Go to almost any rink in America and you are sure to see the influence of Frank Zamboni. His ingenuity permeates the hockey world and has made "Zamboni" a household name.

As a teenager, the Eureka, Utah, native moved to Southern California with his brother, Lawrence, to join their older brother in his auto repair business. The two younger Zamboni's soon broke off on their own, building a plant that made block ice. The rise of refrigeration technology forced the brothers to capitalize on their expertise in other ways, however.

In 1939, Frank, Lawrence and a cousin built Iceland Skating Rink in Paramount, Calif. At the time, resurfacing a sheet of ice required a process that took more than an hour to complete. With a new 20,000 square foot skating surface to maintain, Frank Zamboni developed a revolutionary concept in 1949, his "Model A", that would make him famous.

Zamboni received a patent based on the design of the "Model A," the world's first self-propelled ice resurfacing machine and he established Frank J. Zamboni & Co. as a family partnership to manufacture his machine. The second ever sale was made to the Norwegian Olympic figure skater and film actress, Sonja Henie, and the fourth to Ice Capades. The Ice Capades machine resides in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum.

Taking advantage of the interest generated by the Sonja Henie and Ice Capades touring shows, Zamboni created a production design that was delivered in 1954 to the Boston Garden, Boston Arena, Providence Arena and the Montreal Forum. In 1960, he brought six machines to Squaw Valley, Calif., for the Olympic Winter Games, including three designed specifically for Olympic ice surfaces.

Zamboni's design continued to gain popularity for its ability to produce a superior sheet of ice while adding many improvements. In 1994, Lillehammer, Norway, marked the first Olympic Winter Games to use all electric Zamboni ice resurfacers, and the Zamboni was named the "Official Ice Resurfacer of the NHL" in 2002.

For his ingenuity and persistence, Zamboni was inducted into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2000 and the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2007.