Garden City's Metzger Champions H.S. Stadium

The new stadium field that will be constructed in front of St. Anthony’s High School in Huntington Station will be named for James C. Metzger, a former star Long Island high school and college athlete who now is the chairman and chief executive of The Whitmore Group, a leading insurance brokerage firm in Garden City.

Though not a graduate of St. Anthony’s, Metzger was raised nearby and frequently played various sports in the parks and fields located in the shadows of the school. Metzger always admired the education and athletic tradition that St. Anthony’s offered to students, and it is this commitment that convinced him to provide the lead gift for the construction of the new sports facility.

“It is true that I am not an alum,” said Metzger when St. Anthony’s unveiled the plans for the new facility during late May, “but it was in the epicenter of my life growing up. On one side is my family’s parish, St. Elizabeth’s, where I received my first Communion and where I was confirmed. On the other side is Wolf Hill Park, where I grew up playing basketball and tennis. My frequent companions were Kevin Hahn and John Hahn, Sr., the father and grandfather of Matt Hahn, a former St. Anthony’s football superstar.”

The Hahn family introduced Metzger to the insurance industry. Metzger’s family ties to St. Anthony’s High School include his niece, Genevieve Pannell, and nephew, Paul Dowd, who are graduates, and another niece, Julia Dowd, who is completing her first year.
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Photos: James C. Metzger addresses faculty, coaches, students and friends of St. Anthony’s High School, which acknowledged his contribution to the new sports facility on the school’s message board.
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St. Anthony’s Don Corrao was introduced to Metzger and his company three years ago. As the director of development for the school, Corrao immediately learned that Metzger’s passion and competitive nature for his company mirrored the passion and competitiveness that Corrao possessed for the betterment of the school.

“Jim Metzger is a leader who not only has the innate capacity to lead but is willing to use it by leading by example. It was Vince Lombardi who said, ‘Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.’ Trust me, Jim knows what it takes and his generosity on Long Island and beyond is no secret.”

Supporting Communities And Causes

Metzger’s philanthropic projects throughout the New York metropolitan area reflect his belief that people and companies, whenever possible, should support their communities and important causes. Besides Long Island athletics and student athletes, Metzger champions the work of many other local organizations that include Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island, the Hempstead Police Athletic League and the New York City YMCA.

“As I continue to build my brand, partnering with Saint Anthony’s on this project makes a lot of sense,” said Metzger. “St. Anthony’s is the Notre Dame of high schools here on Long Island. Everything they set out to do is based on the desire to be the best – academically, athletically, they just do things the right way and I have come to admire that in them. That’s how I run my company.”

The Sports Connection

Metzger was a standout student athlete who excelled in football, basketball, and lacrosse at Half Hollow Hills East High School in Dix Hills. He earned lacrosse All-America accolades, was the League I and Suffolk County scoring leader, and he received the Ray Enners Award as outstanding lacrosse player in Suffolk County for 1977. The school’s current Most Outstanding Lacrosse Player Award is named in his honor. After graduation, Metzger attended the Naval Academy Preparatory School during 1977-1978. He was the lacrosse team’s leading scorer and most valuable player.

At Hofstra University, Metzger was a two-year member of the men’s lacrosse program and an All-American following the 1980 campaign. He led Hofstra in assists for 1979 (12) and 1980 (28). During his second season, Metzger scored 49 points in only 10 games. His 4.9 points per game average ranks fifth in the history of the Hofstra lacrosse program. Metzger’s 1980 2.8 single season assist average ranks eighth all time and he is one of only three players in the history of Hofstra Men’s Lacrosse to score eight or more points three times in one season.

Metzger was inducted into the Hofstra Athletics Hall of Fame earlier this year and the school also honored him by dedicating The James C. Metzger Hall at the university’s James M. Shuart Stadium. Metzger entered the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame during 2014. A year earlier, he received the George Young Award from the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame that is presented to a person who best exemplifies the high ideals of the late general manager of the New York Giants football organization.

Metzger founded The Whitmore Group, Ltd. during 1989. Today, The Whitmore Group employs nearly 90 people on Long Island and provides a full complement of insurance products and services.