Lives in Cricket No 19 - Frank Sugg

Frank Sugg was well liked by his fellow cricketers and counted many of the leading players of his day among his friends. Middle class himself, he got on well with people from all walks of life at a time when hierarchies of class were built into society and dominated social relationships. Ranjitsinhji was a particular friend and Sugg regularly visited the Prince’s house, often greeted with a gift of some sort such as the ivory-carved napkin ring still in the family’s possession. One newspaper described him, on his retirement, as ‘one of nature’s gentlemen, apart from being one by birth and education.’ 3 The convivial atmosphere of the various sports and social clubs to which he belonged suited Frank perfectly. Aside from the enjoyment of others’ company, he appreciated the social and commercial benefits of what we now call networking and he carefully cultivated the contacts he made from his many sporting interests and in his business life. Never content to be a bystander, Frank loved conversation and was always ready to give his opinions on any subject. Favoured with a good memory, he described himself as ‘a born storyteller’ with a mind that was ‘a treasure house of tales.’ 4 To one contemporary, he was ‘one of the best storytellers that cricket has ever known.’ 5 Frank liked to be the centre of attention. Contemporaries recall him strolling about town or around the ground in striped blazer and a favourite straw boater, a debonair figure indeed, happy to chat with any acquaintance he encountered. He cultivated a reputation for being ‘a bit of a lad’ and a show-off. A favourite stunt was to ride his bicycle at full tilt along and off the end of a pier on the Isle of Man (where he took his family for summer holidays), remove his outer clothing while under water and resurface clad in his woollen swimming costume. At social functions he might startle the guests by leaping across a Not Merely a Smiter 9 A Wills cigarette card of 1896 with Frank in promenade garb. Sugg’s annuals later recommended young men not to smoke. 3 A scrapbook of newspaper cuttings kept by Frank Sugg is in the possession of Lorna Brown, his granddaughter. Unfortunately few of the cuttings are dated or the newspaper identified. Hereafter this source is cited as Lorna Brown cuttings. 4 Sporting Chronicle, 25 July 1916. 5 J.A.H.Catton, Wickets and Goals , Chapman and Hall, 1926, p 39.