Meet our Olympian

Kicks, Scores, and Goals: The Life of 1956 Olympian Jim Dorrian

James Patrick Michael “Jimmy” Dorrian was born at Queens General Hospital in Astoria on March 5, 1931, the second child of Jimmy “Red Dog” Dorrian and Mary Elizabeth Doherty Dorrian.

His parents met in Belfast, Ireland, where Red Dog was a qualified electrician and Mary worked in a religious store owned by Red Dog’s mother. Red Dog was well educated, according to Jimmy, and he had common sense as well as street smarts. Mary was sweet, musically talented, and beautiful. She had hoped to pursue a career in music abroad, but her parents did not support the idea of their only child leaving Ireland, so she remained in Belfast. The couple married at Belfast’s St. Peter’s Catholic Cathedral.

Red Dog was Catholic and a member of the IRA. “Pop was a good dresser and he kept his head down so he did not stand out,” stated Jimmy. “My mother was a singer, a good-looking lady, and a great momma.”

Red Dog was hired by the Protestant owner of a prominent electric company in Belfast. When the boss asked the skilled electrician to wire his house, some of the English workers became jealous. “They threatened him, telling him, ‘Patty, you’d better not be here tomorrow.’”

Red Dog knew these threats were serious. He realized this incident meant that he needed to make a dramatic move—a move that might mean the difference between life and death for him and his young family. He decided that he and Mary would emigrate to America while their young daughter, Tess, would remain, temporarily, in Ireland with her grandmother. “There was a lot of bigotry against Catholics back then—there still is,” offered Jimmy. “Pop did the right thing.”

The couple went to the U.S. Consulate in Belfast to get papers to go to the U.S. They arrived in America in the middle of the Great Depression. There were no jobs, so Red Dog decided to go into the bar business.

Aunt Patricia Dorrian

Jimmy’s Aunt Patricia, Red Dog’s sister, was a lead violinist for the BBC; she also taught children how to play the violin and piano. Aunt Patricia lived in a Protestant neighborhood in Belfast. She was forced to leave the city eventually, even though those in her neighborhood left her alone. “She had a rough life.”

Settling in Rockaway, Queens, Jimmy’s parents had three more children: two boys and a girl. They returned to Ireland to bring their daughter Tess to America to join the rest of family.

Red Dog worked at Conway’s Bar at 50th Street and Third Avenue in Manhattan. Conway’s became popular as a gay bar when the establishment raised its prices. At the same time, it continued to serve a wide range of male and female “regulars.”

The Bar’s customers shared their troubles with Red Dog; he became a valued counselor to many. Red Dog knew all the cops in the area, too, which came in handy on more than one occasion.

Jimmy learned the bar business by working alongside his Pop. Other than this, he doesn’t remember receiving guidance from his father. “I got my education through life’s experiences.”

Eventually, Red Dog bought the fish store across the street from Conway’s and turned it into a bar named “The Annex.” Jimmy became co-owner of The Annex with Bernie Newman, a Jewish immigrant who came to the U.S. via South America.

Like Conway’s Bar, The Annex attracted a gay clientele as well as men and women from all walks of life. Jimmy befriended the people who frequented the bar and helped them out when they needed it. He did very well financially, earning $500 per week, which enabled him to buy a house on Calhoun Avenue in the Bronx for $15,000. Even so, his momma held out hope that he would someday become a doctor, a lawyer, or a priest.

While tending to the needs of a family of seven, Mary found time to sing solos during Irish nights at St. Frances de Chantal Catholic Church in Throggs Neck. In addition, she had the incredible opportunity of singing for President John F. Kennedy at a private party in Manhattan.

Broadway and Movie Auditions

Everyone in the Dorrian family had bright red hair, so they decided to audition for the 1939 Broadway play, “Life with Father,” which was based on the true story of New Yorker essayist Clarence Day and his family in the 1880s.

Jimmy also auditioned for the 1946 movie “The Yearling,” a drama that focuses on the family of Civil War veteran Penny Baxter, who lives and works on a farm in Florida with his wife, Orry, and their son, Jody. He auditioned to play Jody, the part that was ultimately played by actor Claude Jarman Jr.

Childhood Experiences

Jimmy had lots of activities to keep him occupied as a young boy, and some of these activities were mischievous. He remembers sneaking into Bronx Beach and Pool on Longstreet Avenue and 177th with his buddies as they attempted to find the coins others had lost. He rode his bike to Rye Beach and Playland Park with a girl on his handlebars as a teenager, using Shore Road and U.S. 1.

He recalls swimming nude at 135th Street in the Bronx and jumping on the third rail of the subway; the third rail is the metal railway track that is placed on either side of a train track to provide electrical power to trains traveling along the tracks.

A man approached him one day as he was making the long jump required to land successfully on the third rail. The man asked him to do it again. Thinking the man was impressed with his abilities, Jimmy complied. He found out later that the man was an off-duty cop who had reported him to the authorities for trespassing.

Jimmy wasn’t always up to no good: he participated in character-building activities as well. He worked for the milkman on the weekend, helped his brother with his newspaper route, and labored first as a box boy/bag boy and then in inventory at Macy’s.

Jimmy constructed his own shoe-shine box and shined shoes outside the subway station at 138th Street. He took the Trolley from 138th and Cypress Avenue to the Upper West Side of Manhattan to pick up Mass cards for his momma.

Athletic Pursuits

Jimmy had a bicycle with big wheels as a child, and he liked to climb trees. By age 13, his primary interest became sports. He played golf, hockey, and roller hockey and was on the basketball team at his church in Throggs Neck.

The German Stadium was one block from his house. When he looked through the fence at members of the New York Sport Club Soccer Team practicing, he thought immediately, “That’s for me.”

Jimmy joined the Team, whose members wore black-and-white uniforms. He started on the “B” team but was soon promoted to the “A” team. He remembers, “I was small but agile. I had stamina, and I improved a great deal on an ongoing basis.”

Jimmy and the other members of the New York Sport Club won the Dr. Manning Cup Football Competition Championship in 1947 and 1948. The Dr. Manning Cup is an annual soccer contest for High School, Under-19 boys’ teams that are part of the Eastern New York State Soccer Association.

He continued to bike and play roller hockey with his friends in the South Bronx and pursued running, an essential skill for a soccer player. He was thin and nimble. He credits his success in soccer to the fact that he played sports with many other excellent athletes.

“The more you play with people better than you, the more you learn.”

A soccer team includes 11 players—one goalkeeper and ten outfield players. In Association “Football” (which is known in the U.S. as “soccer”), Jimmy played the position of left half-back (now referred to as “midfield”), where his main duties were to maintain possession of the ball, receiving the ball from defenders and feeding it to the strikers, as well as dispossessing opposing players. “I covered a lot of ground during each game, and I expended a tremendous amount of energy.”
He added that his focus was 100% on soccer during this period. “No girls.”

Tour of Duty in the U.S. Navy

When Jimmy graduated from high school, the draft was compulsory. Rather than wait to be drafted, he signed up for the Navy on Whitehall Street in Manhattan and was called to duty immediately, attending boot camp in Bainbridge, Maryland. He then completed two six-month cruises in the Mediterranean, followed by shore duty in Naples, Italy. He also served on an aircraft carrier in the waters near Cuba and Haiti.

When off duty, Jimmy and his fellow sailors enjoyed socializing with the ladies. He recalls, “We liked to play “kissy-face” with the girls, but that was it.”

Olympic Tryouts and the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia

When tryouts for the 1956 Olympic Team were announced, Jimmy was all in. The East Coast, West Coast, and the Armed Forces each held playoffs locally, and those who survived these rounds met in St. Louis—approximately 20 to 25 men—from which the U.S. Olympic Team Soccer players were chosen.

The team roster, led by Head Coach Jimmy Mills, included John Carden, Ronald Coder, Bill Conterio, Rolf Decker, Jim Dorrian, Svend Engedal, Harry Keough, Bill Looby, Alfonso Marina, Ruben Mendoza, Lloyd Monsen, Ed Murphy, Dick Packer, Zenon Snylyk, Herman Wecke, Siegbert Wirth, and Al Zerhusen.

Jimmy remembers good weather at the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games. All the teams were there, and they processed around the stadium. He admits to being distracted; his preoccupation was with the soccer games ahead.

The U.S. team played warm-up games with Korea and the Philippines and won both games. In the preliminary round that followed, the U.S. team was defeated by Yugoslavia (2-7) and did not advance. Jimmy commented, “The Yugoslavian team was more sophisticated—very well trained, with lots of practice. We lost after one game, and then it was time to go home.”

The team did not stay for the Games’ Closing Ceremony, leaving before the crowds went home. Instead, they flew to Fiji, where they played soccer with the natives.

Jimmy describes them as “primitive, laid back, and they did not wear soccer shoes—they played in sneakers, or barefoot.”

The team then flew to Hawaii for a day, to the West Coast, and back to the East Coast. Each team member was away from home for approximately one month, and each received a $450 check for their efforts.

Soccer and More Soccer: Player and Coach

Jimmy played with the Danish Athletic Club, a Brooklyn Club Team, during 1956 and with the American Soccer League, Brockhatten Professional Team, from 1956-1960.

For 28 years, he coached soccer at the Mount Saint Michael Academy in Mount Vernon, NY. He began work at 7:00 a.m. at Hansen’s Deli, which served German food, and worked through lunch. At 2 p.m., soccer practice at Mount Saint Michael would begin. “You gotta work ‘em, push ‘em,” says Jimmy.

He recalls a time when two team members hid behind the tree, hoping they would not be noticed; the result was two more laps. “They never did it again.”

He would often drive six or seven kids—”a variety pack”—home to Parkchester or Co-op City. “I took care of them.”

In Jimmy’s 28 years as coach at Mount Saint Michael’s, his team won over 300 games. He was also the coach who first encouraged soccer teams from each of the five boroughs to play with one another, a practice that enhanced the skills of all the players.

In addition to his work at Mount Saint Michael Academy, Jimmy coached soccer at St. Frances de Chantal Catholic Church and at St. Ann’s Academy in Manhattan (now Archbishop Molloy High School), where 14 students from the Throggs Neck area were on full scholarship.

Jimmy did not tolerate drinking or smoking among the young players, and he often gave his teams this pep talk: “Stop the smokin.’ Don’t need drinkin.’ Eat well. Sleep well. We’re all buddies, all family.”

“Stop the smokin.’ Don’t need drinkin.’ Eat well. Sleep well. We’re all buddies, all family.”

The following is a complete list of Jimmy’s teams and coaching experiences through 2003
that were included on a beautiful plaque presented to him on April 24, 2004:
Presented to Coach James “Jimmy” Dorrian
For over 60 years of Soccer as a Player and Coach
Member of the U.S. Olympic Soccer Team, 1956
American Soccer League, Brookhatten Professional Team, 1956-60
In Throggs Neck from 1974-1985
For St. Frances, Austria and AEC Rapid Soccer Club
Mount Saint Michael Varsity Coach, 1979-2004
Wyckoff, New Jersey Torpedoes Youth Soccer Program
Clarkstown Tournament Runner-Up
CYO Champs, German American League Champions
Cosmopolitan Champions Youth, 1985
CHSAA City Champs, 1980 and 1997
Howell Holiday Classic Champs, 2003

For a great man who taught the greatest game
Thanks for all you did for us

From all your friends and players in Throggs Neck, The Bronx
April 24, 2004

Personal Life

It was common in the first half of the 20th Century for an Irish family to emigrate to the U.S. and, once they were settled, to invite other family members to join them. Jimmy’s second cousin, Mary “May” Jamison, came to the U.S. to live with his family, and his parents took care of her. It was assumed that Jimmy and May would marry someday, although both socialized and went on dates with others before they became engaged.

Jimmy and May married and had six children; they now have 15 grandchildren. May passed away 14 years ago, in 2010.

Religious Life

Jimmy worked seven days a week while supporting his family of eight, so there was little time for Mass. Today, he attends Mass and receives Holy Communion every day, and frequently prays the “Prayer of St. Gertrude the Great” for the release of souls in Purgatory.

He keeps track of the number of souls released through his repetition of the following prayer. Our Lord told St. Gertrude the Great that the following prayer would release 1,000 souls from Purgatory each time it is said.

Prayer of St. Gertrude the Great

“Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood
of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses
said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory,
for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the Universal Church,
for those in my own home and within my family. Amen.”

St Gertrude’s life was the mystic life of the Cloister—a Benedictine nun. She meditated on the Passion of Christ, which many times brought a flood of tears to her eyes. She did many penances and Our Lord appeared to her many times. She had a tender love for the Blessed Virgin and was very devoted to the suffering Souls in Purgatory. She died in 1334. Her feast day is November 16.

Approval and recommendation: M. Cardinal Pahiarcaat Lisbon, Portugal, on March 4, 1936.

Before I left my interview with the charming, understated-yet-highly-accomplished Jimmy Dorrian, he shared his recipe for Irish Soda Bread:

“Throggs Neck Special” – 2014
Irish Soda Bread – Martin Gilligan Mix
(Makes 3 8”x 4” Loaves)

Two Large Bowls

Bowl 1 – Wet Mix
   Butter, ¼ lb. – Melt and add to wet mix.
   Raisins, Sun Maid (one Cup golden, two cups regular for 3 Cups) – Add to wet mix.
   4 eggs – Add to wet mix.
   Buttermilk, three cups – Add to wet mix.

Let the mixture sit for one-half hour.

Bowl 2 – Dry Mix
   Flour – Gold Medal Flour, all-purpose mix – 6 cups.
   Sugar – 1-1/2 cups.
   Salt – 2 teaspoons.
   Baking soda – 2 teaspoons.
   Baking powder – 2 tablespoons.
  Caraway seeds – 2 tablespoons.

Make sure all is mixed, then add wet mix. Then it becomes hard work but mix slowly from top to bottom until there is no flower showing and the mixture is like glue.

Put a touch of oil into the pans so the dough does not stick to them. Put in oven at 325 degrees for 45 to 55 minutes; make sure the mix is dry and fully baked—dark brown, but not burnt. AMEN. GOOD LUCK. ENJOY.

Addie Nelson Backlund is a freelance writer and consultant to nonprofit and non-governmental organizations in the U.S. and abroad; www.addiebacklund.com.