John Podesto, ‘Presto Podesto From Modesto,’ dies at age 94

He was called “Presto Podesto From Modesto,” the type of nickname given only to those who deserved it.

John Podesto, a college football All-American, deserved it.

A Mass will be held on Friday at 10 a.m. at St. Stanislaus Mission Church, Seventh and J Street, for Podesto, who died in San Francisco last Friday of natural causes. He was 94 and lived all but the last two years of his life in Modesto.

“He was an athlete out of the valley, a natural,” said Jeff Podesto, John’s son. “He had great hand-eye (coordination) even to the end.”

Podesto is a member of the halls of fame at Modesto High, St. Mary’s, Pacific, Stanislaus County and Stockton Athletic Club. His career played out during the tumultuous 1940s and World II, and his collegiate years were split between St. Mary’s and Pacific. He spent a semester at Modesto Junior College and was a member of the baseball team.

Podesto then became a football star at St. Mary’s and, as a sophomore, was the seventh-ranked passer in the nation.

He then joined the Marine Corps and, along with many of his friends, was sent to Pacific on a training program.

A constant during this chaotic time, however, was Podesto’s elite athleticism. He played in an era where substitutions were controlled and football players went 60 minutes on both offense and defense. He was a defensive back, punter, passer and fleet tailback.

Podesto always called his abbreviated 1943 season, where he starred at Pacific under legendary coach Amos Alonzo Stagg, the highlight of his career. He was eventually chosen as an All-American and All-Pacific Coast.

The Tigers won their first five games that year, featuring victories over Cal, UCLA and a 16-7 upset over heralded Del Monte Pre-Flight. Pacific finally was beaten by USC 6-0 after the Tigers had two touchdowns called back by penalties. Their season then was cut short as the Marines came calling.

“We had a lot of PFC Marines on that team,” Podesto said in a Bee story in 1982. “And had we won that (USC) game, they would have delayed calling us into the service until the end of the season. They were willing to let us stay and play if we had a chance to go unbeaten.”

Podesto was a Marine officer and achieved the rank of captain, serving in combat in the Pacific Theater until the end of the war. After his discharge three years later, he struggled in pro football.

He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers and was paid $10,000, but their running game didn’t mesh with his passing skills. He was traded to the Chicago Bears, but they had a star at quarterback in Sid Luckman.

Bears coach George Halas tried to connect Podesto with coach Buck Shaw and the fledgling San Francisco 49ers of the new All America Football Conference. But by then, Podesto’s heart wasn’t in it.

“He had gone through a lot,” Jeff said.

This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 11:20 PM with the headline "John Podesto, ‘Presto Podesto From Modesto,’ dies at age 94."