Frank Ryan

Francis Joseph "Frank" Ryan

From 1919 to 1929, Ryan was a sports reporter for the Boston Traveler. During intermissions, Ryan's brother-in-law would provide updates in French for French Canadians living in New England. In 1950, he was elected to the team's board of directors. In 1952, the Bruins were purchased by the Boston Garden-Arena Corporation. As the corporation had its own publicity department, Ryan's position was eliminated. He was replaced as play-by-play announcer by Fred Cusick.

Harvard University In the fall of 1929, Ryan became the first ever publicity director of the Harvard athletic department.

Suffolk Downs In February 1939, Ryan accepted a job at Suffolk Downs, which, like the Bruins, was owned by Charles Adams.

Personal life and death Ryan was a long-time resident of West Roxbury. He and his wife, Madeline, had two sons, and one daughter. One of his cousins, Torbert Macdonald, was a star football player at Harvard while Ryan was the school's publicity director.

Ryan died on December 30, 1961, at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Boston.