Photo of John Sheffield

John SheffieldJohn Sheffield

Photo of John Sheffield
School: Lincoln Graduation Year: 2006

Year Inducted: 2019

Sports Played: Football, Lacrosse

High School Honors: 2 Football letters. 1st Team All-PIL, 1st Team
All-State as Senior, leading Receiver in yards
and receptions in Oregon, State Champion
Team Captain, National Football Foundation
Scholar Athlete.
3 Lacrosse letters, 1st Team All-PIL as Junior
and Senior, 1st Team All-State and All-American
as Senior.

Post High School Career: 4 years of Football at Yale. All-Ivy and 3rd Team
All-American in Football. Played Professional
Football in Europe for L’Hospitalet Pioners.
Coached Football in Barcelona and at Lincoln
High School. Worked as COO of ESM Prep.
Earned MBA from Berkeley Haas. Currently an
Operating Partner at SPUR Acquisitions.

Commentary:

When I was in eighth grade, football at Lincoln had been mired in perennial mediocrity and many friends and excellent athletes selected the other private school powerhouses because those seemed to be the only options if you cared about football. But the class of 2006, as well as several classes before and after me at Lincoln, set out to change that reputation. My class went something like 43-3 between freshman, JV, and two years on varsity. We lost the 2005 state championship in the final minutes. We didn’t expect that, nor did we explicitly set out to reach a state championship. But we believed in ourselves and each other, held ourselves accountable, prioritized the group ahead of individuals, and genuinely enjoyed playing with each other.

Those lessons have become guiding principles in life beyond sports. If a team has talent, holds itself accountable, and enjoys working together, it can deliver transformative results.

More Inductees from this School:

Photo of Tom Walsh

Tom Walsh °Tom Walsh °

Lincoln ~ 1958 ~ 2-year Football Letterman, 1st team All-PIL and 2nd team All-State tackle, senior; Shrine all-star. 2-year Wrestling Letterman, PIL runner-up at 181 and 3rd in State, senior.

Photo of Jenny Shannon

Jenny ShannonJenny Shannon

Lincoln ~ 1985 ~ Swimming: 4-year letter winner; PIL and State Champion as a Freshman in 200 Yard Freestyle, 100 Yard Backstroke (State and National Records) and 200 Yard Medley