Frank Sullivan

Ice hockey forward Francis “Frank” Sullivan’s trip to the 1928 Winter Olympics came not from winning the Allan Cup with the Toronto Granites in 1927, as with the majority of the team. Instead, like Roger and Bert Plaxton, he had family connections: his younger brother Joe lobbied to send him to the tournament, against coach Conn Smythe’s wishes. He played in three games, scoring two goals, and helping Canada win the Olympic gold that year. He had, however, previously won an Allan Cup in 1920 and 1921 as a member of the University of Toronto team. Years later, in 1932 and in the middle of a three-year tenure, he coached the varsity team to a Canadian intercollegiate Queen’s Cup. He was equally prominent as a Canadian football player, playing with the Toronto Argonauts in 1915, then again from 1919-1922 (including a Grey Cup win in 1921), and once more in 1924. At the age of 52 he had a son, Peter, who went on to play 126 games in the National Hockey League with the Winnipeg Jets.