WVU Basketball Letterman Frank Rodriguez Passes Away
March 21, 2022 04:31 PM | Men's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – One of the oldest living West Virginia University men's basketball alums has died. Frank Rodriguez, a 5-foot-11, 170-pound guard who played for coaches Lee Patton and Red Brown in the late 1940s and early 1950s, died in an assisted living facility in St. Clairsville, Ohio, on Sunday, March 13.
Â
Rodriguez, 93, grew up in the Beckley area and attended Woodrow Wilson High where he played for famed prep coach Jerome Van Meter, helping the Flying Eagles to a state championship during his senior season in 1947.Â
Â
Rodriguez earned first team all-state status in 1946 and '47.
Â
Rodriguez played three seasons for Patton at WVU before winding up his Mountaineer career in 1951 for Red Brown as one of his co-captains, along with guard Jack Shockey.
Â
WVU, that year, won 18 of 27 games with Rodriguez appearing in 22 of them. He scored a career-high eight points against New Mexico and Georgia Tech in 1949, and then again in 1950 against CCNY.
Â
West Virginia posted records of 17-3, 18-6, 12-11 and 18-9 during Rodriguez's four seasons on the hardwood. He also played one year of football for coach Dud DeGroot's Mountaineers in 1949.
Â
Following graduation, he served in Korea in the Army and continued to serve in the West Virginia Army National Guard until the early 1970s.
Â
For years, Rodriguez was widely known in the Mountain State for managing public-use facilities in Beckley, Wheeling and Charleston, where he served as assistant manager of the Charleston Civic Center for 17 years. He retired in 1996.Â
Â
His family has requested memorial contributions be made to Wounded Warriors Project, 600 River Avenue, Suite 400, Pittsburgh, PA, 15212, or Make-a-Wish America, 1702 East Highland Avenue, Suite 400, Phoenix, AZ, 85016.
Â
Rodriguez, 93, grew up in the Beckley area and attended Woodrow Wilson High where he played for famed prep coach Jerome Van Meter, helping the Flying Eagles to a state championship during his senior season in 1947.Â
Â
Rodriguez earned first team all-state status in 1946 and '47.
Â
Rodriguez played three seasons for Patton at WVU before winding up his Mountaineer career in 1951 for Red Brown as one of his co-captains, along with guard Jack Shockey.
Â
WVU, that year, won 18 of 27 games with Rodriguez appearing in 22 of them. He scored a career-high eight points against New Mexico and Georgia Tech in 1949, and then again in 1950 against CCNY.
Â
West Virginia posted records of 17-3, 18-6, 12-11 and 18-9 during Rodriguez's four seasons on the hardwood. He also played one year of football for coach Dud DeGroot's Mountaineers in 1949.
Â
Following graduation, he served in Korea in the Army and continued to serve in the West Virginia Army National Guard until the early 1970s.
Â
For years, Rodriguez was widely known in the Mountain State for managing public-use facilities in Beckley, Wheeling and Charleston, where he served as assistant manager of the Charleston Civic Center for 17 years. He retired in 1996.Â
Â
His family has requested memorial contributions be made to Wounded Warriors Project, 600 River Avenue, Suite 400, Pittsburgh, PA, 15212, or Make-a-Wish America, 1702 East Highland Avenue, Suite 400, Phoenix, AZ, 85016.
Ross Hodge | TCU Postgame
Saturday, February 21
United Bank Playbook: TCU Preview
Friday, February 20
Ross Hodge | Utah Postgame
Thursday, February 19
Honor Huff & Chance Moore | Utah Postgame
Thursday, February 19
