Joseph T. Hannan, 85, Villanova basketball star
He was a highly-regarded referee for high school and college games for 40 years.
THEY CALLED HIM "Hannan the Cannon."
The nickname was a tribute to Joe Hannan's aggressive style of play as a guard on the Villanova University basketball team in the 1940s, a winning team that also included future NBA star Paul Arizin.
The team made it to the NCAA quarterfinals in 1949, but fell to Kentucky.
Joe was an All-American at Villanova and played for a time with Arizin in the Catskills and the old American Basketball Association before leaving the sport.
Joseph Thomas Hannan, a highly regarded referee in high school and college basketball for some 40 years, an executive with General Motors Automotive Credit and First Fidelity Bank, and an Army veteran, died Monday of lung disease. He was 85 and lived in Ocean City, N.J., and formerly lived in Wayne.
Joe was born and raised in South Philly's Devil's Pocket section Michael Hannan and Mary "Mame" Hannan. He attended the former South Catholic High School and he helped his team win the league championship in 1944.
He moved on to Villanova, where studied finance before entering the Army near the end of World War II. He served in Germany, where one of his jobs was transporting German prisoners of war.
Joe returned to Villanova and resumed playing basketball. He roomed with Arizin, the high-scoring forward for the Wildcats and later a star with the old Philadelphia Warriors. Arizin died in 2006.
During and after college, Joe and Arizin and other collegiate stars went to the Catskill Mountains in New York state, where they played in a league there.
"He told some funny stories about that time," said his son-in-law, Joseph Paci. "It was a den of gambling activity and the gamblers bet on the league games."
Joe joined General Motors Automotive Credit, from which he retired after 25 years. He then joined First Fidelity as a vice president.
Joe married his high-school sweetheart, Anne M. "Nan" Quirk, in 1955.
As a referee, Joe officiated at both Catholic and Public League high-school and collegiate games.
"Joe Hannan was a man of impeccable character," his family said. "Anybody he came in contact with felt like an old friend. He was humble, caring and selfless.
"A dedicated daily churchgoer, Joe was equally as dedicated to his friends and family. He never had a bad word to say about anybody.
"He attacked every stage of his life with a positive attitude, even the most difficult years caring for his wife, Nan, who suffered with Parkinson's disease. He never missed a single day visiting her in the nursing home where she resided for seven years, and he knew every staff member by name."
His wife died in 2009.
In Ocean City, Joe walked the length of the boardwalk every day.
Joe was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame and the Villanova Basketball Hall of Fame.
He is survived by two sons, Terry M. and Robert J.; two daughters, Karen Paci and Nanci Gray; nine grandchildren and one great-grandson.
Services: Memorial Mass 10 a.m. tomorrow at St. Augustine's Church, 13th Street and Wesley Avenue, Ocean City. Friends may call at 9 a.m. at the Godfrey Funeral Home, 809 Central Ave., Ocean City.
