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 Frank had been sports editor of the
Fall River Herald News for 51 years, when he retired on March 31, 1979
and during that time he covered many sports but being from a soccer town
like Fall River he had a close association with the sport.
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Personal Information |
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Class of 1978 |
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Born:
June 13, 1896
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Fall River, MA |
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Died:
March 28, 1983
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Fall River, MA |
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He began his newspaper career with the
old Fall River Globe, which folded in 1929, as a linotypist where he
composed sports stories directly from his linotype machine. He left the Globe to join the Herald
News on June 15, 1928. Frank was
said to have an uncanny memory, and great powers of concentration. He could jot down just a few words,
absorb the rest of the interview in his mind and compose a column or two
of peerless prose. His encyclopaedic memory, saturated with facts and
names accumulated over decades, made him one of the most knowledgeable
sports authorities in the country. During his career he came to know many famous sportsmen personally
and apparently many of them called him regularly just to chat. He covered soccer extensively in the
late 20s and early 30s when Fall River, Pawtucket, New Bedford and Boston
had teams in the American Soccer League.
It was the golden age of soccer in the area, with amateur teams
from the Fall River area winning national attention in cup competition. It was said that he avoided
controversial commentary as much as possible, particularly criticism of
game officials, figuring their job was hard enough without having the
media second guessing their decisions. In 1958, at a dinner sponsored by
the Philadelphia Old Timers Soccer Association, Frank was presented with
the Newspaperman's Soccer Award, the second recipient after George Butz
of the Philadelphia Inquirer. In
1981 a delegation from the Massachusetts State Legislature presented him
with the legislative roll of honor scrolls for his professionalism and
dedication in the field of journalism.
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