Manhattan College’s History of Athletics Excellence

Throughout its rich athletics history, Manhattan College has produced Olympians, professional athletes, and other prominent figures that serve as benchmarks for current student-athletes to aspire to reach.

On November 10, 2018, Manhattan held its 40th annual Hall of Fame event, established in 1979, which includes more than 250 members.

Campus Fixtures

• 

  Brother Jasper of Mary was the College’s first athletic director and baseball coach, whose name is the beloved symbol of Manhattan College Athletics. Brother Jasper is credited as the originator of the seventh-inning stretch, a time-honored tradition throughout baseball.
• Vincent DePaul Draddy ’30 was the star quarterback of Manhattan College’s football team, and later a key developer to the Izod and Lacoste brands. His generosity led to the construction of the on-campus facility which bears his name.
• Joseph P. Kearney ’67 was a three-time NCAA All-American, a previous owner of nine Manhattan College records, and is noted for beating the former world record holder at the NCAA Championships in the qualifying heats of the half mile. The indoor track in Draddy Gymnasium is named in his honor.
• John “Doc” Johnson was the College's athletic trainer from 1947-2003 and held the same role with the New York Giants until retiring after Super Bowl XLII. One of the most well-liked and respected figures on campus during his 50+ years, the Draddy Gymnasium athletic training room bears his name.

Standouts in the Mecca of Basketball

• Junius Kellogg ’53 was the first African-American basketball player at Manhattan College, and was heralded for his courage after he exposed a gambling scandal which infected college basketball in the 1950s. After graduating in 1953, Kellogg began playing for the Harlem Globetrotters. In 1954, he sustained a cervical spinal cord injury in an automobile accident and was paralyzed, but continued to play wheelchair basketball and later worked for the New York City government.
• Jack Powers ’58 accumulated 1,139 career points and played on two of Manhattan College's NCAA Tournament teams during the 1950s. Powers later coached the Jaspers for 10 years before becoming the school's athletic director in 1980. He had his number (#34) retired, making him the first Jasper to receive the honor.
• Luis Flores ’04 is Manhattan's all-time leading men's basketball scorer with 2,046 points. Flores is the most recent Jasper to be drafted into the NBA when the Denver Nuggets chose him with the 23rd pick of the second round in 2004. He played two seasons in the NBA before a nine-year international career.
• Neil Cohalan ’28 was an 11-letter man who competed in three sports at Manhattan. He later served as the first coach of the New York Knicks.
• Sheila Tighe ’84 is the top scorer in Manhattan College basketball history, male or female, with 2,412 career points. She set eight records, including most points in one game (45), and in one season (730). An All-American selection in 1984, she was a the Northeast Player of the Year, and a two-time MAAC Player of the Year.
• Rosalee Mason ’04 was a three-time first team All-MAAC selection and the MAAC's all-time leading rebounder (1,217). She also ranks second on Manhattan's all-time scoring list (1,875). In 2002-03, Mason led the Jaspers to the MAAC championship and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Mason averaged 16.3 points and 10.6 rebounds during her career and grabbed more rebounds than any other player, man or woman, in school history.

Track and Field Olympians

• Aliann Pompey ’99 was the first female Jasper to win an NCAA title and still holds several Manhattan College records. She represented Guyana at the Summer Olympics on four separate occasions (2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012) and has competed at the World Championships five times.
• Lindy Remigino ’53, dubbed the world's fastest human, won the the gold medal in the 100m dash and the 4x100 meter relay at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.
• Lou Jones ’54 was the former world record in the 400 meters and won a gold medal in the 4x400 meter relay at the 1956 Olympics in Mexico City.

Other Hall of Fame Olympians include Frank Crowley ’34, a 1500-meter runner at the 1932 Olympics, Ed O’Toole ’47, a 10,000 meter runner at the 1948 Olympics, Ken Bantum ’57, a shot putter at the 1956 Olympics, Tom Murphy ’58, who ran the 800 meters at the 1960 Olympics, Mike Keogh ’74, a 5000m specialist at the 1974 Olympics, Dine Potter ’97, in the 4x100 and the 4x400 at the 1996 Olympics, and Pat McGrath ’95, a hammer thrower at the 2000 Olympic Games.

National Champions

The College’s rich history in track and field is highlighted with an NCAA Indoor Track & Field national championship in 1973, under coach Fred Dwyer. Members of this team included Hall of Famers John Lovett ’73, Joe Savage ’74, and Tony Colon ’75, who along with Ray Johnson ’76 comprised the national championship relay team, winning the distance medley relay and solidifying the Jaspers as national champions.

Trailblazers

• Louis Castro 1900 was the first Latino born player of the modern Major League Baseball era. He played one season in 1902 and later became the first Latino to manage a club in organized baseball.
• Castro set the table for more than a century of Jaspers Baseball accomplishments, none as thrilling as the 2006 Baseball team’s ride in the NCAA Tournament. In the first game of the NCAA Regional that year, the Jaspers knocked off future Yankee Joba Chamberlain and sixth-seeded Nebraska. Manhattan also defeated San Francisco in their bracket before suffering a loss to Miami in the Regional final.
• Luis Custodio ’82 holds the Manhattan men’s soccer records for goals in a game (5) and a season (16), and he ranks second all-time with 29 career goals. He was named all-conference twice (1979-80) and All-New York State in 1980.
• Jillian Medea ’06 holds Manhattan College’s softball records for career strikeouts (514), and single-season strikeouts (187). Her 13 career shutouts are the most in MAAC history and she ranks second on the all-time wins list.
• Marianne Reilly ’82, the College’s director of intercollegiate athletics, was Manhattan's first female inducted into the Hall of Fame. She was the first female Jasper basketball player to score 1,000 points, finishing her career with 1,305 points and 860 rebounds.
• Nick Silva ’04 was named the MAAC Men’s Lacrosse Player of the Year in 2002, as he led the Jaspers to their first MAAC championship. He ranks second on Manhattan's all-time assists chart (84) and has the two highest single-season assist totals in program history.
• Luka Van Cauteren ’04 led Manhattan to two straight MAAC volleyball championships, including the first conference title in program history in 2002. In those two years, she was also named the conference's player of the year. Her 610 kills and 4.84 kills per set during the 2003 season remain program records.