Arthur T. McGonigle (1905–1977) was an American businessman and the 1958

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

nominee for state governor. McGonigle was born in

Kane, Pennsylvania Kane is a borough in McKean County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, east by southeast of Erie. It was founded in 1864 by Civil War General Thomas L. Kane of the famous Bucktail Regiment at an elevated site 2210 feet (674 m) above sea level. ...

. He grew up in a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

home and gained a reputation as an affable individual. McGonigle attended

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

and later took a job as a traveling salesman for

General Foods General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, after several corporate ...

. He took an entry-level job at Bachman Bakeries in the 1930s and eventually worked his way up to become CEO of the company; he introduced new manufacturing techniques that allowed the corporation to become the world's largest pretzel manufacturer. McGonigle first became involved in Republican politics when he became party treasurer in 1956, as the organization was searching for someone with business experience to clean up a bad financial situation. He caught the attention of party leaders in

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

, and was asked to run for governor as a

dark horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...

candidate. In the Republican Primary McGonigle faced off against a much better-known figure, former Minnesota Governor, University of Pennsylvania President and Eisenhower aide,

Harold Stassen Harold Edward Stassen (April 13, 1907 – March 4, 2001) was an American politician who was the 25th Governor of Minnesota. He was a leading candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 1948, considered for a ti ...

. McGonigle, the establishment candidate, defeated Stassen, effectively ending the latter's political career. McGonigle ran an aggressive campaign in the fall and invested a portion of his personal wealth; although he lost by only about 2% points, he was unable to defeat seasoned political veteran David Lawrence. Temple University constructed and opened a new athletic arena in 1969 and named it

McGonigle Hall McGonigle Hall is an athletic facility that is located on the campus of Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Temple women's basketball splits games between McGonigle Hall and the Liacouras Center. The gym is also home to Temple women's ...

in McGonigle's honor.

References

Pennsylvania Politics Today and Yesterday
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcgonigle, Arthur T. 1905 births 1977 deaths Pennsylvania Republicans People from McKean County, Pennsylvania