J.T. Snow
Class of 1986
Hometown: Seal Beach, CA
Current Residence: Hillsborough, California
One of the top all-around athletes to wear Griffin Red & Blue, J.T. was an all-CIF performer in football, basketball and baseball. He is the son of the late Jack Snow, former Notre Dame All-America wide receiver who played 11 seasons with the Los Angeles Rams
As a quarterback J.T. led Los Al to the 1985 Empire League championships, while completing passes to Rob Katzaroff and future San Francisco Giant teammate Robb Nen. Against Esperanza, he led the Griffins on a legendary 77-yard drive in the final 41 seconds, capping it off by scrambling to avoid two Aztec rushers and then finding Katzaroff for a 17-yard touchdown on the game’s final play. The 24-21 win was Los Al’s first ever over Esperanza, and is still considered one of the top highlights in Los Al football history
As a basketball player he averaged over 18 points a game while earning All-CIF and all-county honors.
But it was in baseball where J.T. made his most lasting mark. After earning All-CIF honors at Los Al, he played three seasons (1987-89) at the University of Arizona. As a junior, he led the club in hitting (.359) and was named to the All-Pac 10 team. After the 1989 season, he was drafted by the New York Yankees in the fifth round of the 1989 baseball amateur draft. Snow broke into the Majors with the Yankees at the end of the 1992 season.
Snow was traded to the California Angels in 1993, and spent three season there before moving on to the San Francisco Giants, where he spent nine seasons, helping San Francisco to four post season appearances during his tenure. He and Hall of Famer Willie McCovey are the only Giants first basemen to start nine consecutive Opening Days since the club moved to San Francisco in 1958.
Snow can be found throughout the SF-era record books. He ranks in the top 15 for: batting average (12th – .273), games (sixth – 1,182), at-bats (12th – 3,822) , runs (11th – 561), hits (11th – 1,043), doubles (7th – 228), home runs (14th – 124), RBI (8th – 615) and walks (5th – 565).
After the 2005 season, Snow signed as a free agent with Boston, but after the season he retired after 15 major league season, and in December 2006 he returned to the Giants to work in their front office.The Long Beach, CA native owned a .268 lifetime average with 189 home runs and 877 RBI over 1,715 career games for the Yankees (1992), Angels (1993-96), Giants (1997-2005) and Red Sox (2006).
The six-time Gold Glove first baseman has a wide variety of duties in his role, including personal appearances,broadcasting on the radio side, serving as an instructor during Spring Training, a roving instructor for the minor league clubs and advising general manager Brian Sabean on an as needed basis.
Snow, who is only the second player to win the coveted “Willie Mac Award” twice in his career (1997 and 2004), makes his home in Hillsborough, CA with his wife, Stacie, and their son, Shane
J.T. has been a community leader throughout his career, being especially supportive of programs for children and families affected by cancer, and being a spokesman for Pets in Need (a private no-kill adoption center serving the Bay Area), and the American Cancer Society, and working with many other programs.
