By Pepper Parr
May 20th, 2026
BURLINGTON, ON
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Dr. Frank Hayden. Alton Community High School was named after him.
Francis (Frank) Joseph Hayden, founder of the International Special Olympics Movement, was born on Windsor Ontario, passed away Saturday at the age of 96
Dr. Hayden received numerous honours, including being named a Member of the Order of Canada; he was later promoted to a Companion. The high school in the Alton community was named after him.
Retired Olympic swimmer Mark Tewksbury said of Dr. Haden: “What I loved about Frank is when I would talk about the joy and spirit of the Special Olympics, Frank would always bring me back to athletism” “He loved Special Olympics because of sports, not because it was a feel good but because of the spirit of it.”
Jonathon Weiss, a York University professor, said: “At the time the prevailing attitude was one of exclusion – that people with intellectual disabilities could not and should not engage in these activities.”
Bucking academics’ exclusioary mindset, Hayden demonstrated that developmentally disabled children’s poor physical fitness stemmed from a lack of exercise rather than their mental health challenges.
Dr. Hayden first helped the Kennedy family establish a Special Olympics in the United States after Canada had rejected his efforts.
In the early sixties, testing of children with intellectual disabilities revealed that they were only half as physically fit as their non-disabled peers. It was assumed that their low fitness levels were a direct result of their disability. Dr. Hayden questioned this assumption. He conducted research which concluded that, given the opportunity, intellectually disabled people could become physically fit, and acquire the physical skills necessary to participate in sport.
Frank Hayden with Ontario Lt Governor after receiving the Order of Ontario.
In 1964 the Kennedy family were running summer camps; they learned about Hayden’s work and invited him to visit with them. The Kennedys sought to hire Hayden, who at first resisted. He eventually went to Washington for what he thought was going to be a four-month assignment. He wound up staying for more than seven years as Director of the Kennedy Foundation.
His belief and understanding led him to conceive the idea of Special Olympics, a national sports program for people with an intellectually disability. His proposal was originally rejected by the Canadian government, however, his research became known to the Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation in Washington D.C. So he went to work with Eunice Kennedy Shriver for the next seven years. Here he served as Director at the Kennedy Foundation and was the catalyst in establishing federal legislation to assist persons with a disability.
He returned to Canada and worked to establish a similar program here. Canada’s first games were held in Toronto in 1969 with 1400 athletes. In 1975 and assumed the position of Director of the School of Physical Education and Athletics at McMaster. From there Dr. Hayden persisted with his dream and established the Special Olympics Office of International Development , assisting with the growth of International programs from 15 to 50.
He retired from McMaster University 1988.
Hayden finally ceased his Special Olympics travel at the beginning of COVID.
Suffering from dementia and other health issues, he moved into a long-term care home in Oakville, where he died.
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