| Frank Shea | |
| Birth Date: | March 19, 1894 |
| Birth Place: | Irwin, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Death Place: | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Known For: | AAU champion, 440-yard dash (1917, 1919, 1920) NCAA champion, 440-yard dash (1921) |
Frank J. Shea (March 19, 1894 - August 6, 1978) was an American track and field athlete. While competing for the University of Pittsburgh, he won the 440-yard dash competition at the Amateur Athletic Union championships in 1917, 1919 and 1920 and at the 1918 IC4A meet.[1] [2] He also won the 440-yard dash at the first NCAA track and field championships in 1921 with a time of 49 seconds.[3] [4]
He was a member of the U.S. Olympic team at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium, and narrowly missed winning a medal in two events.[5] In the 400-meters finals, Shea finished fourth after a three-way photo finish for the silver medal, as three runners (Guy Butler, Nils Engdahl and Shea) finished with the same time of 49.9 seconds. In the four-by-400 meters relay race, Shea ran on the American relay team that finished in fourth place—one second behind the first-place British team and one-tenth of a second behind the third-place French team.[6] Shea's best time in the 440-yard race was 47.6 seconds in 1918.[6] In May 1922, Shea was appointed as the track coach at the University of Pittsburgh.[7] Shea died in 1978 at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, at age 84.[6]