Gil Lugossy’s passing brought to light on social media the obvious platitudes concerning is community contributions.
Part of his legacy — and perhaps slightly lesser known — was the impact he had on Hamilton Township athletics.
As a former goalie on Hamilton High’s 1953 state soccer champion, Gil had a love for that sport and a love for West athletics.
“I spent a good portion of my career (as head baseball coach) at Hamilton West and he was a proud Hornet, he took pride in Hamilton,” Marty Flynn said. “He lived right down the street from Hamilton forever. He was a very nice, professional man. He would stop by a game here and there, just always supportive.”
Tracy Quinn, a star of West’s 1983 state championship basketball team, said on Facebook “he loved recalling stories (of that team).”
But he supported teams at all three high schools, not to mention recreation teams.
“He’s always been a staple for the Mercer County Soccer Hall of Fame banquet and the Hibernian Soccer Senior 11 banquet,” said Mercer HOF co-emcee Harold “Bird” Fink. “One year he and I actually hosted the Senior 11 and he was great. The high school kids can be a little nervous but he made them all feel at ease and special in the moment.
“(Co-emcee) Charlie and I were going to acknowledge him at our banquet this year for turning 90. We were gonna get him a cake. He was such a good dude.”
He will still be acknowledged of course, but in memory only after his passing on March 15.
Lugossy’s presence at those banquets, which also included the former Trenton Select Club dinner, always seemed to provide a little more class to the occasion.
“It was very important for us to have somebody like that,” Fink said. “It was our own celebrity that you could count on to be at every event.”
A celebrity who gave as good as he got.
“We would always hammer him and he would take it, but he would crush you too,” Fink said. “He loved to crush Charlie. We loved it. You didn’t expect it from him.
“He was sharp and just genuine. You’re not gonna meet somebody like that for a long time. He inserted himself right in the middle of the soccer scene. He just loved the tradition and seeing everybody. He was the first one at the banquet. It started at four he was in the parking lot at three. He had his Masters (green) jacket on ready to roll.”
Lugossy’s brother, Frank, felt those banquets were important to Gil.
“He did not miss an athletic dinner — softball, soccer, baseball, a school’s hall of fame, whatever it was, Gil was there supporting the athletes of Hamilton,” Frank said. “He was the emcee for many affairs, and any time there was an event in recent years he would lead the Pledge of Allegiance to start it off.”
Frank’s brother went beyond just showing up at dinners. He and the township politicians of the 1960s played a big part in making the youth programs blossom in Hamilton.
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Lugossy was a member of the first-ever Babe Ruth League team in 1954, although it was called the Hamilton Little Bigger League at the time.
“As Gil became involved in government and public service, he bolstered those programs,” Flynn said. “The Babe Ruth thing came from a small little local league with t-shirts and dungarees to an international program.”
Gil’s service went beyond that, to things like youth soccer and little league.
“When I was growing up in Hamilton, Gil and those guys started the foundation of the recreation sports programs in Hamilton,” Flynn said. “When the township really got going with soccer and baseball and things like that, we had guys like Gil to thank for that.
“We had a great soccer program and little league programs. The government helped with the supplies and what was needed in regard to the land. And Gil was there. When he was younger, Gil was the older brother figure to the athletes. When he got a little older it was the uncle figure, then it became like the father figure. That’s what it was like for guys like Richie (Giallella, former Steinert coach) and me. He was always there to support you.”
And he made a lifetime of doing that, and loving it.
Former Sunnybrae Little League and Hamilton-Northern Burlington Babe Ruth League President Jean Anderson recalled a visit to Switlik Park.
“I met Mr. Lugossy a few years back at Hamilton Babe Ruth,” Anderson wrote on Facebook. “He and his fellow Little Bigger League teammates came out to a state tournament we were hosting. I enjoyed his stories. He was a wonderful man.”
And he would do those types of visits long after he was out of politics. He wasn’t showing up for votes, he was just there because he loved it.
“When you’d see him at these athletic banquets, you would see that kind of support and it resonated with everybody and it would go down to the younger guys,” Flynn said. “When he came out to throw out the first pitch in Babe Ruth or say something, you knew he was there for the right reasons.”
Gil Lugossy riding in a car as Grand Marshal of the the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. (Photo by Rich Fisher.),
