Frank Longridge

Athlete (1996)

Badminton

Frank Longridge was born in Bethune in 1918, moved to Moose Jaw with his family at an early age and played golf, tennis, basketball and football as a boy.

He and his mother, Faye, were Moose Jaw city badminton champions after his parents introduced him to the game at the new Moose Jaw Badminton Club.

Frank soon became known as Mr. Badminton. In Saskatoon, he won men's singles crowns in 1947, 1948 and 1949, shared the men's doubles crown four times and the mixed doubles crown five times.

On the Saskatchewan scene, he won the provincial men's singles title eight times from 1937 until 1949; shared in the men's doubles title 12 times from 1936 until 1956; and shared in the mixed doubles title nine times from 1937 until 1949. He also was active as a junior coach and a director and president of Saskatoon and Saskatchewan badminton associations.

In Saskatoon, he played with the Empire Jacks, who won the Saskatchewan and Western Canadian men's softball championships in 1946. He also played on the Saskatoon Toilers men's basketball team, which won a provincial crown but lost to Vancouver in an interprovincial tournament.

Frank moved to Eston in 1954 and has been active in curling and heavily involved with the Ramblers' hockey and baseball teams and promoting the building of a new sports complex.

** Deceased.