Frank Richard Stranahan (August 5, 1922 – June 23, 2013) was an American sportsman. He had significant success in both amateur and professional

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

. He was ranked number one in his weight class in

powerlifting Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effo ...

, from 1945 to 1954, and he became known on the golf course and off as the "Toledo strongman" long before the modern game of golf and fitness. After he retired from tournament golf in the early 1960s, he became a prolific long-distance runner, competing in 102 marathons.

Early life and family

Stranahan was born in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

in 1922. He was born into a very wealthy family; his father, Robert A. Stranahan Sr., was the founder of the highly successful

Champion Spark Plug A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

company. Frank's father's millions allowed Frank to concentrate on golf, and while in his teens he set a goal of becoming the best golfer in the world. He grew up playing the famous Inverness Club in Toledo, and won several club championships there.

Coached by Byron Nelson

Stranahan received instruction as a junior at Inverness in the early 1940s from

Byron Nelson John Byron Nelson Jr. (February 4, 1912 – September 26, 2006) was an American professional golfer between 1935 and 1946, widely considered one of the greatest golfers of all time. Nelson and two other legendary champions of the time, Ben Hoga ...

, the club's professional, who was also playing the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

at that time. Nelson retired in 1946 after one of the greatest competitive careers in golf history. Stranahan played college golf for the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

. Nelson later mentored several other young players who went on to significant competitive success, including World Golf Hall of Fame members

Ken Venturi Kenneth Paul Venturi (May 15, 1931May 17, 2013) was an American professional golfer and golf broadcaster. In a career shortened by injuries, he won 14 events on the PGA Tour including a major, the U.S. Open in 1964. Shortly before his death in 20 ...

and Tom Watson, as well as

Marty Fleckman Martin Alan Fleckman (born April 23, 1944) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1960s and 1970s. Born in Port Arthur, Texas, Fleckman credits Byron Nelson, Carl Lohren, and Jim Hardy with teaching him how to play g ...

(1965

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 ...

champion, with one Tour win).

Competitive golf career

During his amateur golf career, spanning from 1936 to 1954, Stranahan won over 70 amateur tournaments, and several Open events as well, competing against professionals. Stranahan was able to remain amateur by forgoing the prize money he could have won as a professional, due to his family wealth. His greatest accomplishments included appearing as a finalist in over a dozen national championships, winning seven. He won two major championships (as they were counted at the time): the 1948 and 1950

British Amateur The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

s. Stranahan was runner-up in five other major championships, including the

, the Masters Tournament,

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later t ...

, and the

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

. He won the

Canadian Amateur Championship The Canadian Amateur Championship, begun in 1895, is the men's amateur golf championship of Canada. It is staged annually by Golf Canada. It was played at match play until 1968, went to stroke play beginning in 1969, and reverted to match play in ...

in 1947 and 1948. He won the Tam O'Shanter All-American Amateur six consecutive years from 1948 to 1953; this was a significant extravaganza hosted by impresario George S. May. His globetrotting allowed him to compete in over 200 tournaments across three continents during his amateur career. He remained an amateur most of his career, during which time he played on three winning

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup Match (not "Matches" as in Ryder Cup Matches). It is ...

teams in 1947, 1949, and 1951. He finally turned pro at age 32 in September 1954, after losing to 24-year-old

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous ev ...

in the round of 16 at the

the previous week. He is the only amateur golfer in PGA history to win a professional event as an amateur more than once. Stranahan's dream was to win this championship; his closest was a 1950 finals loss in extra holes to

Sam Urzetta Samuel Urzetta (March 19, 1926 – April 8, 2011) was an American professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A ...

. Stranahan stated at the time of turning pro that one of his reasons for making the switch was a desire for the Tour players to develop greater respect for him, since if he won a Tour event as an amateur, the runner-up received the first-place money. As a pro, his greatest victory was the 1958

Los Angeles Open The Genesis Invitational is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in southern California, first played in 1926 as the Los Angeles Open. Other previous names include Genesis Open, Northern Trust Open and Nissan Open. Played annually in ...

Style, mentors Gary Player

Stranahan worked with several golf instructors in an attempt to find the perfect swing; he was characterized by his fellow competitors as someone who experimented too much with his game, with a 'made' swing as opposed to a 'natural' swing, although his short game was very well respected. Stranahan became good friends with the young

Gary Player Gary James Player DMS, OIG (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tou ...

, then, in the mid-1950s, just beginning to make his mark on the professional circuit, with advice on fitness, which Player successfully incorporated into his own training and preparation which Player had been training on since a boy. Stranahan drew chuckles from many by traveling to golf tournaments with his weightlifting equipment, but was in fact pioneering an eventual method which would become the norm several decades later, with the Tour supplying staffed workout facilities to players at Tour events by the 1980s. Stranahan was known as something of a

playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

during his amateur years, before settling down with his marriage in 1954. He was seen as arrogant by many fellow competitors, who often struggled to make ends meet, well before the evolution of golf into its modern big-money era.

Run-ins with Masters administrators

Several times during his amateur career, Stranahan ran afoul of

Clifford Roberts Clifford Roberts (March 6, 1894 – September 29, 1977) was an American investment dealer and golf administrator. Early years Born in Morning Sun, Iowa, Roberts had a financially troubled family life as a boy. He and older brother, John Dariou ...

, the chairman of

Augusta National Golf Club Augusta National Golf Club, sometimes referred to as Augusta or the National, is a golf club in Augusta, Georgia, United States. Unlike most private clubs which operate as non-profits, Augusta National is a for-profit corporation, and it does n ...

and the Masters Tournament, because of his unsportsmanlike conduct, which violated club and tournament rules. Notably, Stranahan was warned, and then finally suspended from the tournament in 1948, for playing more than one ball during practice rounds, although he had finished as runner-up the previous year. Stranahan appealed unsuccessfully to Bobby Jones, as well as fellow competitors, to be reinstated. Stranahan was invited to compete again the following year, despite the controversy, which continued, due to his failure to respect the rules. After Stranahan's father was approached by Jones over the matter, the younger Stranahan eventually wrote letters of apology to Jones, and behaved properly thereafter at the tournament, while maintaining there was much more to this situation which remained behind the scenes, without ever specifying the details of this. Stranahan retired from competitive golf in the early 1960s.

Business studies

After leaving competitive golf, he concentrated on business. He studied at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

and the

Wharton Business School The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in P ...

at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

Legacy

Stranahan's greatest personal feat is that he helped save the

Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

when few American golfers competed in the event, Stranahan competed in eight consecutive Open Championships, and was runner-up in 1947 and

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

. His personal support, along with the

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

and

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

wins of

, revived, sustained, and returned the greatness of the Open Championship through encouraging other top Americans to compete, despite the low prize funds of that era.

Family misfortune, final years

Stranahan suffered significant family misfortune. His wife Ann, whom he married in 1954, was herself a top-class amateur golfer; she finished runner-up in the 1960

Canadian Women's Amateur The Canadian Women's Amateur is Canada's annual national amateur golf tournament for women. It is open to women from all countries and is played at a different course each year. History The first championship was held from October 14 to 17, 1901 at ...

. Ann died at age 45 from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. His eldest son Frank Jr. died from cancer at age 11. His second son Jimmy died of a drug overdose in Houston, Texas at age 19. Stranahan's father also died from cancer. His youngest son Lance works in real estate in Florida. Stranahan died June 23, 2013, aged 90, at his home in Miami Beach, Florida, where he had lived for many years.

Amateur wins

:''this list is incomplete'' *1940 Toledo District Junior Championship *1941 Trans-Mississippi Amateur,

Ohio Amateur The Ohio Amateur Championship hosted annually by the Ohio Golf Association (OGA) visits the a variety of courses in the state. The event is open to amateur golfers who are residents of the state of Ohio or attending a state university or college i ...

*1942 Ohio Amateur *1946 Mexican Amateur,

Western Amateur The Western Amateur is a leading annual golf tournament in the United States for male amateur golfers. It is organized by the Western Golf Association. The Western Amateur features an international field of top-ranked amateur golfers. It was first ...

North and South Amateur The North and South Men's Amateur Golf Championship, commonly known as the North and South Amateur, is an annual golf tournament held since 1901 at the Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, North Carolina, USA. An invitational tournament, participants are ...

, Great Lakes Amateur *1947 Canadian Amateur, Great Lakes Amateur *1948

, Canadian Amateur, Mexican Amateur, All-American Amateur *1949

, All-American Amateur *1950

, All-American Amateur *1951 Mexican Amateur,

, All-American Amateur *1952

, All-American Amateur *1953 All-American Amateur

Professional wins

PGA Tour wins (6)

*1945 Durham Open (as an amateur) *1946 Kansas City Invitational Victory Bond Golf Tournament,

Fort Worth Invitational The Colonial National Invitation, titled for sponsorship reasons as the Charles Schwab Challenge since 2019, is a professional golf tournament in Texas on the PGA Tour, played annually in May in Fort Worth at Colonial Country Club, which organiz ...

(both as an amateur) *1948 Miami Open (as an amateur) *1955 Eastern Open *

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

Other wins

:''this list is incomplete'' *1948

Ohio Open The Ohio Open is the Ohio state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Northern Ohio section of the PGA of America. It was first played in 1924 and has been played annually (with minor disruptio ...

(as an amateur) *1960

*1961

Major championships

Amateur wins (2)

Results timeline

Amateur Professional ''Note: Stranahan never played in the

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

.''
LA = low amateur
NT = no tournament
CUT = missed the half-way cut
DNQ = did not qualify for match play portion
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place Sources: Masters, U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur, The Open Championship, The Amateur Championship: 1946, 1947, 1949, 1951, 1953, 1954.

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 8 (twice) *Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (five times)

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur *

: 1947 (winners), 1949 (winners),

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

(winners) *

Americas Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

: 1952 (winners)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stranahan, Frank American male golfers Miami Hurricanes men's golfers PGA Tour golfers Golfers from Ohio Harvard University alumni Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni Sportspeople from Toledo, Ohio Sportspeople from West Palm Beach, Florida 1922 births 2013 deaths