Frank Chad – Athlete
Frank Chad joins his brother Vic Chad as a 2004 Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame inductee, as well as previous family inductees, brother John Chad and son Tom Chad.
Championships followed Frank Chad. After moving to Prince Albert from Alberta, Frank was part of the provincial championship Prince Albert Juvenile Mintos of 1937-38. The Mintos and Yorkton Indian Aces played 90 minutes of hockey before the championship was decided. Yorkton had won the first game of the two-game, total-goals series 5-2 and through the extra time, Prince Albert won the series with a 7-6 game two victory.
Joined by Vic the next season, the offensively talented duo played with the Prince Albert Junior Mintos. Frank was a first line left winger with the Mintos. Frank was described as generally being in the centre of mix-ups during games, but always issuing a disclaimer of not starting anything. The Mintos lost the 1939 provincial championship in overtime to Moose Jaw in a game that went to 2 a.m. Although called the Junior Mintos, the team was mostly juvenile-aged playing against the older Moose Jaw team.
In 1939, Frank joined the Edmonton E.A.C.’s for a run at the Memorial Cup. The Edmonton entry ended its bid for a Memorial Cup championship in the quarter-finals with a loss to Toronto.
A testament to the value Frank was to a hockey team came during the Second World War. Sydney, N.S. and Glace Bay, N.S. were fighting for first place in the Maritime Senior Hockey League when Frank was based in the RCAF near the two towns. The Sydney Millionaires asked Frank to play, to which he said no. His commanding officer then “asked” Frank to play and a taxi was sent seven miles to fetch the Prince Albert hockey player. Frank played that night in front of 7,000 – 8,000 fans. Sydney’s archrival Glace Bay then said Frank was their property and a dispute ensued. The RCAF settled the matter by shipping Frank to Dartmouth where he played for the Air Force’s hockey team. After serving in the military, the centre man returned to Prince Albert and rejoined Vic on the ice. Frank was part of the Prince Albert Senior B Regents domination of the Northern Provincial Senior B championships. The team won three straight titles, from 1946 – 48.
In 1949, the Prince Albert Regents changed their name to the Monarchs, but that was all that changed. Frank played a key role again guiding the Monarchs to four consecutive northern Provincial Senior B championships.
Frank and Vic opened Chad Brothers Sporting Goods Shop in December 1946 and their success on the ice carried over to their business.
The Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame is proud to add another member of the Chad family to its athlete category.
Inducted into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.
