Frank Ervin

Frank Ervin (August 12, 1904 – September 30, 1991) was an American harness racing driver and horse trainer.

Early life and education William Frank Ervin was born on August 12, 1904, in Pekin, Illinois, United States.

He came from a long line of horsemen, with his father, Frank Ervin Sr., active on the racing circuit during the late 19th century.

He completed his formal education through the eighth grade before he dropped out of highschool and became involved in harness racing. He worked alongside his father from an early age as a horse groom and assistant trainer until 1919 before beginning his driving career. He went on to secure his first win with Black Diamond at the Coles County Fair in Charleston, Illinois. Ervin captured the first of his three Little Brown Jug victories in 1949 with Good Time. Under his direction, the horse became the first to win $50,000 during a single year of racing.

In 1959, he won the 34th Hambletonian Stakes with Diller Hanover, marking the first Hambletonian victory of his career after ten previous attempts. In the race, Ervin drove as a catch-driver for Ralph Baldwin's entry, while Baldwin personally drove Tie Silk.

On the verge of retiring from harness racing, the veteran driver took charge of Bret Hanover after the colt's purchase by Richard Downing in 1963. A training drive behind the horse persuaded him to continue racing. Ervin suffered serious injuries in 1964 after Bret Hanover became startled by a marching band during a warm-up at Lexington, Kentucky. He sustained a back injury and a detached kidney, and temporarily lost the use of his right leg. Despite doctors believing he might be permanently paralyzed, Ervin recovered and returned to racing after several weeks in a leg brace. He went on to win 35 races in a row. Victories in the Cane Pace and the Messenger Stakes that season made him the second driver to win the Pacing Triple Crown.

He drove Kerry Way to win the 1966 Hambletonian trotting title. The performance established a Hambletonian record for fillies and made Ervin the first driver in harness racing history to record 100 two-minute miles. Although hospitalized at the time, Ervin trained Speedy Streak, winner of the 1967 Hambletonian.

With victories in the Hambletonian Stakes in 1966 and 1967, he joined a select group of trainers who won the event in back-to-back years.

He was inducted into the United States Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 1969.