20 Years: Andy Frain

 

 

This year marks my 20th year as a professional writer. Over the course of 2024, I'll be sharing a few of those offerings you may have missed along the way...

In 2008, I founded a website called Just One Bad Century. The idea of the website was to look into Cubs history to find out how in the world they had gone an entire century without winning a World Series. I discovered some memorable stories and characters along the way, which eventually led to the book EveryCubEver. One of the people featured first on the website, and then in the book, was Andy Frain. His entry into Cubs lore happened this month in 1928.

~In January of 1928, Andy Frain pitched William Wrigley on providing security for the ballpark. At the time, Wrigley Field was known as a place that ushers would take bribes to allow people into the good seats. Frain offered to give back Mr. Wrigley’s money if he wasn’t completely satisfied with his performance . Wrigley was so impressed he hired Frain to run the entire show, and gave him $5000 for uniforms. Those uniforms became his company’s trademark. In the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, the Notre Dame blue and gold Andy Frain uniforms were on hand at every major sporting event in Chicago, including football, baseball, and hockey games. They also kept the peace at political conventions, the Kentucky Derby, and more.

Here are a few tips for keeping the peace, directly from the mouth of Andy Frain…

*”Never trust a man with a mustache or a man who carries an umbrella”

*”No muscle is gonna clip me. I never had a nickel. Finally after a lot of hard work I made something of myself. They’re gonna take that away from me?”

*”Ninety percent of the public wants somethin’ for nothin’. When you run a big sports event, every one of those seats is there to be cracked. They throw every gimmick in the book at you.”

*”The only color I’m interested in is the color of the customer’s ticket.”

*”There’s nothing like a six-footer in uniform to control a panicky crowd. Besides that, a tough guy isn’t so likely to give you an argument if you’re lookin’ down on him. That’s psychology.”

*”Never let a standee sit down. Once they sit down, you can’t get ’em up.”

Andy died in 1964. His sons carried on the company until 1982 when they sold it to a group of investors from Cleveland. The people that bought it went belly up a few years later and the Frain brothers repurchased the company once again. They finally sold it off for good in 1991.

A few other stories from the archives this week...

A Bonus Father Knows Nothing column, Emergency Rooms.

My review of Eric Klinenberg's great book "Fighting For Air" (for the Beachwood Reporter)