Alex Yannis

Born in Greece in 1937, Yannis came to the United States at age 29 after attending the John Lennox Cook School of Languages and obtaining a Proficiency Diploma from the University of Cambridge in England and working for the New York Times International Edition out of the Paris office.

He joined the New York Times City Desk upon arrival, serving as a news assistant for five years. During this period he began writing soccer stories for the Times. In 1971 he moved to the Sports Department where he remained until his retirement in 2004. His soccer stories covered the gamut of the game, from local amateur matches to the international stage.

His knowledge of the local game was enhanced by his three years of play in the German-American League for Hellenic (as he says, “Who else?”) and his 22 years coaching in the Cosmopolitan League and the Italian- American League.

His years of growing up in Europe served him well: among his first big assignments was covering the 1974 World Cup in Germany. He later reported on the Cosmos of the North American Soccer League for their entire history and became a close friend to international stars like Pelé and Franz Beckenbauer. He covered more than 20 NCAA championship games. He also handled the horse racing and the ice hockey beats for the paper.

Yannis has authored three books: New Jersey Devils (NHL Today), Soccer Basics and Inside Soccer: The Complete Book of Soccer for Spectators, Players, and Coaches. In retirement, he has become an avid golfer along with his lifelong love of the beautiful game.

The Colin Jose Media Award, a tribute to Hall of Fame Historian emeritus Colin Jose who was also a SoccerAmerica and World Soccer correspondent, and is North America’s preeminent soccer historian, is designed to honor members of the media who specialize in communications with respect to soccer in the United States. It is awarded to those whose career contributions in the field are deemed to be of exceptional and sustained quality. Colin Jose Media Award honorees are: