Renowned all-around UBC athlete. Record-setting UBC soccer player and as UBC football player was pursued by both the BC Lions and the NFL. Played on UBC's baseball team going on to a professional career in the Yankee and Giants organizations. Is inducted into the UBC Sports Hall of Fame as an Athlete and the BC Sports Hall of Fame as a Builder.
In 1962/63 John Haar was a newcomer on coach Joe Johnson's UBC soccer team making his presence felt on offense by scoring 22 goals. His scoring output this season set a new UBC soccer record bettering by three goals the previous record for goals in a season set by Roy Nosella. At the same time the Vancouver Tech High School grad was working his way through local baseball ranks and was selected to the 1963 Pacific International All-Star team, a team composed of young players, a few of whom would become professionals.
In 1963/64 Haar returned for his second season with the UBC Thunderbirds soccer team and along with Dick Mosher and Jim Berry led UBC to the Lower Mainland League championship and the right to advance to BC soccer's premiere division. With a soccer championship and a UBC scoring record in his 'back pocket,' Haar returned for this third season with UBC's baseball team, having started in 1961/62 with Frank Gnup's diamond crew. During the early 1960s UBC baseball was likely the strongest it had been with six players including John Haar signing professional contracts. Haar signed with the San Francisco Giants and was assigned to their team in Class 'A'.
The next school session saw Haar return for his third season with the UBC Thunderbirds soccer team, which had now finally achieved elite league status as a member of the Pacific Coast League. UBC found competition in the Pacific Coast League intense but Haar continued to score and as well, show his defensive abilities.
In 1965/66 an arm injury kept Haar from pursuing professional baseball but the Physical Education student returned to UBC to play not only soccer but also for the UBC football team. With soccer, the UBC Thunderbirds were having one of their best seasons, contending for first place in the Pacific Coast League. Against league-leading Firefighters, which UBC surprised by holding to a scoreless draw, "... it was the defense led by John Haar that gave UBC the one point in the standings." With Frank Gnup's football team, Haar played an integral role as the team's punter. According to the Province newspaper, "Gnup's charges will have one important player they know they can count on, kicker John Haar." In fact the BC Lions heard of his kicking ability and in the spring of 1966 sent Denny Veitch to UBC to sign Haar. Veitch just missed him however as a week earlier Haar had signed a contract with the Yankees and left for Johnson City Tennessee. That summer with Johnson City, outfielder Haar hit .330 and was considered a prospect by the Yankees, moving up a level to Greensboro, North Carolina. It would be soon after however that Haar would receive a tryout and contract offer from the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, an offer he would turn down in favour of his baseball career.
After four seasons starring on the UBC soccer team, three with the UBC baseball team and one with UBC football, Haar was considered by a Vancouver Times writer to be "... the best all-round athlete to play at UBC." Former Athletic Director and hockey coach Bob Hindmarch even remembers Haar as a skillful hockey player. Hindmarch remembers being highly impressed watching Haar play intramural hockey for Phys. Ed.
In 1967/68 Haar returned for his graduating year at UBC assuming a leadership role for his fifth season as fullback with the UBC Thunderbird soccer team. Upon graduating in the spring of 1968, Haar was awarded UBC's highest athletic honour - the Bobby Gaul Award. He had led UBC to one of its finest seasons ever. The UBC Thunderbirds won the Pacific Coast League Championship - tantamount to being the best amateur soccer team in the nation. They had also defeated SFU 5-0 and in the unofficial Western Intercollegiate soccer championship, whipped the University of Manitoba 10-0. Professional soccer scouts were hovering around this UBC team with several players in mind. Haar had witnessed and had been an integral part of the finest of times for UBC soccer.
Haar returned to UBC in 1968/69 as a first year law student. He played his sixth year on the soccer team as team captain and 'dean' of the squad. The Ubyssey newspaper reiterated his value describing him as an excellent soccer player with the ability to play both offense and defense. He had played a total of ten seasons of UBC varsity sports.
Haar was an athlete who achieved success at both the amateur and professional levels. He not only was a local Pacific Coast League soccer star but went on to become one of the more successful professional baseball players to have worn the Blue and Gold. Haar eventually carved out a career in baseball in Canada, as a coach and administrator and as a leader in Canada's baseball program, specifically with the Vancouver-based National Baseball Institute (NBI). In March 2007 it was announced John Haar would be inducted into Canada's Baseball Hall of Fame and in 2016 was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame.
According to Dick Mosher, UBC soccer coach and Haar contemporary as a player, "...Haar was certainly one of the best all-around athletes produced at UBC, in fact, produced by Vancouver!"
Researched and written by Fred Hume, UBC Athletics Historian
