John Stearns

One of Colorado’s legendary athletes, Stearns is probably better known for his career at the University of Colorado and in major league baseball.  He was a three-sport star for Thomas Jefferson High School. TJHS won a pair of league championships and advanced to the finals where it finished second. A 1997 Colorado Sports Hall of Fame inductee, Stearns was a 1969 TJ graduate who went on to a successful two-sport athletic collegiate career in football and baseball at the University of Colorado. He earned all-Big Eight honors in football as a defensive back in 1972 when he was voted most valuable player on the Buff’s 8-4 Gator Bowl team. Stearns was an all-Big Eight and All-American selection honors in baseball and led the nation in home runs with 15 in 1973. He was the second draft choice overall in1973, taken by the Philadelphia Phillies. He was later traded to the New York Mets where he was a four-time All-Star. He retired as a player in 1985, but has stayed active in the game as a coach and scout for various major league teams