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No one meeting Frank Hendry for the first time would have the remotest idea of the stature, which he holds in the World Sport. They would think him unaffected. Modest certainly. A man of the people without doubt. They might even think him to be rather smarter than he was prepared to admit. They would not, however, realise that they were talking to one of the few genuine legends of World Sporting administration that Scotland has ever produced.Frank Hendry began boxing as an amateur in the YMCA, Dundee, in 1944, at the tender age of just 13. At the time he was also playing amateur and juvenile football, and for a while he chose to opt for that as his chosen sport. However, Boxing was also closest to big Frank's heart and it was inevitable that he would return to the fold. By the 1950's he was boxing regularly once again and then, in 1957, he reached a landmark in his long and illustrious career when he founded the St.Francis Amateur Boxing Club in Dundee; a club he was to remain associated with for the next 35 years, at junior, senior and then at full international level.
 

Within a year of the fledgling club affiliating to the SABA he was elected as an executive member of the Midlands District SABA and of the general council of the SABA. It is a tribute to the effort that he has put into these posts over the years that he has continued to hold ever since.

For all the international positions which Frank Hendry has held, though, he has never forgotten his roots and indeed he has spent a lifetime fostering the youth athletes of Scotland, whilst remaining very active at club level. To have fitted all of this in at the same time as all his administrative duties was a remarkable feat indeed.

It was commonplace in the 1960's to see Frank supervising training stints on the sands of Broughty Ferry and Monifieth. Here he would bring to fruition the talents of many well known Scottish Internationalists of the past who at that time were just beginning to make their mark in the world of amateur boxing. He made matches for boys like Ken Buchanan, Walter McGowan, Jim Watt, Dick McTaggart, Pat Clinton, Paul Weir and many more when they were only aspiring teenagers training hard in their clubs. To this day, these future world champions still appreciate what Frank Hendry's contribution was to their initial success.

In many respects, though, it is his achievements on the International sporting stage that makes Frank Hendry's career so remarkable, and which marks him out from so many other so-called Scottish sporting legends. He co-founded the Gaelic Youth Championships, as well as the Daily Star Golden Gloves Championships, which gave opportunities to young boxers from Canada, England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland. He has attended nine consecutive Commonwealth Games in various capacities, including team manager, technical official, jury member, Director of Boxing, and now, culminating in being nominated as AIBA Technical Delegate in what will be his tenth Commonwealth Games in Victoria. On top of all that, he has attended the last five Olympic Games, including having served on the prestigious Jury of Appeal in both Barcelona and Seoul.

In 1994 Frank Hendry was unanimously elected as Citizen of the Year in his home city of Dundee, both for his services to the community and in long overdue recognition of his life long involvement with the St.Francis Amateur Boxing club. It is inconceivable, however, that the city fathers will not also have taken into account his significant contribution to International Amateur Boxing and to World Sport as a whole.

Frank Hendry is truly a legend of Scottish Sport. Long may he gang amongst us.