Frank K. Schmitz (September 4, 1945 – September 3, 1966) was an American

trampoline gymnast Trampolining or trampoline gymnastics is a competitive Olympic sport in which athletes perform acrobatics while bouncing on a trampoline. In competition, these can include simple jumps in the straight, pike, tuck, or straddle position to more com ...

who won four individual

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

titles and a silver medal at the

1965 Trampoline World Championships The 2nd Trampoline World Championships were held in Albert Hall, London, England on 30 January 1965. Results Men Trampoline Tumbling Women Trampoline Tumbling Mixed synchro trampoline References Trampoline UK FIG Press Information Kit

Early life

Schmitz was the son of William C. and Polly Schmitz and was raised in

Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette (, ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the most populous city and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, located along the Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's fourth largest incorporated municipality by population and the 234th- ...

. He had several accidents as a child. As a baby, Frank's stroller rolled off the front porch of his house. As a boy he found a live bullet that he put in a toy gun. The bullet exploded and part of it lodged in his liver. As a teenager, Schmitz was involved in a motor scooter accident. A head injury from the accident caused his head to swell to one and a half times its normal size. After Schmitz recovered, his parents pushed him away from contact sports, so he became interested in gymnastics.

High school

After taking up gymnastics he studied under

Jeff Hennessy Jefferson Thomas Hennessy Sr. (October 27, 1929 – March 24, 2015) was trampoline coach and physical educator. He was an Associate Professor of Physical Education at University of Louisiana at Lafayette from 1959 to 1986, served as the di ...

at the

University of Southwestern Louisiana The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the s ...

while he was in high school. In 1962, he won the AAU trampoline national championship. He came in second in Trampolining at the same event in 1963. While still in high school, Schmitz won the U.S. Invitational Championship in

trampoline A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched between a steel frame using many coiled spring (device), springs. Not all trampolines have springs, as the Springfree Trampoline uses glass-reinforced plastic rods. ...

, floor exercise, and

vaulting In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while rin ...

in 1962. In 1963 and 1964, he won the East-West Trampoline Championship. He also attended the 1964 inaugural

South African Games The South African Games, in some years called the South African Open Games, was a multi-sport event held in South Africa during the apartheid era, in response to the country's exclusion from the Olympic Games. Some foreign athletes participated, s ...

where he won the trampoline championship.

College

He began attending college at Southern Illinois University Carbondale where he was a member of

Sigma Pi Sigma Pi () is a collegiate fraternity with 233 chapters at American universities. As of 2021, the fraternity had more than 5,000 undergraduate members and over 110,000 alumni. Sigma Pi headquarters are in Nashville, Tennessee. The fraternity ...

fraternity. While at SIU he won four individual

national championships. In 1965, he won the Floor Exercise as well as the Trampoline championships In 1966, he was again the Floor Exercise champion as well as the Long Horse (Vault) champion. In 1966, the SIU Salukis were also the NCAA team champion in men’s

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

. Schmitz won a silver medal at the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Death

Schmitz was killed when the plane he was piloting cashed near

Morgan City, Louisiana Morgan City is a small city in St. Mary and lower St. Martin parishes in the U.S. State of Louisiana. The population was 12,404 at the 2010 census. Known for being “right in the middle of everywhere”, Morgan City is located 68 miles (109&nb ...

on the night before his twenty-first birthday. At the time of his death he was rated one of the best trampolinists in the world. He was also known for being able to perform the full and one and a half twisting

dive roll A roll is the most basic and fundamental skill in gymnastics class. There are many variations in the skill. Rolls are similar to flips in the fact that they are a complete rotation of the body, but the rotation of the roll is usually made on the g ...

on the floor exercise and the full twisting front vault on the Long Horse. After his death he was inducted into the SIU Athletic Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmitz, Frank 1945 births 1966 deaths American male trampolinists American gymnasts Southern Illinois University Carbondale alumni Medalists at the Trampoline Gymnastics World Championships Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1966 20th-century American people