Frank “Jiggs” Ficc

• Post by: mcalibrary
• December 18, 2023
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INDUCTEE

If you check the record books you won’t find the name of Frank “Jiggs” Ficca among the leaders in any statistical category. But here’s a funny thing: Get into a discussion with a knowledgeable Tornado football dan and start liting the best players to have played Mt. Carmel High football, and chances are good the name “Jiggs” Ficca will come up in the conversation.

Frank was the leader of the 1954 team which won the Eastern Division Championship, the first in 27 years- and while he didn’t ring up the big statistics, he scored 3 TDs and an extra point in leading the Tornadoes to an early season win over Tamaqua, which was expected to challenge for the championship. Along the way he made many of the big plays as he led the team to a 10-0-1 record. Trailing 7-0 against Coal Township late in the game, Frank was inserted even though he was nursing a sprained ankle. He caught a 32-yard pass bringing the ball down to the 2-yard line, but re-injured his ankle and went to the sidelines again. “Speedy” Butella carried the ball over from the 2, making the score 7-6 Coal Township. While the coached debated what play to use for the tying point, Frank ran on the field and kicked the only extra point he ever attempted. The tie with Coal kept the win streak alive and allowed the Tornadoes to win the championship, and won on to win the Eastern Pennsylvania Championship.

He wet on to letter three years as a running back and defensive back at Villanova under Coach Frank Reagan.

He works for an investment firm in the Philadelphia area and lives in Gulph Mills, Pa.