Lauded hoops coach Jim Lennon dies at 86

John Lennon will be the first to tell you that his father, Jim Lennon, was an unassuming man who never boasted about his many awards and recognitions.

"Most of us growing up never knew all the awards he won," said John Lennon, 59, of Sea Cliff.

Jim Lennon had plenty to boast about.

He'd officiated at the men's NCAA Tournament, the National Invitation Tournament and the Eastern College Athletic, Ivy League and Atlantic Coast conferences.

He started the basketball program at St. Agnes High School, now known as Kellenberg Memorial High School, in Rockville Centre, and people like Thomas J. Donohue, president and chief executive of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have listed him as a mentor.

Lennon died Friday at a Toms River, N.J., hospital. He was 86.

He received a bachelor's degree from St. John's University in 1948 and a master's from Teachers College, Columbia University in 1949. From 1951 to 1962, he was assistant principal, dean of students and athletic director at St. Agnes High School. He also juggled coaching the basketball team there from 1955 to 1960. The team had a record of 82-8, including two undefeated seasons and a record 50 consecutive victories, before he resigned from the post.

In a 1960 interview announcing his stepping down as one of the top coaches in Long Island, Lennon explained: "I don't want to do a poor job at anything; that's just the way I am. If I am coaching my team, working as assistant principal, officiating at nights as well, somebody's getting cheated."

"That's 100 percent Jimmy Lennon," said mentee Mickey Crowley, 77, a retired men's basketball referee who himself is a legend. "I met him when I was a high School basketball official on Long Island. He was one of the top basketball officials and he took me under his wing."

Crowley credits Lennon with guiding him into junior colleges and then into the NCAA schools.

Newsday, the New York Daily News and Long Island Press named Lennon coach of year for four consecutive years in the late 1950s, according to his family.

"He was quite a man," said John Lennon. "For him it was about the game and it was not about him. He was about integrity and fairness. He was a great dad and he touched a lot of people."

Besides son John, Lennon is survived by his wife of 24 years, Deanna; children James, Daniel, Catherine, Mary and Michael; 19 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Visiting will be 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday and 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at Macken Mortuary, 52 Clinton Ave. in Rockville Centre. A funeral Mass will be offered 11 a.m. Thursday at St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre. Burial will be at Calvary Cemetery in Woodside, Queens.