The other day I was looking for something in our enormous collection of materials from athletics and as is my habit once I found it I browsed through the rest of the box. I was startled to find two long pieces of cardboard kind of stuck together in one of the folders, then shocked when I separated them and saw what they were: a memorial resolution of the Texas House of Representatives in honor of Johnnie Frankie, who was Rice’s basketball coach when he passed away in 1963 at the age of 50:
My heart sank when I read this–I’d never heard his name before and wanted to know more. I set about trying to find a photograph of him but couldn’t come up with anything but fuzzy Campanile images so I was thrilled when this one turned up among George Miner’s things:
You can see the warmth and decency in his face, can’t you?
He was a nice man and a good coach.
I did a double-take while reading page 2 of the resolution. Mrs. Dorothy (M.) Frankie was my high school biology teacher.
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Johnnie Frankie was a great man.I played basketball for him at Wharton Jr College
and Rice in 59-60.He was tough but shaped many boys into men.What a treasure
to be among his many friends..E MILLS
He was a good Guy . Now at age 81 , I find Henry Hare at Champions Golf Club driving his own golf cart . What a small world .