frank walker
Year of Birth:
1854
Immortal:
Yes
Executive Official:
Yes
Executive:
Yes
Elected as Immortal:
1979
Year of Death:
1934
Biography:
A native of Indianapolis, Indiana, Frank Walker was the "dean of harness race starters" in the days when starts were done by voice command. At the height of his career, he lived in New York. It was Frank Walker who "gave the word" at the first Hambletonian, held in Syracuse in 1926 and won by Guy McKinney. While other starters used megaphones, Walker relied on his vocal power, saying, "when I have to use one of those tin horns I'll quit starting horses." The automatic starting gate, introduced a few years after his death, would have relieved him of having to make that choice! Frank Walker died on December 20, 1934 at age 80.
Published in the Harness Racing Museum's 1994 book, The Immortals