Frank Richard Stranahan (born August 5, 1922) was a successful amateur golf champion. 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. After he retired from golf, he became a prolific runner, competing in over 100 marathons.

Stranahan was born in Toledo, Ohio

Toledo, Ohio

Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...

 and now resides in West Palm Beach, Florida

West Palm Beach, Florida

West Palm Beach, is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and is the most populous city in and county seat of Palm Beach County, the third most populous county in Florida with a 2010 population of 1,320,134. The city is also the oldest incorporated municipality in South Florida...

. During his amateur career spanning from 1936 to 1954 he won over 70 amateur championships. His greatest accomplishments was that he was 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. Stranahan was runner-up in five other major championships including the British Amateur, The Masters, The Open Championship

The Open Championship

The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...

, and the U.S. Amateur. He won the Canadian Amateur Championship

Canadian Amateur Championship

The Canadian Amateur Championship, begun in 1895, is the men's amateur golf championship of Canada. It is staged annually by the Royal Canadian Golf Association. It was played at match play until 1968, went to stroke play beginning in 1969, and reverted to match play in 1995...

 in 1947 and 1948. He won the Tam O'Shanter All-American Amateur six consecutive years from 1948 to 1953. His globetrotting allowed him to compete in over 200 tournaments across three continents during his amateur career.

Stranahan was born into a wealthy family. His father, R.A. Stranahan, was the founder of Champion Spark Plug

Champion (spark plug)

Champion is an American brand of spark plugs.Originally Champion was a Fortune 500 Company founded by Robert A. Stranahan and Frank D. Stranahan in 1908 in Boston, MA and then moved to Toledo, OH in 1910 to be close to the Willys-Overland Auto Company....

. His father's millions allowed Frank to concentrate on golf. He remained an amateur most of his career, finally turning pro in 1954 after losing to Arnold Palmer

Arnold Palmer

Arnold Daniel Palmer is an American professional golfer, who is generally regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men's professional golf. He has won numerous events on both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour, dating back to 1955...

 in the 1954 U.S. Amateur. As a pro, his greatest victory was the 1958 Los Angeles Open. Stranahan retired from competitive golf in the mid-1960s.

However, Stranahan's greatest personal feat, a footnote in anglo

Anglo

Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to the Angles, England or the English people, as in the terms Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-American, Anglo-Celtic, Anglo-African and Anglo-Indian. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people of British Isles descent in The Americas, Australia and...

 history, is that he helped save a British tradition unequal in world sporting competition, The Open Championship

The Open Championship

The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...

. After World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 when most American golfers ignored competing "across the pond", Stranahan competed in eight consecutive Open Championships. His personal support, along with the 1961 and 1962 wins of Arnold Palmer

Arnold Palmer

Arnold Daniel Palmer is an American professional golfer, who is generally regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men's professional golf. He has won numerous events on both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour, dating back to 1955...

, revived, sustained, and returned the greatness of the Open Championship.

Amateur wins

this list is incomplete

• 1940 Toledo District Junior Championship
• 1941 Trans-Mississippi Amateur
  Trans-Mississippi Amateur
  The Trans-Mississippi Amateur or Trans-Miss Amateur is an annual golf tournament. It is organized by the Trans-Mississippi Golf Association and was first played in 1901. It is played at a different course each year that are located near or west of the Mississippi River. From 1987 to 2009, the field...
  
  
• 1946 Mexican Amateur, Western 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....
  
  , North and South Amateur, Great Lakes Amateur
• 1947 Canadian Amateur, Great Lakes Amateur
• 1948 British Amateur, Canadian Amateur, Mexican Amateur, All-American Amateur
• 1949 Western 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....
  
  , North and South Amateur, All-American Amateur
• 1950 British Amateur, All-American Amateur
• 1951 Mexican Amateur, Western 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....
  
  , All-American Amateur
• 1952 Western 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....
  
  , North and South Amateur, All-American Amateur
• 1953 All-American Amateur

PGA Tour wins (6)

• 1945 Durham Open
  Durham Open
  The Durham Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour that was played three times from 1944 to 1945. The tournament was held at the Hope Valley Country Club in Durham, North Carolina. Each tournament had a purse of $5,000 with a winner's share of $1,000 .In 1944, Craig Wood won the Durham Open for...
  
   (as an amateur)
• 1946 Kansas City Invitational Victory Bond Golf Tournament, Fort Worth Invitational (as an amateur)
• 1948 Miami Open
  Miami Open
  The Miami Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1924 to 1955. It was played at what is now the Miami Springs Golf and Country Club in Miami, Florida. The event was played in December from 1924 to 1926 and from 1937 to 1955...
  
   (as an amateur)
• 1955 Eastern Open
• 1958 Los Angeles Open

Other wins

this list is incomplete

• 1948 Ohio Open
  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 at a variety of courses around the state...
  
   (as an amateur)
• 1960 Ohio Open
  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 at a variety of courses around the state...
  
  
• 1961 Ohio Open
  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 at a variety of courses around the state...
  
  

Amateur wins (2)

Year	Championship	Winning Score	Runner-up
1948	British Amateur	5 & 4	Charles Stowe
1950	British Amateur	8 & 6	Dick Chapman Dick Chapman Richard D. Chapman was an American amateur golfer. Time magazine crowned Chapman "the Ben Hogan of amateur golf"....

Results timeline

Amateur

Tournament	1938	1939	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	NT	NT	NT	20 LA	T2 LA	DNP	T19	T14 LA	T32	T19	T14 LA	T43
U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	NT	NT	NT	NT	T45	T13	T41	CUT	T46	T42	CUT	DNP	CUT
The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...	DNP	DNP	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	DNP	T2 LA	T23	13 LA	T9 LA	T12 LA	T37	T2 LA	T29
U.S. Amateur	DNQ	DNP	DNP	DNQ	NT	NT	NT	NT	R32	R32	QF	R64	2	R256	R32	R128	R16
British Amateur	DNP	DNP	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	NT	R16	R16	1	QF	1	R32	2	R64	R16

Professional

Tournament	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959	1960	1961	1962	1963
Masters Tournament	T15	T22	DNP	CUT	T34	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...	DNP	DNP	DNP	T10	CUT	T49	T45	DNP	CUT
The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...	DNP	12	T19	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	DNP

Note: Stranahan never played in the PGA Championship

PGA Championship

The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship...

.

LA = Low Amateur

NT = No tournament

DNP = Did not play

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

Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Source for The Masters: www.masters.com

Source for U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur: USGA Championship Database

Source for British Open: www.opengolf.com

Source for 1946 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 31, 1946, pg. 6.

Source for 1947 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 30, 1947, pg. 5.

Source for 1949 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 28, 1949, pg. 2.

Source for 1951 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 25, 1951, pg. 7.

Source for 1953 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 28, 1953, pg. 4.

Source for 1954 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 28, 1954, pg. 4.