Frank Cosentino

Frank Cosentino (born May 22, 1937) was a quarterback in the Canadian Football League. Born in Hamilton, he has devoted his life to sport. Growing up in Hamilton, he played baseball with Russ Jackson and Murray Oliver in the Hamilton Police Minor Baseball Association. He attracted offers from the Cleveland Indians,Milwaukee Braves and Kansas City Athletics. He played Junior and senior intercounty baseball with Hamilton teams. He was also a noted fastball pitcher and played basketball through his years at Cathedral High School and one year with the University of Western Ontario Mustangs BB team. His football career began with the Hamilton Old Boys Football Association and later as a quarterback at Cathedral High School in 1954. The League championship was won in 1954; the team went to the Red Feather game in 1955 and were league finalists that year.

He had offers from universities in Canada and the United States but decided on the University of Western Ontario where he graduated in Honours Business Administration in 1960. While at Western he played four season with the Mustangs, winning championships in 1957 and 1959. His last game with Western was as Captain and quarterback in the inaugural Canadian Intercollegiate championship contest versus UBC Thunderbirds, a 34-12 win for Western. He was Hamilton Tiger-Cats' first draft choice in 1960

As a professional he played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Edmonton Eskimos and the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL from 1960 to 1969. With Hamilton, he was in five Grey Cup games from '61 to '65, winning Grey Cups in 1963 and 1965. In Edmonton,he was selected the team's top Canadian vying for the Schenley Canadian Award.in 1967. His year with Toronto was stifled by what Leo Cahill called "an act of God" when Ottawa and Russ Jackson erased an 8 point Toronto lead to defeat the Argos, represent the East, and win the 1969 Grey Cup game. Cosentino's career was noteworthy in that he was one of the last Canadian quarterbacks to see significant playing time in the CFL.

While playing in the CFL, Cosentino continued his education after having graduated from Western in 1960 with an HBA. He acquired a BPE degree at McMaster in 1967, a MA from U of Alberta in 1969, followed by a PhD from Alberta in 1973. During six years of teaching and coaching at the University of Western Ontario, his teams won the Vanier Cup in 1971 and 1974. From 1976 through 1981 he served at York University in Toronto as professor and chair of Physical Education and Athletics and also coached for 7 more years. He retired from the university in 1997. Cosentino is also known for authoring seventeen books, three of which are on Canadian football, mostly on the history of sport in Canada. He lives in Eganville, Ontario, with his wife Sheila. They have four children and twelve grandchildren

Earned degrees: B.A. (Business Administration) Western University, Bachelor of Physical Health & Education (BPHE) McMaster University (1967), Masters and Doctoral Degrees, University of Alberta (Edmonton). http://valleyoldtimers.com Frank Cosentino Books

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