John Grantham, Wildcat Magnate Passes
I’m a little slow in getting to this – and the public calling has passed – but I would be remiss to not post. John S. Grantham Sr. who served as president of the Wildcat Baseball League for 42 years until 2007, has passed away. He was 74 years old.
Grantham was instrumental in getting Sports Illustrated to publish an article on the league and NBC Nightly News to feature the organization on its broadcast, Derbyshire said.
“He was always promoting Wildcat baseball, its value, its worth to the community, to the kids, to the parents,” Derbyshire said.
Grantham also taught at Kekionga Middle School for four years and at Jefferson Middle School for 13 years. He retired in 1991 after being at North Side High School for 11 years, where he served as an administrator, counselor and assistant athletic director.
Grantham was bestowed a number of awards, including the Summit Athletic Conference Coaches Award; the Charles W. Wilt Sr. Memorial Award; the Hilliard Gates Lifetime Achievement Award; and Indiana’s highest civilian award, the Sagamore of the Wabash.
Former Fort Wayne Mayor Paul Helmke honored Grantham’s commitment to the youth of Fort Wayne and he was inducted into the Fort Wayne Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998 and into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001.
Memorials may be made to the Allen County SPCA. or SCAN.
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Passion, purpose, drive and love are just some of the words that could describe Mr. Grantham and his feelings for Wildcat Baseball. I had the priviledge to work for Mr. Granthamm for five summers as the league’s summer secretary. I witnessed first-hand his passion for this league. He was a tireless ambassador for the program and the sport of baseball and for each child who entered the program. Today I have two children playing ball at Washington Center. Mr. Grantham will be missed, but he contributed to a legacy which is just as strong today as it was when Mr. Dale McMillen first started the program.