Cornell University Athletics

He was an athletic trainer at Cornell from 1945 until his retirement in 1980, working with athletes in virtually all sports, but football and track were his specialties. A friend to generations of Cornell athletes, he lost his sight while serving with the U.S. Army during World War II as a tank crewman. LaFrance, who was wounded near Nuremberg, Germany, shortly before VE Day, received the Bronze Star, three Battle Stars and a Purple Heart. After the war and following rehabilitation at the U.S. Army School for the Blind in Avon, Conn., where he was told the field of physical therapy might be his future, he returned to his native Ithaca, N.Y., where he began his long athletic training career at Cornell under the tutelage of the late Frank (Doc) Kavanagh, the Big Red[apos]s legendary head trainer for 30 years. LaFrance, who died in 1992, was a standout in football, track and basketball at Ithaca High School and was inducted into the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Section 4 Hall of Fame in 1974.