When you think of the Cathedral Prep and Seminary, Elmhurst, sports program in the second half of the 20th century, the conversation starts with one name: Jim Dilg.

Coach Dilg spent more than half his life as a teacher, coach, and athletic director at the Queens school. On Sept. 27, Cathedral welcomed him back for a special event — “A Conversation with Mr. Jim Dilg.”

The town-hall-style event was packed with Dilg’s former student-athletes, who were able to ask questions about Dilg’s tenure leading the Crusaders. Funds raised from the discussion will be used for scholarships for incoming students.

For Dilg, the path to Elmhurst began in the Bronx, where he grew up attending Mass and the parochial school at St. Raymond’s Church. He ran track and played basketball and baseball there before heading to Manhattan Prep H.S., where he starred as a pitcher.

Dilg continued pitching collegiately at Manhattan College in Riverdale. His father was a semi-pro pitcher, so he had the genes to thrive on the mound. While at Manhattan, he earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education.

Upon graduation in 1964, he had two immediate job offers: one at Sacred Heart H.S., Yonkers, and the other at Cathedral Prep in Queens. He didn’t have a car at the time, so he knew no matter which one he picked, the travel would have been difficult anyway.

“Looking back on it, there was no particular reason why I chose Cathedral,” Dilg said. “It was like the Holy Spirit leading me there. There’s really no other explanation.”

Starting in the fall of 1964, Dilg was a health teacher while attending NYU at night to earn his master’s degree. In the spring of that school year, he founded the Crusaders track and field program. He also started up the freshmen basketball team at the Queens Cathedral site, since before that, the Brooklyn and Queens campuses had a combined team.

In addition to a long stint as athletic director, Dilg coached varsity track, varsity basketball, and varsity baseball for decades. He later became the school’s director of both development and the alumni association, which ended his time as AD and also paused his coaching career.

Sure enough, in the early 2000s, Dilg was right back on the basketball court as head varsity coach once again. In 2000, the Crusaders reached the CHSAA ‘A’ division city championship finals, and the following year, Cathedral took home the city title. Dilg retired in 2011.

In his 47 years of coaching, he coached more than 1,000 student-athletes across the three sports. He has many fond memories from his time in Queens, and the recent event served as a poignant reminder of nearly five decades of joy for him and his family.

“Cathedral is a special place,” said Dilg, a member of the CHSAA and Cathedral Prep Halls of Fame. “The students and alumni loved going there. There’s a spirit, a unity, and a bond. Jesus is really the center of the school. It’s a hidden gem in Elmhurst.”

When Cathedral Prep Principal Richie Diaz approached Dilg about the event, there was no hesitation. “I always say: If I can help the school in some way, I’m always happy to do that,” Dilg said.

Following Mass, Bobby Hannafin, ’72, served as the event’s emcee. Dilg called Hannafin — a former All-City student-athlete who went on to St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights — one of the top baseball and basketball players he ever coached.

A panel of five alums then shared a retrospective on their times with Dilg and how he impacted their lives. Dilg spoke briefly and then opened things up to audience questions. He was moved when hearing how many former student-athletes considered him a father figure.

“It was a night of tears of joy,” Dilg said. “I was very emotional during it, but they were tears of happiness hearing my former students say how much they took away from me from their four years.

“At the same time, it’s reciprocal. What I was receiving from them — watching them grow into young men and seeing them now and their achievements — really gives back to me what I gave to them.”

To close out the event, Cathedral honored Dilg with a banner featuring a No. 1 jersey, which will now hang in the school’s gymnasium.  All the accolades aside, Dilg said he’s most proud that his team routinely won sportsmanship awards, since that’s
what high school sports should be all about.

These days, Dilg and his wife, Kathy, split time between Lake Ronkonkoma, L.I., and Pennsylvania with their three children and four grandkids. Once you coach, you can never fully give it up, so Dilg helps out with a softball team when he can.

As a coach and lifelong educator, it was Dilg’s test to pass along the values of sports to his student-athletes. Seeing how many former players attended his recent event proves one thing: He aced that test!