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Frank Cumiskey

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Frank Cumiskey
Full nameFrank Joseph Cumiskey
Born(1912-09-06)September 6, 1912
West New York, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedJuly 22, 2004(2004-07-22) (aged 91)
Vero Beach, Florida, U.S.
SpouseAda Lunardoni
Gymnastics career
DisciplineMen's artistic gymnastics
Country representedUnited States
GymSwiss Turnverein
Medal record
Representing  United States
Men's artistic gymnastics
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 0 1 0
Total 0 1 0
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1932 Los Angeles Team

Frank Joseph Cumiskey (September 6, 1912 – July 22, 2004) was an American gymnast who competed in the 1932 Summer Olympics, in the 1936 Summer Olympics, and in the 1948 Summer Olympics.[1]

Early life

Born in West New York, New Jersey,[2] Cumiskey was a resident of North Bergen, New Jersey.[3] He attended Memorial High School.[4]

Gymnastics career

He was a member of Swiss Turnverein in Union City, New Jersey.[5]

Cumiskey won over 25 United States national championships including 5 times for All-Around, 7 times for Side Horse, 7 times for Horizontal Bar, and at least 1 national championship each for the other four events.[6] He was a member of three United States men's national artistic gymnastics teams for the Olympics from 1932 through 1948.[6] His career was interrupted by World War II, which cancelled the 1940 and 1944 games.[6] He won an Olympic silver medal in 1932 for the men's artistic team all-around.

Later gymnastics involvement and legacy

Following his athletic career, Cumiskey remained involved in the sport. He served as a team manager for the 1952 USA Olympic men's gymnastics team in addition to serving as a judge at the event.[6] He also judged at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and Pan American Games.[6] He was the technical director for the United States Gymnastics Federation until 1977 and led the federation's publication of Who's Who Gymnastics in 1973.[6][4]

Cumiskey was a founder of the National Gymnastics Judges Association. The organization inducted Cumiskey as the first inductee to their Hall of Fame in 1972 and named it in his honor.[7]

He was one of the first ten inductees to the Helms Foundation Hall of Fame.[4] in 1979, he founded the USA Gymnastics Junior Olympic Program, now called the Development Program, and USAG named the Frank J. Cumiskey Service Award in his honor to recognize individuals with contributions to that program.[8][9] He was named by Sports Illustrated as one of the top 50 athletes from the state of New Jersey.[10]

Personal life

He was married for a time to fellow Olympic gymnast, Ada Lunardoni, with whom he had three children while living in Rockleigh, New Jersey.[11] He worked for the United States Postal Service for 32 years and retired in 1977.[4][8] He died in Vero Beach, Florida, at the age of 91 on July 21, 2004.[8]

References

  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Frank Cumiskey". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 10 November 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  2. ^ Villanova, Patrick. "5 Hudson County personalities up for NJ Hall of Fame induction", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, May 21, 2014. Accessed November 17, 2023. "An Olympic gymnast and West New York native, Frank Cumiskey won 22 National crowns and five all-around titles."
  3. ^ Effrat, Louis. "Olympic Gymnastic Team Chosen As National Championships End; Cumiskey Dethrones Meyer as All-Around Ruler and Qualifies for Place -- Defending Titleholder, Haubold, Pitt, Jochim, Wheeler, Phillips and Griffin Also Selected.", The New York Times, June 21, 1936. Accessed November 16, 2017. "Frank Cumiskey of North Bergen, N.J., 23-year-old member of the Swiss Turn Verein of Hudson County, became the National A.A. U. all-around gymnastic champion last night at Mecca Temple and automatically qualified as a member of the American Olympic team."
  4. ^ a b c d Cumiskey, Frank J. (September–October 1981). "Gymnastics History". USGF Gymnastics. p. 40. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  5. ^ "Ruling Costs U.S. 9 Stars". The Boston Globe. July 26, 1932. p. 17. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Who's Who Gymnastics. United States Gymnastics Federation. 1973. p. 19.
  7. ^ "Hall of Fame NGJA – Frank J. Cumiskey Judging Hall of Fame Award". ngja.org. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c "Frank Cumiskey Obituary". legacy.com. August 8, 2004. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  9. ^ "Frank J. Cumiskey Service Award". usagym.org. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  10. ^ "THE 50 GREATEST SPORTS FIGURES FROM NEW JERSEY". si.com. December 27, 1999. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  11. ^ Nutt, Bill. "NJ women on first US gymnastics team in spotlight at Centenary", Daily Record, January 30, 2018. Accessed January 3, 2024. "Bosco provided details about Ada’s life. Soon after the 1936 games, she married another Olympic gymnast from New Jersey, Frank Cumiskey. He had previously medaled in the 1932 Olympics and would later go on to compete in the 1948 games. The Cumiskeys lived in Rockleigh, where Ada gave birth to twin girls and a son."
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