Francis Owen Stoker (29 May 1867 – 8 January 1939) was an Irish

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

and

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player.Fran Cotton (ed.) ''The Book of Rugby Disasters & Bizarre Records'' (Compiled by Chris Rhys. London. Century Publishing. 1984. )Player profile
on scrum.com, retrieved 27 February 2010 He was a member of the pair that won the

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

doubles title in 1890 and 1893 and is the only rugby international to have been a Wimbledon champion.

Birth and background

Frank Stoker was born at Dublin on 29 May 1867, the youngest of the five sons of Edward Alexander Stoker, FRCSI, and his wife Henrietta, née Wisdom, of Rutland Square in that city. The father, himself the son of Dr William Stoker (Senior Physician to the Cork Street Fever Hospital), was "one of the most distinguished of Irish anatomists" and, apparently on account of his prowess in the hunting field, acclaimed "a fine sportsman". All his sons followed him into the medical profession. They were distantly related to Sir Thornley Stoker, President of the

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is a not-for-profit medical professional and educational institution, which is also known as RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. It was established in 1784 as the national body ...

, and his brother, the novelist

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912), better known by his pen name Bram Stoker, was an Irish novelist who wrote the 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. The book is widely considered a milestone in Vampire fiction, and one of t ...

Rugby career

Frank Stoker was a member of the Second XV of Dublin's

Wanderers F.C. Wanderers Football Club was an English association football club. It was founded as "Forest Football Club" in 1859 in Leytonstone. In 1864, it changed its name to "Wanderers", a reference to it never having a home stadium, instead playing at ...

from 1883 onward. He played for Irish Schools at their annual meeting with English Schools in 1885, and for Dublin United Hospitals in the following year when a student at

Jervis Street Hospital Jervis Street Hospital () was a hospital in Jervis Street in Dublin, Ireland. The site of the hospital became the Jervis Shopping Centre. History Charitable infirmary, Cook Street The hospital was founded by six Dublin surgeons, George Duany, ...

. He was in Wanderers' First XV by the beginning of 1886, was second in the club’s drop-kick contest shortly afterwards (kicking an average of 44 yards with both feet), and was elected its captain for the following season. He played in the Irish international team that met Scotland in 1886 and again (in what was described as "the best match ever played in Scotland") in 1888. He was named as a reserve for his country's match against England in 1887, played for Ireland against both Wales and the

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

touring side in 1888, and appeared once more against Scotland in 1889. His brother Ernest Stoker, also of Wanderers F.C., represented Ireland alongside him in the 1888 games against Scotland and Wales; both men played as forwards. While studying in London in 1893–94 Frank played for

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital founded by philanthropist Thomas Guy in 1721, located in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the Kin ...

and

Blackheath F.C. Blackheath Football Club is a rugby union club based in Well Hall, Eltham, in south-east London. The club was founded in Blackheath in 1858 and is the oldest open rugby club in continuous existence in the world. The Blackheath club also assi ...

, scoring a try in the latter's match with Hartlepool Rovers. He was President of Wanderers F.C. in 1899–1900.

Tennis career

Frank and Ernest Stoker, playing as a pair, figured in Irish tennis tournaments of the mid-1880s and in 1886 were successful in a doubles semi-final at the Greystones Tournament in Bray, County Wicklow. The last set of that match was "entirely won by the place-volleying and smashing of Frank Stoker who scarcely allowed a ball to pass him at the net", but the pair were outplayed in the final. Frank subsequently found a new doubles partner in

Joshua Pim Dr Joshua Pim FRCSI (20 May 1869 – 15 April 1942) was a medical doctor and Irish amateur tennis player. He won the Wimbledon men's singles title two years in a row, in 1893 and 1894, and was ranked British number one in both those years. He ...

, a fellow member of Dublin's Lansdowne Club, and the pair began to compete in the annual Irish Championships at

Fitzwilliam Square Fitzwilliam Square () is a Georgian garden square in the south of central Dublin, Ireland. It was the last of the five Georgian squares in Dublin to be built, and is the smallest. The middle of the square is composed of a private park, which f ...

. They were Irish national doubles champions on five occasions between 1890 and 1895 and, bringing their talent to England, took the

Northern Championships Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

title in 1890, 1892, 1893 and 1894 and the All England title at Wimbledon in 1890 and 1893. By June 1891 the tennis pairing of Pim and Stoker "had been pronounced the finest combination the world had ever seen". This accolade was promptly followed by the pair's temporary loss of their Northern and Wimbledon titles, but they had returned to dominance by 1893. In 1894, shortly before their victory in the

, Stoker was admitted a Licentiate in Dental Surgery by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Aged 27, he was anxious to commence practice as a dentist without further delay and he elected not to defend his Wimbledon title. After he retained his Irish title in 1895 his tennis career largely came to an end, although in 1896 (as in 1893 and 1894) he represented Ireland against England in both the singles and doubles matches of the international fixture. Stoker's tennis reputation has been somewhat overshadowed by Pim's additional successes in the singles format of the game, but his own strengths in that format were regularly demonstrated. He was a winner of the County Dublin Championships and the Fitzwilliam Purse, was runner-up in many singles tournaments (including when defeated by Pim in the 1891 Northern contest), and during the whole of 1892 was the only player to win a match against the reigning Wimbledon champion,

Wilfred Baddeley Wilfred Baddeley (11 January 1872 – 24 January 1929) was a British male tennis player and the elder of the Baddeley twins. Career Wilfred, the better-known competitor, made his debut at Wimbledon in 1889 and he went on to win singles titl ...

. His form in 1894 was such that, among Irish players, only Pim and Tom Chaytor were regarded as his equals, it being observed that "His tremendous service, his hard driving and accurate placing both fore and backhand would alone make him a dangerous opponent for the most skilful players, but with these good points he combines volleying of a high order, and quickness which is quite remarkable in a man of his size". He was 6'1½" in height and over 13 stone in weight.

Personal life

He was licensed to practice medicine and surgery by the Irish Royal College in August 1892 but, wishing to specialise in dentistry, obtained a place at the recently established Dental School of

in 1893. After obtaining his

dental degree A number of professional degrees in dentistry are offered by dental schools in various countries around the world. Degrees Dental degrees may include: Bachelor's degree * Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) * Bachelor's degree of Dentistry (BDS ...

he practised from 23

Westland Row Westland Row () is a street on the Southside, Dublin, Southside of Dublin, Ireland. Location The street runs along the east end of Trinity College Dublin. History Westland Row first appeared on maps in 1776. It was originally known ...

(next to

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

's birthplace) in Dublin, and in June 1899 he married Margaret (Rita) Maunsell, niece of Surgeon General Thomas Maunsell, CB, of the Army Medical Service. He took up golf, playing at and for the

Portmarnock Portmarnock () is a coastal town in County Dublin, Ireland, north of the city of Dublin, with significant beaches, a modest commercial core and inland residential estates, and two golf courses, including one of Ireland's best-known golf clubs. , ...

and Royal Dublin clubs and competed, unsuccessfully, in the Irish Amateur Open Championship in 1907. He died at St Vincent's University Hospital,

St Stephen's Green St Stephen's Green () is a garden square and public park located in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current landscape of the park was designed by William Sheppard. It was officially re-opened to the public on Tuesday, 27 July 1880 by ...

, Dublin, on 8 January 1939, aged 71. He and his wife had five daughters, of whom Monica, Joan and Norma survived to adulthood.

Norma Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) ** Norma Lizbeth Ramos, a Mexican bullying victim Astronomy *Norma (constellation) * 555 Norma, a minor asteroid * Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral ...

won the Irish Girls' Lawn Tennis Championship in 1922, was for several years Irish Ladies' Doubles Champion, and represented Ireland at both tennis and hockey.''Sport'', Dublin, 26 August 1922, p. 12; ''Evening Herald'', Dublin, 14 July 1930; ''Belfast News-Letter'', 27 February 1928, p. 3, and 27 July 1931, p. 13; ''Northern Whig'', 3 March 1928, p. 4; ''Dictionary of Irish Biography

Grand Slam finals

Doubles (2 titles)

References

External links

Ireland's Greatest All -Round Sportsman?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoker, Frank Owen 1867 births 1939 deaths Rugby union players from Dublin (city) Tennis players from Dublin (city) 19th-century male tennis players Ireland international rugby union players Irish male tennis players Irish rugby union players Irish dentists Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Alumni of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Rugby union forwards Medical doctors from Dublin (city) Guy's Hospital RFC players 19th-century Irish sportsmen