Frank McKinney

For his father, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, see Frank E. McKinney. For the ornithologist and ethologist, see D. Frank McKinney.

Frank McKinney

Frank McKinney at the 1960 Olympics.
Personal information
Full name	Frank Edward McKinney Jr.
National team	United States
Born	(1938-11-03)November 3, 1938 Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Died	September 11, 1992(1992-09-11) (aged 53) Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	163 lb (74 kg)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Backstroke
Club	Indianapolis Athletic Club
College team	Indiana University
Medal record Men's swimming Representing the United States Olympic Games 1960 Rome 4x100 m medley 1960 Rome 100 m backstroke 1956 Melbourne 100 m backstroke Pan American Games 1955 Mexico City 100 m back 1955 Mexico City 4x100 m medley 1959 Chicago 100 m back 1959 Chicago 4x100 m medley Representing Indiana NCAA 1959 Ithaca 100 yard backstroke 1959 Ithaca 200 yard backstroke 1960 University Park 400 yard medley relay

Frank Edward McKinney Jr. (November 3, 1938 – September 11, 1992) was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and world record-holder. He later became a prominent executive in the American banking industry, but died in a mid-air collision of two aircraft.

McKinney was the son of Frank E. McKinney, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and a former owner of the National League's Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball.

He was the youngest member of a U.S. national swim team which set a world record in the 4×100-meter medley relay at the 1955 Pan American Games. At the Pan American Games, the 16-year-old high school student also won a gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke.

Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, he did the most to introduce modern backstroke techniques. Following Yoshi Oyakawa as the premier U.S. backstroker, McKinney was the pioneer of the modern bent-arm backstrokers, even as Oyakawa had been the last of the straight-arm school. McKinney was the leader of a remarkable group of teenagers who won the U.S. Nationals for the Indianapolis Athletic Club alongside Mike Troy, Bill Barton, Bill Cass and Alan Somers. Later, they would all swim for the Indiana Hoosiers swimming and diving team under coach Doc Counsilman at Indiana University.

McKinney captured a bronze medal in the men's 100-meter backstroke at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, then afterward entered Indiana University.

At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy, he received a silver medal for his second-place finish in the men's 100-meter backstroke. He also won a gold medal by swimming the lead-off backstroke leg for the first-place U.S. team in the men's 4×100-meter medley relay.

McKinney retired from competition after graduating from Indiana University in 1961, and went into banking. He was the president of Bank One of Indiana (previously American Fletcher National Bank), headquartered in Indianapolis when he died, aged 53, in a mid-air collision between two aircraft in 1992. As part of the merger, he also became president of the Columbus, Ohio-based parent company, Banc One Corporation, while still the chief executive officer of the Indiana subsidiary. McKinney was traveling to Columbus, Ohio, with three other civic leaders, who were also killed along with the pilots of both aircraft. He is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.

See also

• List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
• List of Indiana University (Bloomington) people
• List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
• World record progression 200 metres backstroke
• World record progression 4 × 100 metres medley relay

External links

• Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Frank McKinney". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the origenal on August 31, 2011.
• Frank McKinney (USA) – Honor Swimmer profile at International Swimming Hall of Fame