Dr. Frank J. Hayden grew up in St. Catharines, Ontario where he developed a love for sports. He later went on to get his doctoral degree at the University of Illinois. He started by designing and evaluating sport programs, and in 1966 was the co-author of the first national study of the fitness of Canadian children. He also was the co-author  of the 5-BX program for the Royal Canadian Air Force. In 1968, Dr. Hayden was the Director of the Kennedy Foundation in Washington, D.C. where he organized the first Special Olympics. The first Special Olympics had less than a thousand participants, but has grown to over 3.7 million in 170 countries. Due to his many accomplishments, he has since received five Honorary Doctor of Law Degrees in both the Order of Ontario and Order of Canada. He also holds an Honorary membership on the Canadian Olympic Committee.