SJU Soccer mourns loss of Jimmy Hanna
Former St. John’s soccer player Jimmy Hanna (second from r.) died after a long battle with multiple illnesses. QNS/File
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TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | SEPT. 4-SEPT. 10, 2020 9
BY BILL PARRY
The St. John’s University men’s soccer
team and the athletic department
are mourning the death of Jimmy
Hanna, a former student-athlete and
long-time supporter of the program
who died after a long battle with multiple
illnesses.
A double alumnus of St. John’s who
earned both his undergraduate and
graduate degrees from SJU, Hanna,
who was born in Egypt and immigrated
to the United States as a teenager
in 1974, was a member of the men’s
soccer team during its early years before
serving as a graduate assistant
in the athletic department. After leaving
the university, Hanna remained
active serving as a founding member
and first president of the Men’s Soccer
Alumni Club.
“Be it alumni games, pre or postgame
barbecues, arranging bus trips
for far away games, or just howling out
encouragement during the games, players
and parents from the 80s through
the 2000s have all come to know and
love Jimmy,” said Eddie Silva, Hanna’s
long-time friend, and former St. John’s
teammate. “Jimmy loved soccer, loved
the school, loved the program, and
would often talk about how proud he
was of the program’s success and winning
a national championship while
showing you his Final Four ring rarely
given to program alumni.”
Hanna was also well known in the
local soccer circuit as well, serving as
a long-time coach for the Little Neck
Douglaston Youth Club before eventually
serving as the organization’s vice
president and treasurer.
“When I arrived at St. John’s, one
of the first people to reach out to me as
Jimmy Hanna,” said Dr. Dave Masur,
who began his coaching tenure at SJU
in 1991. “Jimmy had a love for the program
and the university that was evident
to everyone he met. His dedication
to creating a vast alumni network remains
tremendously important to our
success. We appreciated his spirit and
passion and he will be sorely missed.
God bless Jimmy and his family.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail
at bparry@schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260–4538.
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