Frank Sargent | |
|---|---|
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| Born | July 6, 1902 Fergus, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | September 28, 1988 (aged 86) Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada |
| Alma mater | Canadian School of Embalming |
| Occupation | Funeral director |
| Years active | 1926 to 1988 |
| Known for | |
| Awards | |
| Honours | |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's Curling | ||
Representing  Northern Ontario
| ||
| Macdonald Brier | ||
 |
1953 Sudbury | |
Frank Forest Sargent (July 6, 1902 – September 28, 1988) was a Canadian sports executive in ice hockey and curling. He served as president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) from 1942 to 1945, and was president of the Dominion Curling Association (DCA) from 1965 to 1966. He was the first person to be elected to more than two terms as CAHA president, and the first to be president of two national amateur sporting associations in Canada.
Sargent served as a Thunder Bay Amateur Hockey Association executive for 27 years, including two terms as its president. He served on the CAHA committee to negotiate professional-amateur agreements with the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1938 to 1955, and helped negotiate recognition each organization's authority over the game, payments from professional clubs to amateur clubs for developing hockey players, and common usage of the ice hockey rules. He sought for enforcement of rules to ensure fast, clean play without injuries, and disliked the increasing physical style of the game. His time as president of the CAHA coincided with World War II, and he supported the purchase of Victory bonds to assist the war effort, and facilitated the supply of players to fill NHL rosters lacking numbers due to military service. Under his leadership, junior ice hockey profits from the Memorial Cup were reinvested into the development of minor ice hockey in Canada; but senior ice hockey struggled with the loss of Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force teams, which led to his decision to cancel national playoffs for the Allan Cup in 1945.
Sargent served multiple terms as president of the Port Arthur Curling Club, and led its effort to affiliate with the Manitoba Curling Association. He later assisted in founding the Northwestern Ontario Curling Association, became its inaugural president in 1947, and sought for recognition as its own branch within the DCA to compete for The Brier national championship. He played second on the rink that won the 1953 Northern Ontario Men's Provincial Curling Championship, and placed third at the 1953 Brier championship. As a member of the DCA executive, he assisted in establishing both the Canadian Mixed Curling Championship and the Canadian Senior Curling Championships in 1964. He was an original member of the senior championship committee, and believed the event would attract former Brier competitors and give seniors place to compete which had not existed.
Sargent's career in sports was recognized with the Canadian Centennial Medal in 1967, and the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977. He also received awards, citations and life memberships from multiple sporting and service organizations; including life membership of the CAHA in 1946 and life membership of the DCA in 1967. When hockey and curling established a Hall of Fame for their respective sport, he was named to the selection committees to choose the inaugural group of inductees for each sport. He was inducted into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame in 1974, and inducted into the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1982.