Story 5: My Grandfather

Have you ever heard the name Ron Wigg? When people see or hear my 

last name that’s usually the first thing that comes to mind, at least if you are in 

the soccer industry that is. I’ll get the generic questions asking if I’m his 

granddaughter or if I’m somehow connected to him. Most of the time my father’s 

name will trickle in there as well. All of these grand memories these strangers 

shared with my grandfather that they have stored forever in their minds yet I hold 

none. I have to base my depiction of him off of pictures and stories that have 

gone through a game of telephone. No one wants to tell me the bad so they twist 

and crumple up their stories like a piece of paper so you can’t see what truly lies 

within. I am only able to see bits and pieces of this story. This means I will never 

be able to formulate a rational opinion of this man. However, I do know for a fact 

that this man achieved extraordinary things in his short life. 

Born on May 18, 1949 in Great Dunmow, England, Ron was an English 

forward who played for a total of eight respectable professional football clubs 

including Ipswitch Town and Watford. Beginning his career at the age of fifteen, it 

was clear that Ron held an intense passion and love for the game. However, he 

ended his soccer career in America. After first moving to America he played for 

the Columbus Magic of the American Soccer League, scoring the first 

professional soccer goal in Columbus history. He ended the season with thirteen 

goals within twenty-seven games. His professional soccer career officially came 

to a end after a mere ten games playing for the Cleveland Force, a professional 

indoor team at the time. You may think that this is where the story ends but it’s 

not. Ron continued to spread his vast knowledge of the game he cherished so 

much through coaching professionally. To this day there is an award named after 

him called the Ron Wigg Award (the Wiggie Award) which is given to a coach of 

the Olympic Development Program each year. He was the Ohio South Soccer 

Association Director of Coaching and Soccer Education when he suffered a fatal 

heart attack on July 3, 1997. Today he is survived by his two sons, Daniel and 

Michael Wigg. Even with Ron’s sudden expiration, it would be an understatement 

to say that he impacted measureless amounts of people’s lives. 

Someone’s life that Ron continues to impact to this day is his very own son 

and my father, Daniel Wigg. At the tender age of fifteen Daniel commenced his 

coaching career under his father’s wing. It was clear he had an undeniable gift 

for coaching after he became the youngest person to successfully acquire the 

USSF Nation “C” badge at the age of nineteen. He continues to produce division 

one and MLS players through his strategic and passionate coaching. Now my 

father has told me a vast amount of stories about my grandfather but one always 

manages to stick in my head the most. My father was around the age of twelve 

when Ron, his father, took him out to an open soccer field in Worthington. Ron 

told him of the times when he would take a hundred soccer balls out onto a field 

and practice shooting his penalty kicks over and over again. He then told my 

father that he had the ability to hit the right post every time he struck the ball. As 

Ron began to shoot Daniel started to laugh because his overly confident father 

had missed every single shot. Ron was struck with confusion and was 

determined to figure out the problem. He carefully measured the position of the 

penalty spot and came to the conclusion that it was painted a few inches too far 

to the left. The ball was then placed in the “correct” spot and Ron began to shoot 

again. The next five shots hit exactly where he said they would, in off the right post. 

Out of all those people that Ron had effected throughout his lifetime he 

still manages to do the same to this day. This would include me. My grandfather 

has showed me that one can in fact achieve the unachievable. My father always 

tells me that Ron claimed that the day he stopped getting sick before a soccer 

game would be the day he would end his career. He is basically saying the day 

that that ends is the day he has lost his drive and passion for the game. This 

motivates me to do what I have a passion for rather than be a victim of the 

straight laced society that paves a path for the “realistic” way in life. He has 

showed me that it is okay to take the road less traveled. Occupations such as 

professional soccer player, singer and movie star seem as if they are at our 

finger tips when we are young and we were told to shoot for the stars. Now they 

sit us down and have us set “realistic” goals that can easily be achieved and 

laugh at the ideas of those occupations. At what point did dreaming big become 

impractical, childish and unobtainable? My grandfather has motivated me to 

dream big and to not settle for second best. That is why I wear my grandfather’s 

jersey number, ten, for both my high school and club soccer teams. I use it as a 

reminder that no dream is out of reach. It fascinates me that a man whom I have 

never met can influence my life so greatly and that is why I chose to tell his story.