Francis Owen Stoker FRCSI (29 May 1867 – 8 January 1939), known as Frank Stoker, was an Irish surgeon dentist, tennis and rugby player. Together with Joshua Pim, Stoker won the Wimbledon Championships Men's Doubles in 1890 and 1893, and is the only rugby international to have been a Wimbledon champion.
Early life Francis Owen Stoker was born on 29 May 1867 in Dublin to Edward Alexander Stoker FRCSI (1810–1889), a surgeon and anatomist, and Henrietta Stoker ().Nottingham Evening Post, 18 August 1893, p. 2Wicklow News-Letter and County Advertiser, 21 May 1864, p. 1.
Stoker's paternal grandfather, William J. Stoker FRCSI (1773–1843) was a prominent epidemiologist at Cork Street Fever Hospital.The Freeman's Journal, Dublin, 21 January 1889, p. 5Daily Express, Dublin, 21 January 1889, p. 4The Field, 26 January 1889, p. 22.
Stoker was distantly related to Sir Thornley Stoker, a medical writer, anatomist and surgeon, and the writer, barrister, and theatre manager Bram Stoker. This article describes Frank Stoker as Bram Stoker's cousin; they were not, however, first cousins.
Career Medical career Stoker was licensed to practice medicine and surgery by the Irish Royal College in August 1892Daily Express, Dublin, 3 August 1892, p. 7. but, wishing to specialise in dentistry, obtained a place at the recently established Dental School of Guy's Hospital in 1893.Evening Herald, Dublin, 7 October 1893, p. 4.
After obtaining his dental degree in 1894, Stoker returned to Dublin and practised at 23 Westland Row.The Freeman's Journal, 30 June 1899, p. 6.
Rugby career Frank Stoker was a member of the Second XV of Dublin's Wanderers F.C. from 1883 onward.Daily Express, Dublin, 5 November 1883, p. 3. He played for Irish Schools at their annual meeting with English Schools in 1885,The Field, 10 January 1885, p. 33. and for Dublin United Hospitals in the following year when a student at Jervis Street Hospital.The Field, 13 November 1886, p. 39. He was in Wanderers' First XV by the beginning of 1886, was second in the club’s drop-kick contest shortly afterwards (kicking an average of 44 yards with both feet), and was elected its captain for the following season.Sport, Dublin, 10 April 1886, p. 7; The Freeman's Journal, Dublin, 2 January 1886, p. 7, and 2 October 1886, p. 7.
He played in the Irish international team that met Scotland in 1886 and again (in what was described as "the best match ever played in Scotland") in 1888.Sport, Dublin, 27 February 1886, p. 8; The Freeman's Journal, 12 March 1888, p. 7. He was named as a reserve for his country's match against England in 1887,The Sportsman, 24 January 1887, p. 4. played for Ireland against both Wales and the New Zealand touring side in 1888, and appeared once more against Scotland in 1889.Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, 5 March 1888, p. 7; The Freeman's Journal, 3 December 1888, p. 7; Belfast News-Letter, 18 February 1889, p. 3. His brother Ernest Stoker, also of Wanderers F.C., represented Ireland alongside him in the 1888 games against Scotland and Wales; both men played as forwards.
While studying in London in 1893–94 Frank played for Guy's Hospital and Blackheath F.C., scoring a try in the latter's match with Hartlepool Rovers.Athletic News, 27 November 1893, p. 3; Edinburgh Evening News, 7 December 1883, p. 4; Sketch, 10 January 1884, p. 10. He was President of Wanderers F.C. in 1899–1900.Northern Whig and Belfast Post, 11 January 1939, p. 6.
Tennis career Frank and Ernest Stoker, playing as a pair, figured in Irish tennis tournaments of the mid-1880s and in 1886 were successful in a doubles semi-final at the Greystones Tournament in Bray, County Wicklow. The last set of that match was "entirely won by the place-volleying and smashing of Frank Stoker who scarcely allowed a ball to pass him at the net", but the pair were outplayed in the final.Daily Express, Dublin, 21 August 1886, p. 7.
Frank subsequently found a new doubles partner in Joshua Pim, a fellow member of Dublin's Lansdowne Club, and the pair began to compete in the annual Irish Championships at Fitzwilliam Square.Daily Express, Dublin, 24 May 1888, p. 2. They were Irish national doubles champions on five occasions between 1890 and 1895Daily Express, Dublin, 2 June 1890, p. 2; Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 5 June 1891, p. 8; Irish Independent, 29 May 1893, p. 6; Northern Whig, 28 May 1884, p. 7; The Field, 8 June 1895, p. 38. and, bringing their talent to England, took the Northern Championships title in 1890, 1892, 1893 and 1894Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, 23 June 1890, p. 3; East Anglian Daily Times, 20 June 1892, p. 8; Bradford Daily Telegraph, 19 June 1893, p. 3; The Field, 23 June 1894, p. 64. and the All England title at Wimbledon in 1890 and 1893.Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 24 July 1890, p. 8; The Field, 22 July 1883, p. 33.
By June 1891 the tennis pairing of Pim and Stoker "had been pronounced the finest combination the world had ever seen".Yorkshire Post, 24 June 1891, p. 3. This accolade was promptly followed by the pair's temporary loss of their Northern and Wimbledon titles, but they had returned to dominance by 1893.
In 1894, shortly before their victory in the Northern Championships, Stoker was admitted a Licentiate in Dental Surgery by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.The Freeman's Journal, 26 May 1894, p. 6. Aged 27, he was anxious to commence practice as a dentist without further delay and he elected not to defend his Wimbledon title.Irish Independent, 3 July 1894, p. 7. After he retained his Irish title in 1895 his tennis career largely came to an end, although in 1896 (as in 1893 and 1894) he represented Ireland against England in both the singles and doubles matches of the international fixture.Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 21 July 1893, p. 8; Sheffield Evening Telegraph, 30 May 1894, p. 3; Morning Post, 26 May 1896, p. 3.
Stoker's tennis reputation has been somewhat overshadowed by Pim's additional successes in the singles format of the game, but his own strengths in that format were regularly demonstrated. He was a winner of the County Dublin Championships and the Fitzwilliam Purse, was runner-up in many singles tournaments (including when defeated by Pim in the 1891 Northern contest), and during the whole of 1892 was the only player to win a match against the reigning Wimbledon champion, Wilfred Baddeley.Pall Mall Gazette, 30 September 1892, p. 2. His form in 1894 was such that, among Irish players, only Pim and Tom Chaytor were regarded as his equals,The Freeman’s Journal, 4 June 1894, p. 4. it being observed that "His tremendous service, his hard driving and accurate placing both fore and backhand would alone make him a dangerous opponent for the most skilful players, but with these good points he combines volleying of a high order, and quickness which is quite remarkable in a man of his size". He was 6'1½" in height and over 13 stone in weight.Nottingham Evening Post, 18 August 1893, p. 2.
Amateur golf career Stoker played golf for the Portmarnock and Royal Dublin clubs and competed, unsuccessfully, in the Irish Amateur Open Championship in 1907.Irish Times, 3 April 1905, p. 7; Yorkshire Post, 4 April 1910, p. 11; Dundee Courier, 3 September 1907, p. 3.
Personal life In 1899, Stoker married Margaret 'Rita' Stoker (née Maunsell; 1867–1943). Stoker belonged to the Church of Ireland whilst Rita Stoker belonged to the Roman Catholic Church. Together they had five children, of which 4 survived to adulthood. Stoker's daughter Norma Stoker was a sportswoman who won internationally in tennis, badminton, hockey, golf and croquet.
On 8 January 1939, Stoker died at St Vincent's University Hospital, St Stephen's Green, Dublin aged 71.Northern Whig, 11 January 1939, p. 6
Grand Slam finals
Doubles (2 titles)
ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin 1890Wimbledon Grass Joshua Pim George Hillyard Ernest Lewis 6–0, 7–5, 6–4Win 1893Wimbledon Grass Joshua Pim Harry Barlow Ernest Lewis 4–6, 6–3, 6–1, 2–6, 6–0
See also James Cecil Parke
References