Eugene Shirk

Born in Adamstown (1901), Eugene “Gene” L. Shirk attended Ephrata High School, where he participated in baseball and track. He earned an A.B. degree from Franklin and Marshall College, where he participated in track (high jump and 880) and cross country. He went on to Birdsboro High School to coach track, baseball and boys and girls cross country for 18 years, winning county titles in each sport. His cross country teams won the county title every year of its existence and also won the Central Penn League, of which Reading was a member. Shirk’s track team won a PIAA state Class B title and he coached many individual state champions. One of Shirk’s protégés was Birdsboro High’s Randy Gumpert, who went directly to the Philadelphia A’s on invitation of legendary coach Connie Mack. After serving in the U.S. Army Air Force during WWII, Shirk went to Albright College as the track and cross country coach. He also served as the athletic director for Albright before his retirement (1967). Shirk served two terms as Mayor of Reading. After his retirement, he remained active as chairman of the board of Berks Community Television, where he also hosted “The Generation Gap,” a weekly show. Shirk was inducted into the NCAA Athletic Directors Hall of Fame in Montreal (1975), received a citation in track at Madison Square Garden and received the James Lynah Award (the ECAC’s highest award) at the Hershey Convention Center (1979).

Deceased