Frank Stranahan

[okesa]

[size="3"]Did you know?

A remarkable fact is that Frank Stranahan held the record for low scoring amateur at the Open Championship from 1950 until 2011 a whopping 61 years and of course was done with persimmon and forged irons,testament to the quality of his golf.[/size]

[teevons]

Recently found this great book at Goodwill, it is the history of the Seattle Golf Club. A beautiful course I was able to play once ,very hard to get on unless you know someone. In the book, one of the great pictures is of Stranahan, Harvey Ward, Charlie Coe,Venturi in 1952 Ameicia Cup held at the SGC.
Check out the duds on these gents,


[quote name='okesa' timestamp='1329771260' post='4333513']
[size="3"]Did you know?

A remarkable fact is that Frank Stranahan held the record for low scoring amateur at the Open Championship from 1950 until 2011 a whopping 61 years and of course was done with persimmon and forged irons,testament to the quality of his golf.[/size]
[/quote]

[okesa]

[size="3"]Wonderful picture,no wonder people were envious of Frank,good looking,sharp dresser,highly talented and not short in the wallet area,interestingly standing next to another Byron Nelson pupil Ken Venturi.My dear old friend Jimmy Wilson (see first page) who initiated my interest in Frank Stranahan was drawn against Venturi in the 1953 Walker Cup and lost 9 and 8,not a match that he talked about often although there was certainly no shame at being beaten by a player of that quality.[/size]

[size="3"]Here's a nice link from 1951: [url="http://www.britishpathe.com/video/us-retain-walker-cup"]http://www.britishpathe.com/video/us-retain-walker-cup[/url][/size]

[majic]

Okesa i think if Frank had remained an Amateur he would be regarded today as one of the very best Amateur golfers of all time. If you look very closely at his record he was not far behind Bobby Jones in his accomplishments. I think he got the USGA mad at him when he turned Pro and the professionals never really accepted him because of who he was. I can remember sitting in the mens locker room at Inverness looking at the items on display and the wall covered with his records and as a young man thinking about what a great player he was. I was a good friend of his nephew, R. A. Stranahan Jr. or Bob. We went to school together, hunted together on their property and loved golf together. Bob built a course in Toledo and he was very involved in golf although he was not a terrific player. He was destined to be the President of Champion Spark Plug Company. Bob lost his life in a car accident. He was a good friend.
Frank had a tremendous game and was a great putter. He was long with the driver and played a very complete game. I am sure that Byron Nelson when he was the Pro there had something to do with his great ball striking. His family life was filed with very sad times. I have followed him in golf articles over the last 30 years.
I played my golf at a Willie Park course called Sylvania. It is in a suburb of Toledo. Wonderful course. I was lucky to have a good teacher and a family that loved golf. I was a many times club champion and won some local events. My destiny was of course to end up designing golf clubs. I made my first putters in 1963.
I have enjoyed this thread about Frank and the great clubs of the period. Tad

[okesa]

[size="3"]Mr Moore,I'm most grateful to you for your post which adds greatly to the thread by virtue of its personal nature.[/size]

[okesa]

[size="3"]I thought perhaps I should add to the thread a little about JC Wilson who first told me about and sparked my interest in Frank Stranahan and to leave him on a note of being trounced by Ken Venturi is hardly fair.
Jimmy hailed from the Bearsden district of Glasgow,his family had a seed merchants business and were comfortably set in life which enabled JC to compete in all the principal amateur tournaments.
JC's entry in the 1967 Golfer's Handbook will tell you that he was no 'mug' and a very fine player noted for his iron play.
James C Wilson Clubs-Royal & Ancient,Cawder,Glasgow.Won Tennant Cup (the oldest open amateur tournament in the world) 1947,won Edward Trophy 1949-51.With L.G. Crawley won Antlers of Mid-Surrey 1949-51-52.Runner-up Scottish Amateur Championship 1951-52.Played for Scotland in Home Internationals 1947-48-49-51-52-53.Played for Great Britain vs USA,Walker Cup 1947-53.Member of British team which toured South Africa 1951-52.
Also winner of the R&A Silver Cross,Silver Medal and George Glennie Medal and immediately after the war played exhibition matches for the Red Cross with professionals and fellow amateurs.
He told the story of playing as Bobby Locke's partner in one such match and faced a 12' downhill putt on a slick and steep Mackenzie green,looking at Locke for support,Bobby whispered "Raise the putter slightly then hit it with the shadow!"
JC appears in this clip from Pathe News along with a great tee shot from Frank Stranahan who we also see looking very relaxed in front of the R&A building.[/size]
[url="http://www.britishpathe.com/video/walker-cup-golf-aka-pathe-front-page/query/walker+cup"]http://www.britishpathe.com/video/walker-cup-golf-aka-pathe-front-page/query/walker+cup[/url]

[okesa]

[size=5]Wishing a very happy 90th birthday to Frank Stranahan on Sunday 5th August.[/size]

[Bella Woods]

Judging from how good he looks in some of the pictures I have seen of him
from the past 10 years or so - looks like he will be blowing out candles for
some time to come.

[rex235]

Bella/Okesa-

Frank Stranahan was the topic of our conversation recently, as the people there had met him.

I'm sure Tad Moore has recounted more than a few tales.

One of the articles in a golf magazine a few years ago stated he "planned to live to be 100".

We'll be playing the Tourney Colokroms this weekend.....

Happy Birthday Frank!

[okesa]

[size=5]I sent a card and a note informing of this thread which I hope Mr Stranahan has seen,I did read that he now considers golf to be a waste of time but hope that he appreciates that there are a lot of people who have not forgotten about him and recognise and admire his achievements particularly as an amateur golfer and from a British perspective the fact that he supported Championship golf on this side of the Atlantic long before the 'Arnie revival',something which in my opinion should be recognised by the R&A.[/size]
[size=5]I think that a lot of people would enjoy learning more about him,his tuition from Byron Nelson,his equipment and the characters that he met and played with and against.[/size]
[size=5]I was 60 last Tuesday so am not old enough to remember what I think was a real 'Golden Age' of golf in the late '40's through the '50's,[/size]
[size=5] both in terms of players and equipment.so much more interesting than contemporary stuff![/size]

[okesa]

[size=4][size=5]Bit of an update to this thread,which I'm delighted to see is still being read,at the time of Frank's birthday I notified the R&A of the fact in the hope they might do something a bit special.I did receive an email from Peter Dawson,Chief Executive of the R&A asking for contact details who said they would write with greetings which was pleasing.[/size][/size]
[size=4][size=5]Further insight into Frank's view of golf was uncovered when I found a copy of a book at a local car boot sale for £1 (!) 'Legends of Golf' by Louis T. Stanley with foreword by and featuring Frank Stranahan.[/size][/size]
[size=4][size=5]In his foreword Frank says that his current interests (July 1997) were "finance,training with weights and longevity".[/size][/size]
[size=4][size=5]There is some excellent material about Frank in the book and it was something of a relief to find that I'm not alone in my interest as Louis Stanley was also fascinated by the immense focus and single-mindedness that Stranahan demonstrated as well as his great skill and reminds us that Frank Stranahan was the only man to win every major amateur championship in the World![/size][/size]
[size=4][size=5]Pretty remarkable to have that on your c.v. eh?[/size][/size]
[size=4][size=5]Louis Stanley was quite a remarkable character himself,scratch handicap golfer and later involved in Formula 1 Grand Prix racing with BRM and a driving force behind improved safety for drivers.[/size][/size]
[size=4][size=5]A further quick word about Jimmy Wilson who initially told me about Frank Stranahan,Jimmy told me many times about watching Hogan at Carnoustie in '53,what I didn't realise until recently was that Jimmy had actually qualified and played in that Open Championship,sadly only for the first two rounds but he had previously played all four rounds at St. Andrews in '46 and Troon in '50.[/size][/size]
[size=4][size=5]I think Jimmy modelled himself a bit on Hogan,he wore a white cap in the summer (a disgusting Tam O'Shanter in winter!),casual toss of the cigarette to one side prior to setting up and the killer punchlines.[/size][/size]
[size=4][size=5]Playing one day in a very strong wind I said"Not easy is it JC?","Did someone say it was meant to be?" came the reply.[/size][/size]
[size=4][size=5]Knowing we were a player short the following week we sat in the bar debating who should be invited to make up the four,as the junior I said nothing until asked if I could think of anyone and thus prompted suggested a name resulting in a loud snort of laughter from Jimmy and the comment"Aye,I ken him,he's one of the best players I've ever heard"![/size][/size]
[size=4][size=5]Finally a Frank visual,picked this up the other week....[/size][/size]

[robert horneman]

A little off topic.
I am curious if Mr. Moore or anyone who is familiar with Inverness around the time of Mr. Nelson and Mr. Stranahan, can remember a Scotish Pro by the name of Marty Krohm. Not sure of the spelling of his last name?

[majic]

[quote name='robert horneman' timestamp='1355153622' post='6046015']
A little off topic.
I am curious if Mr. Moore or anyone who is familiar with Inverness around the time of Mr. Nelson and Mr. Stranahan, can remember a Scotish Pro by the name of Marty Krohm. Not sure of the spelling of his last name?
[/quote]
Marty was a great Pro. I remember him well. When I was inducted into the Toledo Hall of Fame his name came up. If you played golf in that time in Toledo you knew Marty. Tad

[robert horneman]

Thanks Tad,
My dad was a member at Inverness when MR. NELSON was the head pro. My dad was a good friend of Marty and played many rounds of golf with him ,MR. Nelon and MR. Stranahan
My dad used to bring Marty to our house for dinner and a few adult beverages.
I was probably 9 or 10 at the time 1942 to 1944.
I remember Marty as a fairly short man with a heavy Scottish accent who always wore a colorful Tam O Shanter cap.
I did not play golf then but I always enjoyed the annual Chritmas party at Inverness.

[majic]

[quote name='robert horneman' timestamp='1356362105' post='6111555']
Thanks Tad,
My dad was a member at Inverness when MR. NELSON was the head pro. My dad was a good friend of Marty and played many rounds of golf with him ,MR. Nelon and MR. Stranahan
My dad used to bring Marty to our house for dinner and a few adult beverages.
I was probably 9 or 10 at the time 1942 to 1944.
I remember Marty as a fairly short man with a heavy Scottish accent who always wore a colorful Tam O Shanter cap.
I did not play golf then but I always enjoyed the annual Chritmas party at Inverness.
[/quote]
Marty was a great guy. I am almost 72 I remember more from around 1957 up although because i was a good junior player I was at Inverness some before that and remember Frank. One of my good friends was Bob Stranahan who was my age.

[okesa]

[size=5]Couple of updates which might be of interest,please forgive me if this is 'old news',I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer when it comes to finding stuff but have just come across a group on Facebook "Friends of Frank R. Stranahan" administered by Mr Robert Reifert if you care to take a look.[/size]
[size=5]Also on a well known auction site are two lots of Macregor interest,a Frank Stranahan putter and a set of Frank Stranahan irons which are,in my view,a bit special.[/size]
[size=5]If you read this Mr Penna perhaps you could give some insight into the 'Mitey M' logo on these,is this a play on words or letters as in the M of MT?[/size]
[size=5]Did uncle Toney have any input with these,the chequerboard effect looks like something he might have thought up?[/size]
[size=5]Anyone have a lefty set of these?(I can only dream!)[/size]

[Augie]

RIP Frank Strnahan

[Bella Woods]

[quote name='Augie' timestamp='1372113755' post='7316098']
RIP Frank Strnahan
[/quote]


RIP?

Do you know something we don't?

[okesa]

[size=5]I checked the Facebook page of "Friends of Frank Stranahan",his son Lance posted 18 hours ago that his dad had passed away.[/size]

[tembolo1284]

Chap was indeed ripped.

[tsmithers]

RIP.

He is talked about a number of times in the book "The Match". Interesting stuff.

[Blade Junkie]

RIP "Muscles"

[rex235]

My friend confirmed Frank Stranahan left this world on June 23, 2013.

RIP.

[okesa]

[size=5]May I suggest a visit to the Facebook page mentioned above which has a link to toledoblade.com and a well written obituary and guestbook.[/size]

[size=5]Are we the only ones on this site interested in the demise of arguably the greatest amateur golfer in the history of the game?[/size]
[size=5]Checking the internet there are numerous obits posted but on this site I have found sweet FA,I can't believe that with the hugely talented writers at their disposal Golfwrx cannot manage an appropriate appreciation of Frank Stranahan.[/size]

[oldschoolrocker]

RIP

[okesa]

[size=5]Anyone wishing to see 'Stranny' in action,go to the British Pathe News website and enter a search for Frank Stranahan,the results will show Frank playing in Walker Cup and Open Championships,some lovely footage of the great man who was held in great affection by British golf fans for his support of the Amateur and Open Championships at a time when many overseas players didn't wish to travel here.[/size]

[esketores]

One of the best threads I've read.
Thanks people.

[okesa]

[size=5]The Open Championship starts tomorrow,it was in this event 60 years ago that Frank Stranahan finished in second place behind the all-conquering Ben Hogan.[/size]
[size=5]The R&A who run The Open have an excellent website which includes history and footage of earlier Championships,there is a great view of 'Stranny' driving,well wrapped against the Scottish 'summer'.[/size]

[size=5][url="http://www.theopen.com/en/History/PreviousOpens"]http://www.theopen.com/en/History/PreviousOpens[/url].[/size]

[rex235]

Okesa-

It's also the 50th anniversary of one Sir Bob Charles winning the Open Championship in a playoff against Phil Rodgers.

Also- Having lost Ken Venturi and Frank Stranahan this year-
Besides William C. Campbell, are there any others from the 1952 photograph still living?

[okesa]

[size=5]Britain in the immediate post-war years was not a terribly welcoming place with many places still showing the damage caused by bombing and with food rationing still in force (not totally lifted until 1954),so not surprisingly there were few American entries for the Open,Sam Snead won in 1946 but there were only three US players in 1947 at Hoylake,Johnny Bulla,Vic Ghezzi and Frank Stranahan.[/size]
[size=5]Louis T. Stanley,author,photographer and later head of BRM Racing wrote about the Championship in his book "Fresh Fairways",the eventual winner Fred Daly was in the clubhouse and all the fancied runners started to fall one by one,Henry Cotton,Norman Von Nida and Reg Horne all faded and only Jimmy Adams and Frank Stranahan could beat or match Daly's score.[/size]
[size=5]Louis tells it thus;"Adams failed,but Stranahan continued to reel off regulation figures with mechanical efficiency.On the sixteenth tee he needed 4,4,3 to tie.A bunker at the Dun suggested that he had shot his bolt,but he made a magnificent recovery,and sank his putt for the 4.[/size]
[size=5]The Royal proved his undoing.He played a bold shot from the rough,found the green,and was left with a fifteen yard putt.[/size]
[size=5]The title was in sight if he sank that putt.[/size]
[size=5]The American gave the hole a chance.The ball ran a yard past,and he missed the return.That left two to tie.[/size]
[size=5]Seldom before has a shot matched the setting with such dramatic precision.The last hole at Hoylake is just over 400 yards long.The second has to carry an awkward cross-bunker.The green is large enough to three-putt with comfort.This time the American ruled the pin.For a moment it seemed that the million-to-one chance had come off.Instead,it finished a matter of inches from the hole.[/size]
[size=5]It was one of the bravest shots on record.It is no slight to Daly to say that this Championship will always be remembered by this stroke that failed."[/size]
[size=5]I was told by my old friend that the crowd became restless when Frank walked up to the green surveying the shot but went absolutely wild when he nearly holed out and cheered him all the way in.[/size]
[size=5]Sadly no footage of that shot but there is a link to the 1947 Open Championship and Frank Stranahan on the R&A website.[/size]

[size=5][url="http://www.theopen.com/en/History/PreviousOpens"]http://www.theopen.com/en/History/PreviousOpens[/url].[/size]

[size=5]Then select 1947 from the dropdown year list.[/size]