He was the basketball coach at Benton Harbor High School for 13 years and led the team to the Michigan Class A state championship in 1941.

He twice helped lead Delphi to the Indiana state finals and was "considered the greatest jumping center of his era."

His Benton Harbor teams won 13 Southwest Conference titles and the Michigan Class A basketball championship in 1941.

[3] When Perigo coached high school basketball at Benton Harbor, Wooden lived a short distance away in South Bend, Indiana.

[9] In eight years as the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team, Perigo compiled a 78–100 (.438) record.

Perigo told the press at the time that he planned to obtain a master's degree and pursue a career in teaching or athletic administration.