Frank A. Griffiths (December 17, 1916 – April 7, 1994) was a Canadian media executive through his company,
Western International Communications Ltd. (WIC).
Frank Griffiths was born in
Burnaby
Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard I ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, Canada. In 1956, along with
Walter Stewart Owen, he acquired
New Westminster
New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capi ...
radio station
CKNW
CKNW is a news/ talk formatted radio station in Vancouver, British Columbia, owned by Corus Entertainment. It broadcasts on an assigned frequency of AM 980 kHz, and is unusual in that it is a 50,000-watt, Class A station broadcasting on a regi ...
and later established the Western Broadcasting Company Ltd. (forerunner o
WIC as the station's parent company. He expanded to own a number of other radio stations as well as
CBC Television and
CTV affiliate stations.
He was the owner of the
NHL's Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...
from 1974 until his death in 1994 (although he would surrender majority control to his son Arthur in 1988), he was inducted into the
Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 1992. He was also inducted in th
Canadian Business Hall of Famein 1994.
After Griffiths' death, the Canucks for the remainder of the season and playoffs wore a patch with the words "2Pts FG" meaning "2 points for Frank Griffiths" (2 points being earned by an NHL team for winning a game)—Griffiths' signature phrase he used instead of "win".
External links
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1916 births
1994 deaths
Canadian mass media owners
Hockey Hall of Fame inductees
National Hockey League executives
National Hockey League owners
People from Burnaby
Vancouver Canucks executives
20th-century American businesspeople
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