Bob Frankosky

A softball pioneer in Tacoma, Bob Frankosky was known as a standout pitcher, one of the best and last to use the underhand figure eight delivery. Towering over his opposition at 6' 4" tall, he had an outstanding rise ball with that motion. He pitched during the early and mid 1940s when Tacoma had some of the best softball pitchers in the United States. He had many memorable battles with Hal Blumke and National ASA Softball Hall of Famers, Woodrow Red and Kermit Lynch, during the war years.

Bob spent most of his softball career pitching in the City League for the Tacoma Elks and the battery of Frankosky and Vern From became legendary in local circles. In 1948 the Elks won the City League softball crown and took second at state with Rudy Fillion, Joey Johns, and Alex Watt of the Tacoma Rockets Hockey team on the roster. Later on he played with former Rockets players Dick Milford and Lloyd Blanusa and subsequently with Tacoma-Pierce County Sports Hall of fame legend George Karpach.

Bob was also a player-coach for the 1952 Irwin Jones Dodgers team that won the regional tournament in Richland and advanced to the national tournament in Bridgeport, Connecticut where they placed second. In Bob's last at-bat, he had a pinch-hit single in the 7th inning to keep the rally going before the Dodgers lost, 3-2, against Midland, Michigan in the final game.

Bob stopped playing softball in 1953 and turned to golf at Fircrest while maintaining his interest in the sport as a member of the Board of Directors for the Tacoma Softball Association.