North Carolina State University Athletics
Former All-American Swimmer Fogarassy Dies
12/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Swimming
Dec. 19, 2010
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Peter Ivan Fogarassy obituary
RALEIGH, N.C. - Peter Fogarassy often told the story of how a pack of cigarettes once saved his life.
He was just 16 years old back in 1956, trying to escape Soviet-occupied Hungary. His father, owner of a hat manufacturing plant in Budapest, had arranged for his oldest son and a friend to sneak out of the country in the middle of the night, thanks to an old friend who happened to be the stationmaster in a small border village.
But curiosity got the better of the boys and, instead of staying tucked in the attic of the train station, they climbed out of a window, looking to explore the nightlife in the tiny town on their last night in their native land. There, however, they came face to face with five Soviet tanks.
"My friend was a smoker and he pulled a pack out of his pocket and gave it to the Russian soldiers," Fogarassy said. "They hadn't seen one since they left Moscow. They were so thankful, they let us go back to the train station. The stationmaster chewed us out, but the next morning we got on a train and escaped.
"They say smoking will kill you, but that night it saved our lives."
Peter Ivan Fogarassy eventually immigrated to the United States and became one of the most successful swimmers in NC State history. He died Saturday after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 71.
Fogarassy learned to box, wrestle and play water polo in his native Hungary. He eventually chose swimming as his primary sport. He was fortunate to escape his native country and be selected as one of 30,000 Hungarian nationals who were allowed to come to America after the Soviet invasion of 1956.
After two years of high school and a year of prep school in Connecticut, he came to NC State to swim for Wolfpack coach Willis Casey, and eventually set two world records and seven American records in the breaststroke. He was twice named NC State's athlete of the year and twice named the top amateur athlete in North and South Carolina.
"Peter Fogarassy is the greatest swimmer I ever coached," Casey said in 1963. However, he was unable to compete in the 1960 Olympics in Rome because he was not yet a citizen of the United States and Hungary was not a recognized country.
Through tears, he watched as frequent opponent Bill Mulliken, who had lost to Fogarassy in six of their seven head-to-head races, won the gold.
"That was the greatest disappointment of my life," Fogarassy declared shortly before he was inducted in 2005 into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.
But he didn't dwell on it. He became a successful traveling salesman for Levi Strauss and an accomplished businessman, who loved his association with NC State. Just last spring, he spoke to the current members of the NC State swimming and diving team, telling them "whatever you do, be persistent."
Fogarassy is survived by his wife of 41 years, Joan Shapiro Fogarassy, two daughters and six grandchildren. A graveside service to honor his life will be held Monday at the Jewish Hebrew Cemetery at 450 N. State St., Raleigh, N.C. at 2 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Peter Fogarassy Memorial Fund at the Raleigh-Cary Jewish Federation at 8210 Creedmoor Rd., No. 104, Raleigh, N.C., 27613.
• Tim Peeler,mailto:tim_peeler@ncsu.edu
