Frank Gilchrist Rankin (April 1, 1891 – July 23, 1932) was a Canadian

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player and coach. As a player, Rankin played the

rover Rover may refer to: People Name * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Stage name * Rover (musician), French singer-songw ...

position for the Toronto Eaton's and Toronto St. Michael's Majors in senior hockey between 1910 and 1914. Rankin later coached the

Toronto Granites The Toronto Granites were an amateur senior ice hockey team from Toronto, Ontario. The Granites were Allan Cup champions in 1922 and 1923. They were chosen to represent Canada at the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France. The Granites won the ...

to the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

for Canada at the

1924 Winter Olympics The 1924 Winter Olympics, officially known as the I Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Chamonix 1924 (), were a winter multi-sport event which was held in 1924 in Chamonix, France. Originally held in association with the 1924 Summer ...

Personal

Rankin was one of ten children born to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Rankin of

Stratford, Ontario Stratford is a city on the Avon River (Ontario), Avon River within Perth County, Ontario, Perth County in southwestern Ontario, Canada, with a 2021 Canadian census, 2021 population of 33,232 in a land area of . Stratford is the County seat, s ...

. He had seven brothers: Charles, Jimmy, George, Gordon, Reginald, Sid and Fred, and two sisters, Annie and Nellie. Rankin was conscripted into the Canadian military on November 2, 1918 for the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, but an armistice was signed on November 11 so he did not actively serve. He died in 1932 in his hometown of Stratford from blood poisoning.

Ice hockey career

Rankin played junior hockey in his hometown of Stratford with the Stratford team in the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the province of Ontario. Founded in 1890, the OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern ...

from 1904 until 1910. His brother Jimmy also played with the team. He then moved to Toronto and played senior hockey with the Toronto Eaton's. He played two seasons with the Eaton's, scoring 21 goals in ten games. He then joined the senior Toronto St. Michael's Majors where he played in three seasons. In 1912, Rankin scored an 20 goals in five games. In the 1914–15 season, while playing for St. Michael's, Rankin was seriously cut in the face and suffered blood poisoning, which required hospitalization. He retired from playing shortly after. While an amateur player in the OHA Rankin was a highly sought after player from the professional ranks, and he was said to have been offered over $2,000 to finish the 1912–13 season with the

Toronto Blueshirts The Toronto Hockey Club, known as the Torontos and the Toronto Blueshirts, were a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They were a member of the National Hockey Association (NHA). The club was founded in 1911 and began operations in 191 ...

of the

National Hockey Association The National Hockey Association (NHA), initially the National Hockey Association of Canada Limited, was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor of today's National Hockey Leagu ...

, but eventually stayed in the amateur ranks. Rankin became coach of the

, leading them to the

Allan Cup The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the senior ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. It was most recently won by the Wentworth Gryphins ...

championship in 1922 and 1923. For winning the Cup in 1923, the Granites were selected to represent Canada at the

. The team won six consecutive games to take the gold medal. Frank Rankin was inducted into the

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...

as a player in 1961.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rankin, Frank 1891 births 1932 deaths Canada men's national ice hockey team coaches Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Ontario Hockey Association Senior A League (1890–1979) players Ice hockey people from Stratford, Ontario Toronto St. Michael's Majors players