal High San Ramon) - Univ., LB Alex Hernandez (Cal High San Ramon) - Univ., RB Brandon Williams (Hayward) - U.C., WR Daniel Johnson (Mt.
- 2008: LB Sione Manoa (Mt., RB Chizzy Dimude (Mt.
tags: #Laney #College #football #program #history
