Weigold Wins H-ton Football’s
Pettit Award
Justin Weigold gave the Huntington High School football program everything he had over the past four years. The senior’s contributions did not go unnoticed by his coaches and teammates, who valued the teenager’s fine offensive and defensive play as well as his leadership.
Weigold played wide receiver and defensive back for the Blue Devils. He was a key contributor during Huntington’s drive for the county championship in 2013 and turned in a great senior year.
Huntington head coach Steve Muller presented Weigold with the Christopher Pettit Award as the Blue Devils’ most outstanding scholar football player and teammate at the program’s annual awards dinner in the school cafeteria earlier this month.
Pettit was one of Huntington’s best athletes ever and a top student, too. He went on to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he was an All-American athlete.
“I was really honored to receive this award because I was recognized for my abilities both on and off the field,” Weigold said. “To me, it is very important to keep up my grades and play sports. Being able to balance both school and football is a challenge in itself, so that’s why receiving this great award is so special.”
Weigold is headed to SUNY Maritime College where he plans to study electrical engineering and play on the lacrosse team. He is playing goalie for Huntington this spring.
Born in Huntington Hospital on February 18, 1945, Pettit enjoyed a fabled career at Huntington High School, serving as captain of the football, basketball and lacrosse teams and being elected G.O. president by the student body. He addressed classmates as the “honor speaker” at the 102nd annual commencement on June 25, 1963 at 8:15 p.m. in the school auditorium.
“Things do not happen in this world; they are brought about by people who are concerned and who become involved,” Pettit said during his commencement address. “I know that we can have the courage to affirm life by our involvement in living.”
Following his West Point graduation, Pettit became a battery commander on a missile base in what was then West Germany. He also served in combat as an Army Ranger in the Vietnam War, earning two Bronze Stars and moving up the ranks to captain.
After his military career wrapped up, the Huntington alum taught math for two years and coached football and then was in business for four years before he joined Lehman Brothers in 1977 and climbed through the commercial paper and bond divisions. Pettit was named a partner in 1982 and eventually became the storied Wall Street firm’s president and chief operating officer. He left the company on November 26, 1996.
Pettit was killed while snowmobiling at night on a frozen lake near Windham, Maine on February 15, 1997. He reportedly hit a stump and his helmet dislodged as he was thrown from the fast moving vehicle. He sustained a massive head injury and passed away while being rushed to a nearby hospital. The Huntington grad was 51 years old. He is interred in St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale.