Thousands gather for John Beam memorial service in Oakland

OAKLAND — Those who knew legendary football coach John Beam the best always said he cared only about the number of lives he aided off the field and not the wins he accumulated on it. At the Henry J. Kaiser Center on Saturday, his success in that endeavor was unmistakable.

Thousands gathered to honor Beam’s life at a public memorial service after his sudden death in November. The gesture was one of those victories that Beam discussed as a “win off the field,” a phrase he repeated more than...