SJCC's 100 Year History

1920's

• The first class to enroll in San Jose Junior College had 86 students. Enrollment quickly increased, and from 1925 until the end of WWII it remained at approximately 30% of the total San Jose State Teachers College student body.

1930's

• In conjunction with programs offered by San Jose State College programs were created for aircraft mechanics, airframes, and pilot training.

1940's

• 1941 - A chapter of Alpha Eta Rho, a national aviation fraternity, is sponsored by the college. Among the thirty active members two are from the junior college. Two airplanes are purchased and the students are trained as both private and commercial pilots.

1950's

• 1956 - An outstanding player for the Chicago Bears for 11 years, Jim Cadile, graduated from San Jose City College
• 1957 - San Jose City College rose to the forefront of providing the community with cultural leadership when renowned news journalist Peter Jennings spoke in the new City College auditorium to a packed audience on the topic of the Viet Nam conflict, which was dominating the news of the day.
• 1958 - One student, Leroy M. Montez, almost single handedly brought about the change from San Jose Junior College to San Jose City College. As a freshman he wrote an article in the Scribe, as the school newspaper was known in those days, in which he deplored the layman’s connotation of the words “junior college” into a concept of undesirability. He subsequently wrote additional letters to the paper, and on June 30, 1958 the name was officially changed to San Jose City College. Ironically, the diploma that was presented to him bore the designation San Jose Junior College because it was issued before the name change became official.
• 1959 - The cultural series began and for the next 15 years the college hosted a wide variety of speakers and performers in the college theater, Men’s Gymnasium and the San Jose Civic Auditorium. The speakers included such noteworthy individuals as Margaret Mead, Dr. S.I. Hayakawa, Malcom Muggeridge, Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Linus Pauling, Dr. Robert Hutchins, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., William Shirer, Norman Cousins, Madame Rahan Nehru, Drew Pearson, Erich Fromm, Dr. Ashley Montagu, David Susskind, Vance Packard, Bishop James Pike, Gore Vidal, Dr. L.S.B. Leakey, James Meredith, Steward Udall, Ralph Nader, Sander Vanocur, Paul McCloskey, Mervyn Dymally, Alex Haley, Cesar Chavez, and Dr. Paul Ehrlich.
• Cass Jackson, an outstanding member of the City College football team, graduated and transferred to San Jose State. Following that he played in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles. He recently retired after serving as head track coach at Monterey Peninsula College.
• Bill Walsh, who went on to fame as the football coach at Stanford University and then the San Francisco 49ers, was an assistant football coach at San Jose City College in 1959.

1960's

• 1960 - Men's Basketball Coach Jim Padgett leads his team to win the State Championships
• 1962 - The City College Hymn disappeared from the student handbook. No record of the actual music can be found, but the words reveal a more innocent and halcyon way of life back in the early days of the college:
  
  Our voices rise this day to you
  To City College we’ll ever be true
  We pledge to you our loyalty
  To honor and praise you
  Wherever we may be…wherever we may be
• 1965 - After leaving SJCC Bob Toledo graduated from San Francisco State University in 1967. His career is legendary, and he coached football at UC Riverside, USC, University of the Pacific, University of Oregon, Texas A&M;, UCLA and Tulane University.
• 1969 - Social upheaval came to the campus and a series of rallies were held on campus involving both Chicano and Black student activists. In April, riot police were called to campus over a potential physical confrontation involving the Mexican American Student Confederation and their demands for justice. Fortunately there was no violence.
• SUGGESTIONS FOR APPROPRIATE COLLEGE DRESS – from College Catalog until 1969:
  
  Classes and Athletic Events
  Women - Sweater, blouse and skirt, sport dress, wool or cotton. Shoes: flats or heels
  Men – Slacks, sports shirt, sweater or jacket
  
  Shows
  Women – School clothes or suit. Shoes: flats or heels
  Men – Sport jacket, slacks (or suit), tie
  
  Dressy Sports Occasions
  Women – Dressy street length dress. Shoes: Heels
  Men – Sports jacket, slacks (or suit), tie
  (Note: Evening College assemblies are dress up occasions)
  
  Dressy-Dress Affairs
  Women – Dressy street length dress. Shoes: Heels
  Men – Suits, tie
  
  Semi-Formal Affairs
  Women – Short or long formal. Shoes: Heels or dressy flats
  Men – Suits (dark if possible) tie (A corsage for your dates may be in order)
• Few people are aware that at one time San Jose City College had a championship marching band. In 1965 they marched into the Junior Rose Bowl game at half-time and were named the top band among California Junior Colleges.
• Following his graduation from San Jose City College and the University of Utah in 1972, Steve Kinney went on to play with the Chicago Bears in the NFL.

1970's

• 1970 - Following graduation Roger Maltbie embarked upon a long and successful career as a professional golfer. He won a total of 14 PGA championships, placed 9th in the Masters Tournament in 1976 and 4th in 1987. After retiring from the tour he spent a number of years as a Sports Analyst for NBC Sports.
• 1971 - An arson fire in the City College Times office did $24,000 damage. The perpetrator was never caught.
• 1975 - In keeping with the increasing awareness of social responsibility a childcare facility for students with small children was proposed and adopted. The original operation was held in Emmanuel Lutheran Church on the corner of Leigh Ave. and Moorpark. Subsequently it was moved to one of the old vacant classroom buildings from the San Jose Technical High School.
• SJCC graduate, Dave Stieb, was a 7-time All Star pitcher playing with the Toronto Blue Jays and the Chicago White Sox.
• 1976 - While a student at San Jose City College Millard Hampton competed in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal where he won a gold medal in the 4x100 relay and a silver medal in the 200 meter dash. After his graduation from UCLA he became a San Jose police officer and the author and publisher of the newspaper The Buffalo Soldiers.
• Although never a student at San Jose City College, Bruce Jenner, now known as Caityln Jenner, trained exclusively at San Jose City College under the direction of coach Bert Bonanno prior to winning the gold medal in the decathlon at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.
• 1977 - One of the all-time great pitchers in major league baseball, Dave Righetti, was a student at SJCC. His first year playing with the New York Yankees he was named Rookie of the Year. Twice an All Star, he played with the San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, and Chicago White Sox during his sixteen year career. He is the first player in history to pitch a no hitter and lead the league in saves. From 2000 through 2017 he was the pitching coach for the Giants prior to his retirement.

1980's

• 1984 / 1987 - SJCC hosted the US Track and field championships, and ABC’s Wide World of Sports broadcast both events live from the campus with the aid of the Goodyear Blimp.
• 1988 - After graduating from SJCC, Scott Erickson transferred to the University of Arizona, after which he began a major league baseball career as a pitcher for the Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, and New York Yankees.

1990's

• 1990 - "CARR" Program was developed by Basketball coach Percy Carr to give student-athletes support to succeed in their academic programs
• 1998 - Women's Basketball Coach Terri Oberg leads her team to win the State Championships

2000's

• After September 11th stunned the nation, the college immediately began major efforts to develop campus awareness of Middle Eastern Culture. A Middle Eastern Heritage Committee was formed and there were campus displays, discussions and articles in the City College Times.
• 2000 - The newly constructed Library and Learning Resource Center was dedicated and renamed after Cesar E. Chavez
• 2009 - The Men's Baseball program was eliminated.

2010's

• 2013 - The long anticipated planning for a new sports complex began. Construction was completed and the building opened in 2018.
• 2018 - San Jose City College had three programs ranked in the top five nationally:
  A. Dental Assisting - #1
  B. Cosmetology - #3
  C. Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning - #5