Frank McKinney

Who was Frank McKinney?

Frank Edward McKinney, Jr. was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and former 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. He was the youngest member of a U.S. national swim team that set a world record in the 4x100-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.