Roger S. Penske/Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame
Gigon*, Richard M. "Dick"
Richard M. "Dick" Gigon*
- Induction:
- 2000
- Class:
- 1952
Richard Gigon earned his varsity letters on the soccer field and the baseball diamond. Gigon played shortstop and batted leadoff, accumulating a .300 average over his last two seasons and earning varsity letters for three years.
It was on the soccer field that Gigon excelled. After missing his freshman year due to appendicitis, Gigon went on to become the only two-time All-American soccer player in school history. Gigon earned Honorable Mention honors in 1949 as a sophomore and in 1951, as a senior, he was named to the All-America Second Team. During his sophomore and senior seasons, Gigon was selected to play in the North-South College All-Star Game as a member of the North squad and was also named to the 1949 and 1951 Middle Atlantic Soccer Conference North All-Star Teams. Once his collegiate career was over, Gigon was selected by the United States Olympic Soccer Committee to participate in the 1952 Eastern Olympic soccer trials. Although Gigon didn't make it past the final cut, his career at Lehigh had proven how talented he was in soccer.
“It's a great honor to be selected for induction into the Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame,” Gigon said. “It has been a lengthy process, but one that has brought back a lot of fond memories. Playing at Lehigh taught me about teamwork. You can be a good individual player, but it's the team that matters most. That's also true in the business world.”
As captain of the team his senior season, Lehigh finished with a 10-3 record, the best in the first 65 years of the sport on South Mountain. That team also captured the championship of the Middle Atlantic Soccer Conference for the first time in the annals of the Brown and White. In addition, the 1951 squad won the Middle Three soccer championship (Lehigh, Lafayette and Rutgers) for the first time in 10 seasons.
While the 1951 team was the most successful one that Gigon played on, his accomplishments were spread out over each year. Consider that Gigon scored almost half (48 percent) of Lehigh's goals over the three-year span (35 out of 73). He led the Brown and White to an overall three-year record of 19-10-3 and a .641 winning percentage. As a sophomore, he scored 16 goals in nine games, or 59 percent of the team's 27 goal total, averaging almost two goals per game. As a junior, Gigon was moved by head coach Billy Sheridan from center forward to center halfback, a position that centered more on passing than scoring. Lehigh would finish 5-5 and Gigon would be moved back to his old position for his senior season. That senior season saw Gigon score 11 goals in 13 games including two goals in three regular season games.
But it was Gigon’s ability to score in the clutch that was so impressive. He scored three goals in the Middle Atlantic Conference North Championship game to give Lehigh a 3-0 win over Swarthmore.
Following his playing days at Lehigh, Gigon coached basketball and baseball at the Little League level for six years. He went on to work for and retired as a manager of design engineering at Rotary Power International. He worked for 31 years in the Wright Aeronautical Division of the Curtiss Wright Corporation where he was the recipient of several patents for special features relating to rotary engines.
A Korean War veteran of the United States Army from 1953-55, Gigon graduated in 1952 with a bachelor's degree in science and passed away in 2009. He and his wife Eileen lived in Oradell, N.J. had three children, Gerald, a 1978 graduate of Lehigh, David and Joel.
It was on the soccer field that Gigon excelled. After missing his freshman year due to appendicitis, Gigon went on to become the only two-time All-American soccer player in school history. Gigon earned Honorable Mention honors in 1949 as a sophomore and in 1951, as a senior, he was named to the All-America Second Team. During his sophomore and senior seasons, Gigon was selected to play in the North-South College All-Star Game as a member of the North squad and was also named to the 1949 and 1951 Middle Atlantic Soccer Conference North All-Star Teams. Once his collegiate career was over, Gigon was selected by the United States Olympic Soccer Committee to participate in the 1952 Eastern Olympic soccer trials. Although Gigon didn't make it past the final cut, his career at Lehigh had proven how talented he was in soccer.
“It's a great honor to be selected for induction into the Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame,” Gigon said. “It has been a lengthy process, but one that has brought back a lot of fond memories. Playing at Lehigh taught me about teamwork. You can be a good individual player, but it's the team that matters most. That's also true in the business world.”
As captain of the team his senior season, Lehigh finished with a 10-3 record, the best in the first 65 years of the sport on South Mountain. That team also captured the championship of the Middle Atlantic Soccer Conference for the first time in the annals of the Brown and White. In addition, the 1951 squad won the Middle Three soccer championship (Lehigh, Lafayette and Rutgers) for the first time in 10 seasons.
While the 1951 team was the most successful one that Gigon played on, his accomplishments were spread out over each year. Consider that Gigon scored almost half (48 percent) of Lehigh's goals over the three-year span (35 out of 73). He led the Brown and White to an overall three-year record of 19-10-3 and a .641 winning percentage. As a sophomore, he scored 16 goals in nine games, or 59 percent of the team's 27 goal total, averaging almost two goals per game. As a junior, Gigon was moved by head coach Billy Sheridan from center forward to center halfback, a position that centered more on passing than scoring. Lehigh would finish 5-5 and Gigon would be moved back to his old position for his senior season. That senior season saw Gigon score 11 goals in 13 games including two goals in three regular season games.
But it was Gigon’s ability to score in the clutch that was so impressive. He scored three goals in the Middle Atlantic Conference North Championship game to give Lehigh a 3-0 win over Swarthmore.
Following his playing days at Lehigh, Gigon coached basketball and baseball at the Little League level for six years. He went on to work for and retired as a manager of design engineering at Rotary Power International. He worked for 31 years in the Wright Aeronautical Division of the Curtiss Wright Corporation where he was the recipient of several patents for special features relating to rotary engines.
A Korean War veteran of the United States Army from 1953-55, Gigon graduated in 1952 with a bachelor's degree in science and passed away in 2009. He and his wife Eileen lived in Oradell, N.J. had three children, Gerald, a 1978 graduate of Lehigh, David and Joel.
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