Frank Cosentino (born May 22, 1937) is a former

Canadian football Canadian football () is a sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's scoring area ( ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) and a former

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

in University football. He played professionally for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Edmonton Eskimos and

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

for ten years where he was a two-time Grey Cup champion, winning in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

and 1965. He was head coach of the

Western Mustangs football The Western Mustangs football team (also known as the Western Ontario Mustangs) represents the University of Western Ontario in Canadian university football. The Mustangs compete as a member of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA), under the U Sp ...

team for five years where he led the team to two

Vanier Cup The Vanier Cup (french: Coupe Vanier) is the championship of Canadian university football. It is organized by U Sports football and is currently played between the winners of the Uteck Bowl and the Mitchell Bowl. It is named after Georges Vanier ...

wins in 1971 and 1974 before completing his coaching career with the York Yeomen. Cosentino was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2018.

Early life

Born and raised in Hamilton, he played baseball with Russ Jackson and Murray Oliver in the Hamilton Police Minor Baseball Association. He attracted offers from the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

, Milwaukee Braves and

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 sea ...

. He played Junior and senior intercounty baseball with Hamilton teams. He was also a noted fastball pitcher and played basketball through his years at Cathedral High School and one year with the University of Western Ontario Mustangs baseball team. His football career began with the Hamilton Old Boys Football Association and later as a quarterback at Cathedral High School in 1954. The League championship was won in 1954; the team went to the Red Feather game in 1955 and were league finalists that year.

University career

Cosentino had offers from universities in Canada and the United States but decided on the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames R ...

where he graduated in Honours Business Administration in 1960. While at Western, he played four season with the

Mustangs The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticated animals, they ...

, winning

Yates Cup The Yates Cup (french: La Coupe Yates) is a Canadian sports trophy, presented annually to the winner of the Ontario University Athletics football conference of U Sports. It is the oldest still-existing football trophy in North America, dating back ...

championships in 1957 and 1959. His last game with Western was as Captain and quarterback in the inaugural Canadian Intercollegiate championship contest versus

UBC Thunderbirds The UBC Thunderbirds are the athletic teams that represent the University of British Columbia in the University Endowment Lands just outside the city limits of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In Canadian intercollegiate competition, the Thu ...

, a 34–12 win for Western.

Professional career

Cosentino was drafted fifth overall in the first found in the 1960 CFL Draft by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He was with Hamilton from 1960 to 1966 where he was primarily a backup behind Bernie Faloney and later

Joe Zuger Joe Zuger (born February 25, 1940) is a former American and Canadian football player. He played his entire professional career with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was selected in the 18th round (248th overall) by ...

. He played in five Grey Cup games, winning championships in

and 1965. Following the emergence of Zuger as the team's starter, Cosentino was traded to the Edmonton Eskimos in 1967, where he became the team's starter and was their nominee for the CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award. He had a reduced role with Edmonton in 1968 and then joined the

for the 1969 season. His year with Toronto was stifled by what Leo Cahill called "an act of God" when Ottawa and

Russ Jackson Russell Stanley Jackson (born July 28, 1936) is a former professional Canadian football player. Jackson spent his entire 12-year professional football career with the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a member of t ...

erased an 8-point Toronto lead to defeat the Argos, represent the East, and win the 1969 Grey Cup game. He finished his career after the 1969 season, playing in 141 regular season games and starting in 41, posting 20 wins, 19 losses, and two ties in that span. He completed 482 passes out of 996 attempts for 7,678 passing yards with 53 touchdowns and 66 interceptions.

Coaching and teaching career

While playing in the CFL, Cosentino continued his education after having graduated from Western in 1960 with an HBA. He acquired a Bachelor of Physical Health & Education (BPHE) degree at

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

in 1967, a Masters from the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...

in 1969, followed by a PhD from Alberta in 1973. During six years of teaching, including five of coaching at the University of Western Ontario, his teams won the

in 1971 and 1974. From 1976 through 1981 he served at

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

as professor and chair of Physical Education and Athletics and also coached for seven more years. He retired from the university in 1997. Cosentino is also known for authoring eighteen books, three of which are on Canadian football, mostly on the history of sport in Canada. He is a member of Halls of Fame at McMaster, York, Western,

Ontario University Athletics Ontario University Athletics (OUA; french: Sports universitaires de l'Ontario) is a regional membership association for Canadian universities which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providin ...

and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Cosentino lives in

Eganville, Ontario Eganville is a community occupying a deep limestone valley carved at the Fifth Chute of the Bonnechere River in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada. Eganville lies within the township of Bonnechere Valley. Eganville is also known as the Ordovici ...

, with his wife Sheila. They have four children, twelve grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.

References

External links

Frank Cosentino Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosentino, Frank 1937 births Living people Canadian football quarterbacks Canadian people of Italian descent Edmonton Elks players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players McMaster University alumni Players of Canadian football from Ontario Sportspeople from Hamilton, Ontario Toronto Argonauts players University of Alberta alumni University of Western Ontario alumni Western Mustangs football coaches Western Mustangs football players York Lions football coaches Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees