Frank Shigut – Class of 1956Any experienced writer will tell you that the foundation of a good story is an engaging character or series of characters. It’s the people who move the narrative along, providing the reader with a consistent, steady presence as the story continues to unfold. In the rich tradition of Naperville Community and Naperville Central athletics, there has been no more steady a narrator than Frank Shigut. For nearly seven decades, Frank Shigut has seen the plot line of Redskin and Redhawk athletics unfold, moving from a small school serving a proud farm community by offering just four sports under the watchful eye of Athletic Director Ira Scott, to its current version: a 29-sport athletic powerhouse, thriving thanks in part to life-long volunteers like Shigut. It is because of Frank Shigut’s steady presence, strong relationship with the current era of Naperville Central athletics, and humble nature that many forget he was also an incredible athlete in both high school and college. Growing up on Spring Street, just west of the current site of Washington Junior High, Shigut played three varsity sports as a student at Naperville Community high school from 1952-1956. Mentored by two Hall of Fame coaches, he gave it his all on the field, hardwood, and track.As a two year varsity player for Head Coach Wes Spencer, Shigut was named the All-Conference Fullback on the 1955 Little Seven All-Conference Team. He spent his winters in basketball gyms competing for Dick Smith, himself a member of the inaugural Naperville Central Athletic Hall of Fame class, and thrived under the tutelage of Hall of Fame track coach, Bud Berger in the spring. In 1956, Shigut won the Little Seven Conference title in the Discus, before moving on to an exemplary athletic career at North Central College. From the fall seasons of 1956 to 1960, he was a familiar presence as the starting fullback for the Cardinal football team. Even beyond high school, Shigut remained close with the men who shaped him, forging a friendship with Smith that continues today. While Shigut certainly left his mark on the Naperville competition fields, his most valuable contributions would come after graduating college and getting married, when he would start attending football and basketball games as a fan with his neighbors. First a member of the Naperville Central Booster Club, Shigut would ultimately become its President, reshaping the Booster Club into what we know it as today. When he took the reins, Frank Shigut transformed a Football Booster Club to a group focused on serving the entirety of the NCHS athletic community. Through relationships with Athletic Director Ron Stewart and coaches of all athletic teams, Shigut’s crew worked to uncover needs. According to Shigut, “There was no shortage of requests.”An outgoing community organizer, Shigut rallied parents and coaches to tackle projects like tiling the weight room and overhauling the shot put area for track and field, before working with Hall of Fame baseball coach Bill Seiple and the Naperville Park District to reconfigure the NCHS baseball field. Shigut recalls, “After starting the project, it became evident we needed more help. Seiple and I met with parents and baseball players who volunteered to assist. In a combined effort, we reconstructed the sideline fences to provide adequate and safe running space for the athletes and to correct the infield dimensions.” The project instilled in the athletes an authentic investment that remains one of the core principles of athletic participation. “Not only did we support, encourage, and enhance the athletic activities of the students, the students themselves became invested and engaged. They had a sense of pride in their surroundings and accomplishments, aside from just playing a sport. Parents also built a sense of comradery and truly got to know other students and their parents. This was the true meaning of community,” says Shigut.Shigut remains an integral part of that community he helped cultivate. When Frank Shigut was a student at Naperville Community High School, he spent his time attending sock hops at the YMCA with his classmates following football and basketball games. These days, Shigut still serves the Naperville Central athletic community by working in the press box during home football games, a position he has occupied since 1978. In was in the press box that he formed a long-term friendship with fellow Hall of Fame member Charles “Bud” Perry. While Perry controlled the scoreboard until 1998, Shigut has managed the clock for the past 39 seasons. Since 1999, Frank’s son Dan, a member of the class of 1984, has worked side-by-side with his father, operating the scoreboard in Perry’s place, just a few feet from the man he admires deeply.The competitive nature of the games has grown since Frank Shigut arrived as a freshman in the fall of 1952. He observes, “Some of the most evident changes in athletics at Naperville Central have been the speed, size, agility, and strength of today’s young athletes. In my day, we did not have high-tech sports camps or training facilities. You will have to remember, our football helmets were made of leather until my senior year!” But the advice Shigut has for current students and parents alike is as relevant today as it was when he was a player, and years later as he watched his own children and grandchildren compete: “The advice I can give to students and parents is to share your interest in athletics with your family. Be involved and stay involved with your children’s extra-curriculars to build well-rounded, successful individuals to lead our next generation of children.” While Frank Shigut’s has been a definitive force in crafting NCHS’s plot lines, it’s his work building his own family’s story that’s inarguably his most important. Along with Shirley, his wife of 56 years and a regular presence in the Friday night press box, Frank is the proud parent of Dan and daughters Vicki, Pam, and Kristi. He has also played the part of devoted cheerleader to grandchildren Tori, Kyle, Lindsay, Danny, and Finn. And though he has seen story after story unfold on the fields and courts of NCHS, Shigut insists, “It is too difficult to choose an individual memory or game over the past 60 years. I will say my most proud and find memories are of watching my children and grandchildren participate in various athletic programs at Naperville Central. From watching my daughters cheerlead or play softball, my son participating in football and baseball, to my grandson playing football and baseball, those are the memories I am grateful to distinguish as unforgettable.”