IMAGE INFORMATION
EditFrank Gilchrist Rankin (Born April 1, 1891 in Stratford, Ontario, Canada - Died July 23, 1932) was a Canadian ice Hockey player and coach.
Rankin played junior Hockey in his hometown of Stratford with the Stratford Hockey Club (Stratford Midgets) in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1904 until 1910. Stratford were the Ontario Hockey Association / OHA Junior champions (J. Ross Robertson Cup) in three successive seasons from 1906-07 to 1908-09. His brothers Ramsay and Reg also played with some of the championship teams.
Rankin then moved to Toronto in 1910 to join the Eaton's Athletic Association / Toronto Eatonias that had been formed that year by John Craig Eaton, president of the eponymous department store. Membership was limited to amateurs and many were imported to Toronto to play for the team. Rankin was one of these imports and was made team captain upon his arrival.
The Eaton's Athletic Association won the Ontario Hockey League senior title (John Ross Robertson Cup) in 1910-11 and repeated the following year before losing the Allan Cup final to the Winnipeg Victorias. Rankin lead the senior league in goals during the 1910-11 season, scoring 15 times in just four games. His performance earned him a First Team All-Star selection for the second consecutive year.
Rankin then joined the senior Toronto St. Michael's Majors where he played in three seasons. In 1912, Rankin scored an incredible 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.
Rankin Joined the Canadian Armed Forces during World War 1.
Rankin became coach of the Toronto Granites, leading them to the Allan Cup championship in 1923. For winning the Cup in 1923, the Granites were selected to represent Canada at the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France, where Team Canada / Toronto Granites would go undefeated and win the 1st Winter Olympics Gold Medal for ice Hockey. The Granites would also set Olympic ice Hockey records that will never be broken.
Frank Rankin was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a player in 1961.