Frank Henry Theakston
Diminutive Theakston Exasperatingly Effective
Frank Theakston was an important part of Acadia University teams that won league championship in the 1938-1941 period. A member of the 1938 rugby team, he contributed to the team’s success, though Acadia fell to St Mary’s University of Halifax in the playoff series. In 1939, he was one of scoring stars of the rugby team which lost the provincial title to St Francis Xavier University of Antigonish, Nova Scotia. In the fall of 1940, he was rugby team captain; Acadia played in the Halifax City League, winning the league title. Theakston, described in many news reports as “diminutive, though exasperatingly effective” was crucial to the success of his team.
In hockey, Theakston was known for his checking as well as his scoring. Of a game with the Wolfville Cohorts in February 1940, the Acadia Athenaeum reported: “Little Frankie Theakston was one of the stars in the college win. His sweeping poke-check stopped many of Wolfville’s plays from getting underway.” In a game against St Dunstan’s College of Prince Edward Island, the same publication remarked: “Frankie Theakston was a thorn in the side of the Saints all night and his poke check broke up many threatening plays.” Theakston and his teammates such as Neil Price in goal won both the Provincial and Tri-Province titles in hockey that season.
Theakston received athletic “A”s and distinction for his participation in rugby and hockey. He was president of the Student’s Council and graduated with a BSc in 1941. After serving in the Engineering Corps of the Canadian Army from 1942-46, he did post-graduate work at Nova Scotia Technical College, then became a member of the Department of Agricultural Engineering at Guelph where his work on wind and snow also brought him acclaim.
(Acadia Athenaeum 17 February 1940, 3; 8 March 1940, 3)
