FRANK
WANSBROUGH
BUILDER
BASKETBALL
CLASS OF 1984
Frank Wansbrough was a longtime champion of basketball who served two terms as Mayor of the City of Windsor.
Wansbrough was born in Toronto on May 28, 1919.
As a teenager, Wansbrough played basketball for Father Donlon at Assumption High School between 1934 and ’38. He notably played on a WOSSA Junior Championship team. Later, he would play on Windsor Senior teams.
Wansbrough attended Detroit Lawrence Tech College on a basketball scholarship. There, he learnt the fine points of pivot play from Bill Rogin.
During World War II, Wansbrough was stationed in Ottawa from 1941 to ’45. There, he played in the Ottawa Valley Senior League, where he won a pair of scoring championships en route to two league titles. In 1945, Wansbrough played for the Royal Canadian Air Force Overseas Basketball Champions at Bournemouth, England.
Following his playing career, Wansbrough was Head Basketball Coach of the Windsor AKO Juniors from the 1946-47 season to ’59-60. Canadian Championships in 1948 and ’60 highlighted his 13-year career with AKO. Wansbrough’s teams also won Eastern Canadian titles in 1948, ’50, ’52, ’58, and ’60 and Ontario titles in each of those years plus ’51 and ’53.
Wansbrough belongs to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts as a lifetime member in recognition of his involvement in basketball at every level: playing, coaching, officiating, and as an administrator. He is one of three Canadians so honoured.
Wansbrough passed away on February 19, 2005.