Paul Straub, Longtime Jesuit High Athletic Director, Dies

TAMPA, FL – Paul Straub, known as much for his service to the Jesuit High School community as for his service to his country, died late Tuesday, June 6, two days shy of his 96th birthday.

The former teacher, coach, athletic director and alumni director served Jesuit for 43 years, from 1949 to 1992, under 12 school presidents.

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A native of West Virginia, Straub lost both legs during World War II in a shell explosion at Guadalcanal in the Pacific theater. After three years in Navy hospitals, Straub returned to civilian life at the University of Tampa, where he graduated in 1948.

Straub arrived at Jesuit in 1949 as a history and science teacher, as well as football, basketball, and track and field coach. Except for a brief stint working at University of Tampa in the 1950s, Straub was an institution at Jesuit for more than four decades.

“As a young man, not much older than our current students, Coach Straub was an American war hero,” said Jesuit president Father Richard Hermes. “Subsequently, his inspiring impact on generations of Jesuit Tigers made him a living legend in the school community for nearly 70 years. As we mourn the passing of Paul Straub, we celebrate his life and thank God for giving our students an unsurpassable role model.”

Jesuit’s first lay coach, Straub led Jesuit to the 1950 State Championship in basketball in his first year at the school. The championship was the first in school history and the first by a Catholic school in Florida.

“He was an inspirational, larger-than-life figure in so many ways,” said Jesuit basketball coach Neal Goldman, who began at the school in the early 1980s. “Past the obvious fact he was a war hero who overcame tremendous adversity, I was always struck by his engaging, positive outlook and his zest for life.”

Straub’s list of awards includes recognition from the U.S. Naval Academy, National Football Foundation, U.S. Congress, the University of Tampa Hall of Fame for Leadership and the Florida High School Coaches Hall of Fame. In 1978, he was named Athletic Director of the Year by the National High School Coaches Association and in 1981, Jesuit’s baseball field was named in his honor.

In the Spring 1992 edition of the Jesuit Alumni News, upon Straub’s impending retirement, the newsletter printed four lengthy testimonials to him, representing students (Michael Donohue, 1992), faculty (Ernie Charette, 1963), staff (Darlene Swierat) and administration (rector of the Jesuit community Father Michael Kennelly).

In his testimonial, Charette wrote how Straub’s spirit, kindness and determination resonated throughout Jesuit in the second half of the 20th Century.

“The halls of Jesuit will never be empty of the legacy of Coach Straub,” he said. “We are enriched beyond measure by having known him.”

Starting with the 1950 State Championship in basketball, Starub was connected to many Jesuit milestones, including:

• The campus relocation from downtown Tampa to Himes Avenue in 1956
• The opening of the gymnasium (Al Lopez Sports Complex) in 1961-62
• The historic 1966 Jesuit Invitational Florida Intercollegiate Track meet that broke racial barriers
• The 1968 football state championship
• The beginning of the wrestling, soccer and cross country programs

“He encouraged and motivated me often with many pearls of wisdom,” Goldman said. “I consider Coach Straub to be one of the greatest men I have ever met.”

Images courtesy of Jesuit High School