Frank Stranahan

Frank Richard Stranahan (born August 5, 1922) was one of the world's most successful amateur golf champions. Stranahan was also the number one power lifter in his weight class 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.

Stranahan was born in Toledo, Ohio and now resides in West Palm Beach, Florida. During Frank's amateur career spanning from 1936 to 1954 he won over 70 amateur championships. Frank's greatest accomplishments was that he was a finalist in over a dozen national championships, winning seven. Frank won two major championships (as they were counted at the time) the 1948 and 1950 British Amateur. Stranahan was runner-up in five other major championships including the British Amateur, The Masters, The Open Championship, and the U.S. Amateur. He won the Canadian Amateur Championship in 1947 and 1948. His globetrotting allowed him to compete in over 200 tournaments across three continents during his amateur career.

Stranahan was born into unfathomable wealth. His father, R.A. Stranahan, was the founder of Champion Spark Plug. His father's millions allowed Frank to concentrate on becoming one of the greatest golfers of his time without distraction. He remained an amateur most of his career, finally turning pro in 1954 after losing to Arnold Palmer in the 1954 U.S. Amateur Championship. As a pro, his greatest victory was the 1958 Los Angeles Open. Stranahan retired from competitive golf in the mid-1960s.

However is it felt that Frank's greatest personal feat, a footnote in anglo history, is that he helped save a British tradition unequal in world sporting competition, The Open Championship. After World War II when most American golfers ignored competing "across the pond" Frank competed in 10 consecutive British Open Championships. His personal support, along with the 1961 and 1962 wins of Arnold Palmer, revived, sustained, and returned the greatness of The Open Championship.