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; r Frank G. Menke7 Sports Author, Publicist, Dies Former Publicity Director at Churchill Succumbs Suddenly CINCINNATI, Ohio, May 13. Frank G. Menke, 68, well known sports author and columnist and former publicity director at Churchill Downs, died of y. heart attack here today. Menke succumbed in his robm at the Netherland-Plaza Hotel here at 3:45 a.m. Menke and his wife were en route to their home in Fairfield, Conn., after a winter vacation in California. They arrived in Cincinnati after spending a week at Louisville, where Menke handled the publicity at Churchill Downs for an eight-year period. During that time, he became a close friend of the late Col. Matt J. Winn and collaborated with him on the autobiography of the famed Kentucky Derby promoter. One of Menkes better known sports books also dealt with racing and was entitled "Down the Stretch." Menke was best noted for his "encyclopedia of Sports" and the "All-Sports Record Book," both of which had been revised several times. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Menke joined the International News Service there as a reporter and sports writer. He later moved to New York and started writing books in his spare time. He acquired a national reputation for his "Menke Sportograph," a syndicated sports column. In addition to Colonel Winn, Menke collaborated with several other sports celebrities, including Gene Tunney, James J. Corbett, Ty Cobb, and others, on their autobiographies. His latest book was "Sports Tales and Anecdotes," which was published last fall. His wife is his only survivor. Funeral services will be conducted in Fairfield, where he had been living for the past few years.
