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{xtypo_dropcap}F{/xtypo_dropcap}rank Pyke was a man who could well have been a star of  several sports, but forsook them for an academic career in sports science, coaching, and administration, becoming one of the world's most respected authorities in his field.

A gifted athlete in his youth, Pyke went on to become a State footballer with Perth Football Club, mainly as a ruck rover, and also opened the attack for Perth Cricket Club in first grade pennant cricket.

The man with more letters after his name than a postman in Calcutta and author and publisher of  ten books was an outstanding sportsman as a teenager, winning  State schoolboy championships in athletics, as a runner, long jumper and high jumper as well as being selected in the State schoolboys football team which played in the national championships in Tasmania. His potential as a footballer was such that he was playing in Armadale's senior side in the South Suburban Football League at the age of fifteen.

A product of Armadale Juniors, Pyke soon came under the notice of Perth Football Club, and coaches Ern Henfry(league) and Jack Ensor(colts) quickly fitted him out in a Demons guernsey.

Frank's running ability provided him with speed, stamina, and fitness, while his high and long jumping prowess gave him the leap which became his trademark throughout his football career. Not a big man at just over six foot, he was extremely versatile, and was used in most positions on the ground, but it was as a ruck rover that he was of most value, his partnership with rover Barry Cable a lethal combination.

Making his league debut as a seventeen year old in the opening fixture of 1959, Pyke played on a half forward flank against West Perth. Little did he know that just over four years later he would fill the same position against Tasmania at Subiaco Oval.

The youngster had a rough initiation in the big league, with some tough opponents in his initial season.

{xtypo_quote_left}I well recall being caned by Kevin Merifield in a game against Subiaco,” he said. “Legs” sucked me under the ball every time and took mark after mark. It was a few years before I evened up the score.{/xtypo_quote_left}

Pyke has vivid memories of his first league semi final with Perth in that year, when Subiaco kicked a record swag of sixteen goals in the third quarter. “One of the Demons very best footballers, the late Ken Armstrong, was in the centre,” he said. “After the game, Ken remarked that he felt like a  traffic cop at the centre bounce downs pointing towards Subiaco’s scoring end. It was a very quiet three quarter time break and a forgettable experience for us all.” 

His leaping, running, and endurance ensured that he'd be played in an on ball capacity eventually, and Pyke blossomed in the role, finishing in third place in the 1962 Sandover Medal count behind Haydn Bunton, and second(after the disqualification of Syd Jackson) in 1963, when Ray Sorrell was the winner by one vote. In 1963 he played for Western Australia against Victoria and Tasmania. “We played Tassie on the wettest day I ever played on,” he recalled.

After an eleven year wait, Perth won the grand final in 1966, with Pyke among their best.

“A very strong wind favoured the Subiaco end,” Frank reminisced. “We had first use. Cable kicked a couple of goals to get us started and then I chimed in with a wind-assisted  long one.”

“I then became a spare man in defence in the second quarter when we were kicking against the wind. At one stage, Cabes  took the ball from the defensive side of the centre bounce  and fired one of his bullet-like stab passes at me standing on the half back line. Fortunately I marked it and kicked it downfield. At half time I said to him “That was a very dangerous kick, Cabes. If it had gone over my head or I had spilled it, it could have been an easy goal for them. ” He just said “It was all under control, Frank. I was kicking it and you were marking it!”

It was to be the first of a hat trick for the Demons, but Frank wasn't around for the other two. 

He had been pursuing a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Education(Physical Education) at the University of Western Australia, and in 1962 met his future wife, Janet, who was doing the same course. In December of 1966, Frank and Janet left for the USA, where  Frank achieved his Ph.D in exercise physiology and human performance at Indiana University and  taught at Illinois State University and Dalhousie University in Halifax, Novia Scotia, Canada. 

Returning for study leave in 1972, Frank was offered a position at the University of Western Australia in the Department of Physical Education and Recreation as a lecturer, and made a football comeback with Perth, before retiring from the sport in 1973, at the age of thirty one, having played a total of 130 games.

Pyke had first come to prominence as a sports scientist with his work with Australian cricketer Dennis Lillee in the early 70s. Pyke developed and supervised the rehabilitation of Lillee after he suffered a career threatening back injury whilst touring the West Indies in 1972. Lillee was able to return to cricket and eventually become one of the greatest wicket takers for Australia.

During the past thirty five years, Frank Pyke has played a leadership role in Australia in sport science and physical education, sport administration and management and elite athlete and coach development.

 He taught at the Universities of Canberra and Wollongong before being appointed Professor and Head of the Department of Human Movement Studies at the University of Queensland, where he held an Adjunct Professorship. He was also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Australia.

 He became the inaugural Executive Director of the Victorian Institute of Sport(VIS) in 1990 and held the position until his retirement in 2006. During this time the Institute provided coaching and support services and the daily training environment for many athletes who became Olympic, Paralympic and World champions.

His contribution to the elite level of sport was indeed extensive, and the success of the VIS, not only in terms of the medal count for Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games and World Championships but in other areas where it broke new ground and achieved international recognition as being world's best practice.

Perhaps the most significant of these was in pioneering the Athlete Career and Education(ACE) program which was adopted nationally and by several overseas countries. This initiative was reflected in the Institute’s motto “Success in Sport and Life.” Theprogram recognises the hazards and pitfalls faced by athletes on the way to stardom, and recent events in the AFL has underlined its value to the young people who are most vulnerable.   

Throughout his career, Dr. Pyke  served on and chaired a wide range of Boards and Committees associated with sporting organisations, professional associations and Universities.

He authored and edited ten books on scientific training, coach education and elite athlete development,  published many articles in scientific journals and magazines and was an experienced and well known international presenter.

He was awarded an Australian Sports Medal in 2000,Life Membership of the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation in 2002 and was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2003.

Janet Pyke is no stay at home wife either.

She coordinated the landmark study of the fitness of Australian schoolchildren in 1985 and was the director of the Victorian Coaching Centre while they were living in Melbourne. 

Frank left the Victorian Institute of Sport after the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006, and in his days back in Perth enjoyed a round of golf at Royal Perth(“it's flatter there, no hills,” said the guru of all things exercise) and writing took up a fair amount of his time, being the author or editor of ten books, from the first one, Football: The Scientific Way which he co-authored with Ross Smith of St Kilda, Subiaco and Brownlow Medal fame to being the editor of all three editions of the textbook for the national coaching accreditation program to his latest release, written in conjunction with Ken Davis, Cutting Edge Cricket.

Frank Pyke rated Syd Jackson, Ray Sorrell, Dennis Marshall and Ken Bagley as his hardest opponents, while Ken Armstrong, Keith Harper and Barry Cable were his choice as best team mates.  He shared an anecdote with us about Cabes.

“Barry Cable commenced his career on the wing in 1962. Ern Henfry then decided to play him as a rover. Barry was not very happy about this. I was sitting next to him before the game when he said to Ern that he wanted to play on the wing because some of the State’s best players were wingers(he was looking forward to playing on East Perth’s Derek Chadwick) and roving was a lot easier. He loved a challenge. However, history shows that Ern got it right! Barry became one of the game’s greatest rovers, particularly on the big stage in finals or interstate matches.”

Youngest son Don, who was born in Illinois during their time in the USA,  was an outstanding rover with the West Coast Eagles, playing a hundred and thirty two AFL games, including two premierships, was selected in the West Coast Team of the Decade in 1996, is a life member of the club, coached Claremont for two years, and was assistant coach at Adelaide before business pressures  forced him to quit the game. He is now a manager with a mining company, having obtained a degree in commerce at UWA. James Pyke, who is a physiotherapist, played  league football with Norwood, represented South Australia at cricket, and coached Sturt Cricket Club.

Frank Pyke passed away after a short illness on November 11, 2011

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