Robert H. Sigholtz Dies at 84; Stadium Manager, GU Official

Robert H. Sigholtz, 84, who was general manager of Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and the D.C. Armory complex as well as athletic director at Georgetown University, died Sept. 2 at a hospice in Scottsdale, Ariz. He had been injured in a fall at his home in Paradise Valley, Ariz.

Dr. Sigholtz, who had a distinguished record as a combat infantryman in three wars, came to Georgetown in 1968 as a professor of military science and as director of the university's ROTC program. His strong personality, shaped as an Army airborne troop commander, proved both a strength and a liability during his stormy three-year tenure as athletic director.

When he was nominated for the position in 1969, he was opposed by several student groups, including the captains of seven of Georgetown's 12 athletic teams. Once in the job, he had a long-running feud with men's basketball coach Jack Magee that, The Washington Post reported, "has dominated that athletic department for almost three years, poisoned the atmosphere and generally taken all the fun out of basketball."

In February 1972, Dr. Sigholtz was fired as athletic director, but in one of his final acts he helped recruit John Thompson as a candidate for head basketball coach. Thompson, now a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, was named coach in March 1972.

From 1973 to 1984, Dr. Sigholtz managed RFK Stadium and the D.C. Armory and became a leading authority on crowd control and the management of civic arenas. He represented the D.C. government in negotiations with sports teams and entertainers and was responsible for everything from the condition of the playing field to the comfort of the spectators.

In 1984, his contract was not renewed, even though the stadium earned a profit every year under his leadership. One reason reported at the time was a dispute with Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke, who sought to gain more control of the stadium.

Dr. Sigholtz also waged an ill-fated campaign to bring major league baseball back to Washington. In 1979, he said RFK Stadium could easily be altered to accommodate a baseball team.

"I think it's just a matter of time," he said. "I'm surprised we don't have one this year."

Robert Harris Sigholtz was born in Philadelphia, where he starred in four high school sports. He enlisted in the Army in 1942 and rose from a platoon sergeant to an infantry lieutenant in the China-Burma theater during World War II.

From 1946 to 1948, he played professional basketball with the Baltimore Bullets before being recalled to the Army. He was a reconnaissance officer during the Korean War and later served in special forces units and the 82nd Airborne Division.

On Feb. 22, 1967, as a colonel commanding the 2nd Battalion of the 503rd Infantry Regiment in Vietnam, he led the only parachute assault by U.S. forces in the war.

"He was an outstanding battalion commander," said retired Army Gen. John R. Deane Jr., Dr. Sigholtz's commanding general in Vietnam. "He was very courageous and self-effacing. His soldiers worshiped him."