Former Columbia football star Ginepra, CC ’55, passes away

This past week, Columbia athletics lost a friend when Dr. Alfred “Al” Ginepra, CC ’55, died in his home in Los Angeles, California at age 76.

Ginepra, born in Boston, Massachusetts on July 30,1933, entered Columbia College in 1951 on a pre-law track after graduating from Brookline High School. During his undergraduate years, Ginepra thrived on the gridiron as a tackle for the Lions’ football team. He was a three-year letter-winner, a two-time recipient of the Class of 1913 Football Cup award, and an inductee into Columbia’s 100-year football centennial squad in 1970.

After completing his bachelor’s degree in 1955 as a National Honor Scholar, Ginepra enlisted in the U.S. Army. Following his stint with the army, Ginepra returned to Morningside Heights to receive an MBA from Columbia Business School, which he earned in 1963.

Ginepra spent the last 34 years of his life as a professor and senior lecturer at various Southern California universities including Woodbury University and City University Los Angeles.

In addition to teaching, Ginepra remained an active alumnus. He served as a member of the 1754 Society, a Business School alumni group comprised of “alumni and friends of Columbia Business School who have made plans for the School or University through a trust, estate or other future gift.”

While Ginepra never pursued football after college, he became an avid rugby enthusiast as a player, coach, and referee. Ginepra spearheaded and co-founded the Los Angeles Rugby Club in 1965 with Bob Sardell and El Holt. The club held weekly clinics during the summer in which Ginepra would teach fundamentals of the sport.

“Al was a larger-than life character who was brash and opinionated about most everything,” wrote Bill Kelly, the club’s former president, in an e-mail.

Ginepra also worked as an administrator for the Southern California Rugby Football Union, a parent body for rugby leagues in Southern California, Arizona, and Nevada. Additionally, he served as a spokesman for the Los Angeles Chapter of the United Service Organizations.

“Al Ginepra loved rugby football, and his passion for the sport was contagious,” Kelly said. “He will be greatly missed.”

Ginepra leaves behind two children, Joanne and Lawrence, and three grandchildren.