San Jose high school football coach, former semi-pro player, dies of cancer at 38

SAN JOSE, Calif. - An assistant football coach at Gunderson High School in San Jose has passed away after battling cancer. Chris Ruane died late last month at age 38. Now the team is remembering him in a special way.

Ruane’s love of football brought him to Gunderson High School four years ago. Coaches say he was the glue that kept the team together and, although he didn’t have children, he treated the players like they were his own.   

On Monday, football practice was underway on James Jones Field at Gunderson High School. The Grizzlies have playoff hopes and head coach Jason Harrison says it’s something they want to achieve, especially since losing Ruane to cancer last month.

"The kids understand what and who we’re playing for, and I think it’s showing on Friday nights," said Harrison. 

Harrison says he met Ruane back in 2010 when they both played semi-pro football. He says he hired his old teammate to coach at Gunderson four years ago and just a couple of years later, Ruane was diagnosed with cancer.

"Initially, we were all thinking you’re going to be alright. You’re going to be fine, and then we start to see low energy. We started to see weight loss," said Harrison. 

Ruane lost his battle with cancer on September 29. A lanyard with Ruane's photo was given to coaches and players at his funeral service. Now, Gunderson coaches wear pins at each game and some players wear the logos of Ruane’s former teams during practice.

"These boys looked up to that guy. He was a mentor, more than a coach. He would give the shirt off his back to any of these boys," said Neil Duffy-Smith, Gunderson High School football coach for Special Teams. 

Duffy-Smith says Ruane kept the entire team on track. Ruane also started adult minor league team, the California Buckeyes, while coaching at Gunderson High. In 2021, he won a championship as a player with Sacramento’s Cap City Fury semi-pro team, showing his players they can win too.

"The man they looked up to did all the same things they did when he was their age. That really helped them kind of settle down and be like OK, the coach was just one of us," said Duffy-Smith. 

The Grizzlies also say they’re using the hashtag #LLCC – Long Live Coach Chris, on social media for the rest of the season.