Copyright Staten Island Advance
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Three decades after plans were first hatched to build a field house in memory of hero FDNY captain John Drennan, the project will finally get underway with a groundbreaking ceremony at Tottenville HS on Thursday. The Capt. John Drennan Memorial Field House, of course, will be named after the former Tottenville varsity football coach who perished from injuries suffered while fighting a fire in Manhattan in 1994. The groundbreaking ceremony, which will feature purple shovels symbolizing Tottenville’s primary color, will take place at 12:30 p.m. in the area between the Huguenot school’s tennis courts and football field. The ceremony will be hosted by the Tottenville Football Alumni Association in conjunction with the NYC Department of Education, Tottenville HS and the FDNY. A light lunch will follow inside the school. Afterwards, a celebration will take place at Vini Divino Winery & School of Wine (42 Industrial Loop, 10309). All are welcome. Prior to being a hero firefighter, Drennan had an extensive coaching career with the Pirates. He joined the program as an assistant coach in its infancy in 1969 before serving as head coach between 1972-75. He was only 25 year old when he took over the program and he boasted a solid 23-11 record during his tenure as head coach. Drennan died a hero in 1994, along with firefighters Chris Siedenburg and Jimmy Young, when the brave men got trapped in a Manhattan apartment stairwell while battling a blaze. Almost immediately after the tragedy, plans were underway to build a field house at Tottenville HS in Drennan’s memory. According to Advance/SILive.com records, initial plans called for the facility to be built with private funds and later maintained by the Board of Education. Then-City Councilmember Vito Fossella and ex-Borough President Guy Molinari allotted significant funds toward the project. Advance/SILive.com records further stated that preliminary designs drawn up by volunteers called for a 6,000-square-foot building. The two-level structure would accommodate 180 lockers to be split between male and female athletes. There would be a weight-lifting room, offices for equipment storage and a concession stand. In part because the Board of Education didn’t initially approve the volunteers’ designs, the project was stuck in a holding pattern for what seemed like forever. Until now. Thirty years after many individuals, most notably Drennan’s former players, pushed for a field house to be built in memory of the man they adored, it’s finally going to happen.
