The head football coach at Lehigh University, John C. Whitehead, attended the same school as my father and two of my uncles - Scotland School for Veterans Children in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Mr. Whitehead coached both my Uncle Joe and Uncle Ray in football. When I was in seventh grade my father told me that John had become the head football coach at Lehigh University. At the time I had never heard of Lehigh and snickered at the fact that they fielded a football team. To me college football consisted of Notre Dame, Penn State, Michigan and a host of other football factory power houses that I watched on Saturday afternoons in the fall. After being made aware of Lehigh football I began to pay attention when the division II scores were displayed during the games. To my surprise I began to notice that Lehigh was quite successful. In 1977 I watched on live television in great delight as Lehigh defeated Jacksonville State 33 - 0, crowning them the division II National Championship.

I was feeling somewhat intimidated when I was introduced to Mr. Whitehead but I was quickly put at ease when he turned to a shelf behind his desk and tossed me a brown Lehigh coaches cap. Of course my uncle seized my souvenir the minute we exited the office.

Ever since John Whitehead became Lehigh's head coach my Uncle Joe attended all of the Lehigh home games and many road games as well. In the fall of 1979 he invited me to the Lehigh home opener against Slippery Rock at Lehigh's Taylor stadium. I recall standing in the stadium parking lot as the Lehigh coaching staff exited the team bus. The coaches appeared very professional sporting brown slacks and tan sweater vests. Of the group one man stood out. He was a stout broad shouldered man with dark skin and a thick neck. This of course was the head coach John Whitehead.

John Whitehead was born on September 7th 1924 in Summit Hill, Pennsylvania. John's coaching career began in 1950 at his high school Alma Mater Scotland School as an assistant coach. After coaching 4 years at Scotland, Whitehead succeeded legendary coach Ken Millen at Carlisle, Pa., High School. Completing a record of 39-1-4 at Carlisle, Whitehead joined Lehigh as the offensive line coach with head coach Fred Dunlop. In 1970, Whitehead was named offensive coordinator. He was the architect of Lehigh's "Wing-T" offense for the 1973 Lambert Cup-winning Lehigh squad. In 1976, Dunlop left for Colgate and Whitehead took over as head coach at Lehigh.

John was an intense but down-to-earth man who came to symbolize Lehigh. He led the Engineers for 10 seasons, compiling a 75-38 record. That included a Division II national title in 1977 and two Lambert Trophy titles as the best squad in Division I-AA. He was named ABC Television's (in conjunction with General Motors) Coach of the Year in 1977 and 1979. In 1977 Whitehead coached his Engineers to the Division II national championship.

The quarterback of the 1977 championship team, Mike Reiker, referred to Whitehead as a perfectionist. Rieker said of Whitehead, "In single word descriptions he was fair, tough, hard, compassionate if you did right, and ruled with the fist if you did it wrong. All of those things made him as likable as a coach for any player that played under him, because they knew that whether he was hard on you or patting you on the back, we all had the same intention, to win ball games and ultimately win the National Championship. He molded and handled everybody individually but ultimately he was the dictator and it was his way or the highway. In the end, his way was the best way because it led us to our goal. I wouldn't have what I have today if it wasn't for Coach Whitehead." (Philosophy pays off for Whitehead, Pratt, Jeff; The Sentinel, July 30, 1998)

My Uncle Joe attested to Whitehead's passion for perfection recalling how John had chewed him out after a play not because he failed to execute his blocking assignment but because he failed to make the "second" block.

After the coaches exited the bus John spotted my uncle and waived us over to greet him. We accompanied him to his office where he exchanged pleasantries with my uncle while reviewing his game plan. John possessed an intense no nonsense demeanor. I was impressed at the respect he generated. His large 250 pound plus players addressed him as "sir" with a tremble of fear in their voice. I was feeling somewhat intimidated when I was introduced to Mr. Whitehead but I was quickly put at ease when he turned to shelf behind a desk and tossed me a brown Lehigh coaches cap. Of course my uncle seized my souvenir the minute we exited the office.

I enjoyed sitting in the stands at old Taylor stadium with my uncle and the Whitehead family. Lehigh defeated Slippery Rock that day and went on to have a successful season. In the year 2000 I returned to Lehigh with my 5 year old son for the Philadelphia Eagles training camp. Things had changed. Taylor stadium was no more. Football games were now played in a modern football stadium named after Murray Goodman. The new stadium now resided on a separate athletic campus that is just a few miles south of Lehigh's Bethlehem campus. The practice field was named "John C. Whitehead Practice Field". Adjacent to the field is an impressive stone memorial featuring several bronze plaques displaying John Whitehead's achievements. The Delaware Wing-T offense had been replaced with a modern Spread passing offense and Lehigh was now known as the Mountain Hawks.

Since that time I have attended many Lehigh football games. I usually go to 2 or 3 games a year. I enjoy Lehigh football. The drive to Goodman stadium is scenic; especially in the late fall. There are no issues with traffic and parking is free. Tickets are reasonably priced ($13 for GA). There is ample room for tailgating, and the fans are friendly. I have never witnessed any displays of violence or voices of profanity.

In the fall of 2001 I was walking through the grandstand with my son in anticipation of the opening season kickoff. As I passed the chair back seats on the 50 yard line I heard a booming voice greeting a former Lehigh player. It was John Whitehead. I took pleasure in re-introducing myself and witnessing the expression on John's face as he recognized the name of his old quarterback from Scotland whos name we share - Ray Pascali (my uncle). I was especially proud to introduce my son to an old family friend. On January 20, 2002 John Whitehead passed away. He was 77 years old.