Roger S. Penske/Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame
John C. Whitehead*
- Induction:
- 1995
John Whitehead served the Lehigh athletic community for 22 years from 1967 until his retirement in 1989 as either a coach or director of athletics. His first stint at Lehigh lasted 18 years as he coached the Engineers’ football team to their only national championship in school history during the 1977 season.
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After capturing the NCAA Division II title in 1977, Lehigh made the move to Division I-AA and Whitehead’s squads could not be derailed, reaching the championship game in 1979 and 1980. In both 1977 and 1979, he was awarded the ABC-TV Chevrolet College Division Coach of the Year award.
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In 1980, Whitehead guided a Lehigh squad to an undefeated regular season of 9-0-2, earning the No. 1 ranking in Division I-AA. In 10 years, Whitehead boasted seven winning seasons and was 6-4 against archrival Lafayette. His 75 total career victories ranks second in program history, and his career winning percentage of .661 ranks sixth in school history (thru the 2016 season).
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Before coming to Lehigh, Whitehead was the coach at Carlisle (Pa.) High School where he led teams to a 39-1-4 record over four years. In 1967, he left Carlisle and moved to Bethlehem as a line coach. In his retirement year of 1989, Whitehead coached the Engineer golf squad to an 8-3 record, it's best finish in four years.
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Whitehead and his wife, Bernice, had three sons, Walter - a former Lehigh assistant coach - Robert, and David - who was an outstanding center on the Engineer football team.
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After capturing the NCAA Division II title in 1977, Lehigh made the move to Division I-AA and Whitehead’s squads could not be derailed, reaching the championship game in 1979 and 1980. In both 1977 and 1979, he was awarded the ABC-TV Chevrolet College Division Coach of the Year award.
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In 1980, Whitehead guided a Lehigh squad to an undefeated regular season of 9-0-2, earning the No. 1 ranking in Division I-AA. In 10 years, Whitehead boasted seven winning seasons and was 6-4 against archrival Lafayette. His 75 total career victories ranks second in program history, and his career winning percentage of .661 ranks sixth in school history (thru the 2016 season).
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Before coming to Lehigh, Whitehead was the coach at Carlisle (Pa.) High School where he led teams to a 39-1-4 record over four years. In 1967, he left Carlisle and moved to Bethlehem as a line coach. In his retirement year of 1989, Whitehead coached the Engineer golf squad to an 8-3 record, it's best finish in four years.
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Whitehead and his wife, Bernice, had three sons, Walter - a former Lehigh assistant coach - Robert, and David - who was an outstanding center on the Engineer football team.
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