Yosh Uchida

Uchida was born in the Imperial Valley town of Calexico, California, to Japanese immigrants who worked as farm laborers.{{cite web|last=Yeh|first=Emerald|url=http://asianpacificfund.org/awards/bio_uchida.shtml|title=Yoshihiro Uchida|publisher=Asian Pacific Fund|access-date=April 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050320122015/http://www.asianpacificfund.org/awards/bio_uchida.shtml|archive-date=March 20, 2005|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.kqed.org/news/11660424/san-joses-own-grandfather-of-judo-still-kicking-at-98|title=San Jose's Own 'Grandfather of Judo' Still Kicking at 98|last=Myrow|first=Rachael|publisher=KQED|access-date=April 16, 2020|date=April 7, 2018}} Later growing up in Garden Grove, Uchida began competing in judo at age 10.{{cite web|url=http://blogs.sjsu.edu/newsroom/2020/spartan-judo-legend-turns-100/|title=Spartan Judo Legend Turns 100|last=Jackson|first=Julia Halprin|publisher=San Jose State University|date=March 30, 2020|access-date=April 16, 2020}}

Uchida studied biology at San Jose State, and in 1940 was made the student-coach of the Physical Education Department's judo program.{{cite web|url=http://sjsujudo.org/history.htm|title=History|publisher=San Jose State University Judo|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040608094736/http://sjsujudo.org/history.htm|archive-date=June 8, 2004|access-date=April 16, 2020|url-status=dead}} During World War II, while members of his family were sent to internment camps, Uchida was drafted into the United States Army during World War II and served as a medical technician. He returned to San Jose State in 1946 to complete his degree and to restart the judo program.{{Cite web|url=https://www2.calstate.edu/csu-system/news/Pages/coach-uchida.aspx|title=Yoshihiro Uchida: Judo's Goodwill Ambassador|publisher=California State University|date=July 9, 2018|language=en-US|access-date=June 2, 2019}}

After graduating in 1947, Uchida remained the coach at SJSU, a part-time position, while working as a laboratory technician at O'Connor Hospital and then a lab supervisor at San Jose Hospital. During this time, Uchida and University of California, Berkeley judo coach Henry Stone began developing rules to allow their students to compete against each other, including a weight class system, moving judo away from a martial art for self defense to a sport for competition. Stone and Uchida persuaded the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) to sanction judo in 1953; the first AAU National Championship in judo was held at San Jose State in that year.{{cite web|url=http://www.americanblackbeltacademy.com/ref-room/historyamericanmartialarts.htm|title=History of American Martial Arts: Judo|publisher=American Black Belt Academy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020720081129/http://www.americanblackbeltacademy.com/ref-room/historyamericanmartialarts.htm|archive-date=July 20, 2002|access-date=April 16, 2020|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040617161037/http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/columnists/mark_purdy/8803317.htm|archive-date=June 17, 2004|title=Back where he began it|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/columnists/mark_purdy/8803317.htm|last=Purdy|first=Mark|work=San Jose Mercury News|date=May 31, 2004|access-date=April 16, 2020}}

From 1960 to 1961, Uchida served as president of the Judo Black Belt Federation of America, which under his leadership started a pilot program for a national ranking system.{{cite web|url=https://uskajukenbo.com/?news=the-history-of-judo|title=The History of Judo|publisher=United States Kajukenbo Association|access-date=April 16, 2020}} With United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) judo coach Phil Porter, Uchida co-organized the first National Collegiate Judo Championship in 1962 at USAFA.{{citation|last=Johnson|first=Gil|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q9cDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA25|title=A new look for Joe College: from letter-sweater to black belt|work=Black Belt|page=25|volume=12|issue=4|date=April 1974|via=Google Books}} Uchida's San Jose State Spartans won the first of their over 40 national championships under his leadership at the inaugural tournament.{{Citation|last=Rhoden |first=William C. |author-link=William C. Rhoden |title=For 66 Years, a Force for Judo in the United States |newspaper=The New York Times |location=New York, New York |date=April 1, 2012 |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/2012/04/02/sports/san-jose-coach-yoshihiro-uchida-a-force-for-judo.html |access-date=April 16, 2020}}

Uchida represented the United States as the team coach of the first Olympic Judo Tournament at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The team included two of Uchida's students from San Jose State, Ben Nighthorse Campbell and Paul Maruyama.

{{Citation|last=Whiteside |first=Kelly |title=The Teachings of the Master |magazine=Sports Illustrated |date=March 22, 1993 |url=https://www.si.com/vault/1993/03/22/128245/the-teachings-of-the-master-guided-by-the-gentle-hand-of-yosh-uchida-san-jose-states-judo-program-is-in-a-class-by-itself}} James Bregman won a bronze medal in the middleweight class, becoming the first American to medal in the sport.{{cite web|url=https://usopm.org/for-yosh-uchida-judo-is-a-way-of-life/|title=For Yosh Uchida, judo is a way of life|last=Lasseter|first=Evan|date=April 2020 |publisher=United States Olympic & Paralympic Digital Museum|access-date=April 16, 2020}}{{citation|last=Murray|first=Jack|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rNUDAAAAMBAJ&q=%22jim+bregman%22+%22First+american%22+Judo&pg=PA62|title=One Man's Dream for "A Better Judo"|work=Black Belt|date=October 1976|volume=14|issue=10|edition=Yearbook|page=62|via=Google Books}}

Uchida continued promoting the sport after the 1964 Olympics. He organized the first U.S. High School Judo Championships and the first U.S. Open tournament, both hosted at San Jose State. {{As of|2012}}, his San Jose State Spartans judo teams have won 45 of the 51 National Collegiate Judo Championships.{{cite web |url=http://www.sjsujudo.org/news/2007/collegiates.htm |title=National Collegiate Judo Championships |date=March 25, 2007 |access-date=2007-07-05 |publisher=San Jose State Judo |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070507060031/http://www.sjsujudo.org/news/2007/collegiates.htm |archive-date=2007-05-07}} In February 2007, the San Jose State program was named one of six USA Judo National Training Sites.{{cite web |url=http://usjudo.org/2007NewTrainingSites.asp |title=USA Judo Announces Three New Training Sites |date=February 17, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070305184027/http://usjudo.org/2007NewTrainingSites.asp|archive-date=March 5, 2007|access-date=April 16, 2020|url-status=dead |publisher=USA Judo}}

In 1957, Uchida bought and operated a failing medical laboratory in order to earn enough income to qualify for a home loan. Having bought the lab for $3,000 with a $75 down payment, Uchida made the lab profitable within one month by soliciting business from doctors with whom he worked previously. Uchida's laboratory business grew to 40 locations.

In 1989, he sold the business to Unilab for $30 million. He used the funds from the sale to start Uchida Enterprises. With 78 other investors, Uchida formed the San Jose Nihonmachi Corporation, which invested over $80 million to develop housing and businesses in San Jose's Japantown neighborhood.{{cite web|last=Fan|first=Lawrence|url=https://sjsuspartans.com/news/2020/4/1/general-happy-100th-birthday-to-legendary-judo-coach-yosh-uchida.aspx|title=Happy 100th Birthday To Legendary Judo Coach Yosh Uchida|publisher=San Jose State University|work=SJSUSpartans.com|date=April 1, 2020|access-date=June 29, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316082326/https://sjsuspartans.com/news/2020/4/1/general-happy-100th-birthday-to-legendary-judo-coach-yosh-uchida.aspx|archive-date=March 16, 2021|url-status=dead}} Uchida also helped form the Japanese American Chamber of Commerce of Silicon Valley.

File:Modern (5314152148).jpg]]

For his contributions to judo, Uchida was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure with Golden Rays in 1986 by Emperor Hirohito of Japan. He was inducted into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.{{cite web |url=http://www.sjsa.org/hall_of_fame/inductees.asp |title=Inductees, Members of the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame |access-date=April 16, 2020|url-status=dead |publisher=San Jose Sports Hall of Fame|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060711040042/http://www.sjsa.org/hall_of_fame/inductees.asp|archive-date=July 11, 2006}} Uchida has also received many awards from San Jose State, including the university's highest award (the Tower Award) in 1992 and an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters in 2004.{{cite web|url=https://www.sjsu.edu/senate/docs/AS1687.pdf|title=AS 1687, Sense of the Senate Resolution: Honoring Professor Yoshihiro Uchida for His 70 Years of Service to San José State University|publisher=San Jose State University|date=March 12, 2018|access-date=April 16, 2020}}{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040518215353/http://www.sjsu.edu:80/news/news_detail.jsp?id=616|archive-date=May 18, 2004|title=Robert Caret Named Commencement Speaker|date=May 5, 2004|publisher=San Jose State University|url=http://www.sjsu.edu/news/news_detail.jsp?id=616|access-date=April 16, 2020|url-status=dead}} Additionally, the physical education building on campus that houses the judo dojo was renamed "Yoshihiro Uchida Hall" in 1997.{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170318174927/https://www.mercurynews.com/2014/08/25/san-jose-state-catching-up-in-facilities-race/|title=San Jose State catching up in facilities race|work=San Jose Mercury News|date=August 25, 2014|access-date=June 30, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140827000136/http://www.mercurynews.com/sports/ci_26403800/san-jose-state-catching-up-facilities-race|archive-date=August 27, 2014|url-status=live|url-access=limited}}

• San Jose State Spartans

{{reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20101218210106/http://pacificcitizen.org/site/Default.aspx?tabid=55&selectmoduleid=373&ArticleID=593&reftab=54&title=Yoshihiro_Uchida_is_San_Jose_State_University's_%E2%80%98Humble%E2%80%99_Judo_Master Article on Uchida's 90th birthday]
• {{cite web|title=Interview: Yosh Uchida |website=tessaku.com |date=14 March 2020 |url=https://www.tessaku.com/oral-histories/2020/3/3/yosh-uchida |accessdate=2021-05-27}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uchida, Yoshihiro}}

Category:1920 births

Category:2024 deaths

Category:Sportspeople from San Jose, California

Category:20th-century American sportsmen

Category:American men centenarians

Category:American male judoka

Category:American sports coaches

Category:San Jose State University faculty

Category:United States Army soldiers

Category:Military personnel from California

Category:American military personnel of Japanese descent

Category:United States Army personnel of World War II

Category:American sports businesspeople

Category:Businesspeople from San Jose, California

Category:American sportspeople of Japanese descent

Category:Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure

Category:Sports coaches from California

Category:People from Calexico, California

Category:People from Garden Grove, California

Category:San Jose State Spartans judoka