Frank Lubin

Frank Lubin was one of the greatest basketball players this country produced in the days before professional basketball. He started his big-time career with UCLA, graduating in 1931, and then went on to star in AAU competition for over 30 years, until he was 54 years old. He was on the Universal Studios team which contributed seven players to the 1936 Olympic team, and also played with the 20th Century Fox team at various times, including 1941 when they won the national championship. He was 10 times named AAU All-America. He also was a player-coach for the Lithuanian national team which won the 1937 and 1939 European championship, before he was forced to flee the country at the outbreak of war. Many honors came his way, including Helms Basketball Hall of Fame, and being selected as one of the top 200 local athletes at the 1981 Los Angeles Bi-Centennial. Lubin worked most of his life in movies and television, mainly as a grip. His nickname was Frankenstein, given him by the make-up man for the Frankenstein series at Universal Studios. Contrary to reports, however, he never actually played the part of Frankenstein, but was only a stand-in and stunt-man for the role.