John Stella, Omaha’s Mr. Baseball

December 4, 2023

Omaha’s Mr. Baseball, John Stella, grew up in the Italian enclave near the intersection of 22nd and Poppleton. By the time he was a young kid growing up in South Omaha, people still talked about Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig playing an exhibition game at nearby Vinton Street Park in 1927. John did his best Babe impression while pitching and playing outfield in his youth and would eventually play semi-professional baseball, but it was coaching where he made his mark.

Remember the time that Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig played an exhibition game in South Omaha. Photo courtesy of Brown Park/Stella Field.

Stella played baseball for both Omaha South and the American Legion before graduating and playing for Omaha University from 1954 to 1957. After his collegiate career, he signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants. From 1958 to 1959, he had a career batting average of .291 with 10 home runs and 70 RBI in 302 career at-bats for the Hastings Giants in the Nebraska State League and the Artesia Giants in the Sophomore League. Despite that strong showing, he was released, with the Giants believing that at 23, his ceiling was too low. He appeared in spring training with Willie Mays, and he would wryly tell people that the Giants made the wrong decision when they decided to go with a guy named Willie Mays rather than him.

Old photo of Brown Park. The date is unknown.

After returning home in 1959, Stella started a family, served in the Army Reserves, and worked the next 33 years for the Post Office. During that time, he also embarked on a long coaching career that started at St. Anne in the Catholic Youth Organization. From there he served as an assistant coach at Omaha South High School until 2001. He loved coaching baseball players so much that when he wasn’t in the dugout for South games, he was coaching American Legion baseball teams for nearly 30 years.

John Stella playing for the Artesia Giants in 1959. Photo courtesy of Brown Park/Stella Field.

Stella’s mark on the game and life showed up in the awards that followed. Among them are multiple Nebraska Baseball Coaches Association Man of the Year awards. Inducted into both the Omaha South High School Hall of Fame and the Nebraska Baseball Hall of Fame, he also received the 2003 Service Award from the American Legion Post 1 and was named the Sons of Italy Outstanding Italian/American of the Year in 2003.

Sign reflecting the new name of the former Brown Park Field after it was renamed as John Stella Ball Field at Brown Park.

Stella did everything he could to keep baseball going in South Omaha, which proved to be a challenge. Over the years, he had to be creative to attract players so he could continue to field a team. Oftentimes he would take players cut by other teams. He didn’t care much about wins and losses, saying once, “The record doesn’t mean anything. I just try to teach kids the fundamentals of baseball.” His goal was to help kids get to the next level, whether that be college or the pros. Some of his players did go on to play professionally.

Looking towards the outfield from begin home plate at John Stella Field. The rest of the park is atop the hill behind right field.

The longtime home of the South Omaha American Legion at Brown Park was named after Stella in 2009. John Stella Field at Brown Park sits within a bowl, which along with numerous trees provides an incredible backdrop beyond the outfield fences. The park itself and its historic pavilion date back to the 1910s, while the field is more than a century old. While the Yankee greats Stella admired never played on the field, Ruth did represent the Brown Park team during that game. South Omaha kids continued to talk about that game even as Stella was growing up.

Aerial view of John Stella Field at Brown Park. Photo courtesy of Omaha South American Leagion and Focus Across Nebraska.

The ballpark had been deteriorating by the early 2000s, at which point Stella and several others helped raise money for renovations, which included the addition of bullpens, new bathrooms, new lights, deeper outfield fences, a press box, and a concession stand. Later, when field turf was installed, he said he had mixed feelings about the upgrade because he was a dirt and grass guy, but ultimately supported it because it would allow more players to play more baseball. In addition to the Legion, John Stella Field also serves as the home to South High and Bellevue University. Even into his 80s, he was always ready and willing to help at the field where he spent so much of his life.

Photo of John Stella courtesy of South Omaha High School Alumni Association.

Stella is said to have coached more than 1,000 players during his long tenures at St. Anne, South High, and the American Legion. The South Omaha icon loved baseball, which allowed him to develop kids into fine young men as well as fine ballplayers. When he first proposed naming the old ball field after the coach, Steve Cavlovic wrote that “this final tribute to a coach who never won a lot of games but has gained the respect of all the people [who] met him on and off the field.” Rest in peace, Coach.

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