2011 Joe Jilts Photo Gallery

Staten Island, NY - The Wagner College football program hosted the 10th Annual Joe Jilts Memorial Alumni Golf Outing on June 2 at the Silver Lake Golf Course.

The annual event is named in honor of former longtime Wagner College equipment manager Joe Jilts, a loyal and dedicated institution on Grymes Hill who retired in 1993 and passed away in 2003.

The outing was another huge success as more than 100 golfers, many of whom wore the Green & White of Wagner during their playing days, turned out for a day of golf, sun, and prizes. Proceeds from the outing are used to benefit the Wagner College Seahawk football program.

The following is an excerpt from a column written by Jay Price of the Staten Island Advance about Jilts following his death in 2003.

Described by many as a kindhearted likable guy who always wore coaching shorts, Virgil “Joe Jilts” Speroni was an all around great person. A ninth grade dropout, the self-taught auto mechanic is how the legend of Joe Jilts started and a Wagner College Athletic Equipment Manager is where Joe Jilts will live on.

Appointed kicking coach for the 1987 National Championship Seahawks football team, Jilts “wasn't about technique and he didn't know much about the game,” said Athletic Director and Head Football Coach Walt Hameline, “but he was so good with people.”

Jilts came to Wagner after his wife Gloria Toscani died of cancer in 1969, thinking that the equipment manager job would give him more free time to spend with his two sons. Instead he unofficially became a surrogate father to players and coaches. He would make meals and was an open ear for student-athletes and coaches who were struggling with everything from being sidelined to girlfriend problems.
.
Jilts made many friends during his time and they stayed close to him through the rest of his life.