Rhodes College Athletics

Frank Horton was a member of four different sports at Southwestern from 1951-1955, after-which he became a notable serviceman within the Memphis community. He was a four-year basketball player, three-year baseball player, played football his sophomore year and ran cross country his senior year. Horton was the organizer and captain of Rhodes' first-ever cross country team in September of 1954. He was also involved in numerous activities while at Southwestern. Horton was voted Outstanding Sophomore and voted Best All-Round Athlete his second year at the college. He was also a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE). His senior year he was "S" Club Vice President, ODK President, named to Who's Who Among Students and SAE Vice President. The Dean's List was composed of the upper 10-percent of students carrying five or more academic courses, which Horton garnered in the spring of 1955.
 
After graduation, Horton, an Economics major, became a member of Southwestern's men's basketball coaching staff, spearheading his long dedication to student-athletes. He also coached basketball at East High School, his alma-mater, as well as cross country at Christian Brothers High School (CBHS) where he guided the boys to Tennessee State Champions in 1982, the only title in CBHS cross country history. He was also the Exxon National Corporate team coach for several years. Horton eventually spent over 20 years working at Exxon but his love of coaching continued until his passing from Lou Gehrig's Disease in 1989.
 
Horton, an avid member of the Memphis Runners Track Club (MRTC), and known simply as Coach, has left his mark within the Memphis running community. He not only volunteered his time at CBHS for over 10 years, but also ventured to the University of Memphis every Tuesday to offer incite for runners ranging from average community-goers to Olympic-level athletes. Horton's involvement within the community didn't stop there. He was the individual primarily responsible for keeping the Memphis Marathon up and running and when Memphis was selected for the site for the World Police and Fire Games, Horton designed and set up the cross country course at Shelby Farms Park. In fact, Coach certified all road races within Memphis up until his death, ensuring course accuracy and that they complied with the national body governing race course certification.
 
CBHS started the Frank Horton Invitational in his honor in 1988 which is also run in conjunction with the Rhodes College Invitational where high school and college-aged runners coincide. Since 1988, the MRTC hands out the Frank Horton Award for Volunteerism each year, which recognizes exceptional volunteering within the running community. He is in the CBHS Hall of Fame and Hernando-DeSoto Baseball Hall of Fame. And in 1990, Coach won the Golden Shoe Award posthumously from Runners World Magazine which recognizes service to the running community.