05-10-2018, 06:51 PM
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#1
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Not a casual user
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: A simple man leading a complicated life....
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'88 Olympic mastermind Frank King passes away at age 81
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Celebrated not only as the driving force behind the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, but also as a man of great character, kindness and competitive passion, Frank King died Wednesday. He was 81.
Friends and family confirmed King died of a sudden heart attack around 2 p.m. after a training session at the Glencoe Club. A lifetime runner, he was preparing for a world seniors track-and-field event in Utah this summer.
He had planned to compete in several races, including the 100-metre, 200-metre, 400-metre, 800-metre and 1,500-metre running events.
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A longtime member of the Booster Club, King co-founded the Calgary Olympic Bid Committee starting in 1978. King was instrumental in winning the bid for Calgary in Baden Baden, Germany, in 1981, along with Bill Pratt, former mayor Ralph Klein and bid vice-chair Bob Niven.
He then helped form OCO ’88, the Olympic Organizing Committee, and CODA, the Calgary Olympic Development Association, which built a legacy of facilities and funding still viable today.
“He created trust in people. They just felt good about him,” said Niven, who was shaken Thursday at the news of King’s sudden death.
“When he spoke, people trusted him, and they could because he was so trustworthy. He was a tremendous leader who was always focused on relationships and building them with the community, governments, the IOC, all of the different sports federations.
“He was a good man, a dear friend. I will really miss him.”
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Dale Oviatt, spokesman for WinSport at Canada Olympic Park, said everyone was saddened by the news of King’s death, saying he was instrumental in bringing the Games to the city and ensuring its legacy continues.
Oviatt quoted from King’s book, It’s How You Play the Game, saying King said it best in his own words: “The inspiration of the Calgary Olympics will endure long after the Olympic flame has been extinguished. Canadians of all ages will use and enjoy superb Olympic facilities for years into the future. The Olympics will be more than an immediate benefit. The Games will provide a heritage for our children.”
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http://calgarysun.com/news/local-new...b-d4bb11cf9a08
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Last edited by Dion; 05-10-2018 at 06:53 PM.
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05-10-2018, 06:54 PM
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#2
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Franchise Player
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Calgary, AB
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The flame on the Tower will be lit from 9-10 tonight in his honour.
https://twitter.com/user/status/994734885486014464
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Turn up the good, turn down the suck!
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05-10-2018, 06:55 PM
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#3
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Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Crowsnest Pass
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Condolences. He did a lot for this city.
His son was a classmate of mine.
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05-11-2018, 05:34 PM
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#4
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Fearmongerer
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Wondering when # became hashtag and not a number sign.
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Calgary 88 Olympic pioneer Frank King dead at 81
I just caught them talking about him on the radio and thought maybe he was being used as a consultant on the debate to get them again. Sadly they were talking about his somewhat sudden passing on Wednesday. I hadn't heard a thing.
Tremendous Calgarian whose legacy exists in every part of this city.
We could really use a few Frank Kings right about now in this city/country.
RIP Mr. King
Props to Eric Francis as this is a great piece.
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“As we studied the requirements more closely, we were shocked to find that Calgary had no world-class winter sports facilities at all,” wrote King in his 1991 book, It’s How You Play the Game – The inside story of the Calgary Olympics.
“Calgary was like a growing boy who had always got by in jeans, had now outgrown them and had nothing better to wear for a big occasion.”
Fourteen other Canadian cities had had larger and more modern arenas than Calgary’s 30-year-old Corral. It had been more than 13 years since Alberta had a major ski area developed.
The country didn’t have a single bobsleigh or luge track or a usable refrigerated speed-skating oval.
It all only served to steel King’s resolve to think bigger and outside the box – to somehow get a small oil town of 505,000 people to think world class.
Ten years later, this city had Olympic infrastructure and a community of volunteers that made Calgary ’88 the “best-organized Games in winter Olympic history,” according to IOC president Juan-Antonio Samaranch.
King chaired it all.
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http://calgaryherald.com/sports/olym...7-dac21837d817
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05-11-2018, 06:13 PM
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#6
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Fearmongerer
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Wondering when # became hashtag and not a number sign.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by looooob
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As usual you are correct..will ask they be merged.
Looked and didn't see...gettin old is fun.
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