Story, photos and audio by Mark Peterson. Published 6:30 A.M. 6/30/22.
Featured photo: A marble memorial bench inscribed and dedicated to Frank Riggio located in West Mayfield Park.
(West Mayfield, PA) Tomorrow, July 1, 2022, dozens of people will once again head out to compete and have comradery with one another in honor of a man who first introduced them to those concepts years ago. A few decades earlier, many of these participants first gathered together on a baseball field in West Mayfield or Beaver Falls under the guidance of legendary coach and community supporter, Frank Riggio. Sometimes the impact of things that were learned from and the influence of a generous and wise man isn’t fully realized until many years later. Such was the case of Frank Riggio. It wasn’t long after Frank’s passing in April of 2017 that the Riggio family began to realize how much area residents loved and missed their beloved coach and mentor. After Frank’s funeral, well wishers soon donated a fairly significant amount of money. The unplanned windfall forced the Frank Riggio’s family to come up with a plan. Just as their patriarch would have wanted, they decided to give scholarships to a Blackhawk baseball player and softball player. The concept was well received, so it was an easy decision to find a way to continue awarding the scholarships each year. To continue this annual tradition, The fifth annual Frank Riggio Memorial Golf Outing to raise money for the scholarships will take place Friday at Blackhawk Golf Course in Chippewa. Frank Riggio’s son, Jim Riggio, spoke recently About how the idea of awarding the scholarships got started.
For many youth growing up in the Beaver Falls area in the 1970’s and 1980’s the interaction with Frank Riggio happened at the West Mayfield baseball fields. Riggio was part coach, part teacher, part groundskeeper and part caretaker of the park and people who lived nearby. Frank Riggio was so much a fixture watching and coaching games at the park that in 2018, a beautiful marble park bench was created to pay homage to Mr. Riggio. Frank son, Jim Riggio has more.
In addition to helping teach young kids principles about life through the channels of baseball and softball that would bode well later on, Frank Riggio invested in the future of West Mayfield in other ways. To this day, three giant trees tower above the rest of the foliage and provide immense shade and beauty to the scenic setting. And, you guessed it, Frank Riggio planted those trees over forty years ago as part of an arbor project through the West Mayfield Recreation Board. Jim Riggio showed us the the mammoth trees that now a days reach a good bit higher than the backstops. It’s another fitting tribute to the man that was such a tall “pillar” in the community.
These days Jim Riggio carries on the concepts that his father taught him, concepts about of serving and helping others in his roles as the Head Coach of the Blackhawk girls softball team and as Manager of The Beaver Falls Municipal Authority.
For more information about the Frank Riggio Memorial Golf Outing or the scholarship program, contact Jim Riggio at riggio@bfwater.net.