Lives in Cricket No 19 - Frank Sugg

to various public places, including Aintree Racecourse, where in a loud voice he called Frank a swindler, a rascal and a thief. Frank’s first inclination, he told the court, was to ‘give [Robinson] a good thrashing’ but he was dissuaded from this by Walter and later brought the action for slander. The jury found for the plaintiff and Frank was awarded £50 in damages. 18 In another case, Frank sued a firm of builders for damages when a brick, dislodged from the roof of his premises, killed a mongoose that Frank kept to control rats and other vermin. The case was heard in Liverpool County Court by his Lancashire colleague A.G.Steel KC, who was deputising for the indisposed judge. Mr Steel found for the defendant, Frank having failed to establish any negligence on the part of the builder. 19 This action does not show Frank Sugg in particularly good light but throughout his life Frank was quick to resort to, or threaten, legal action if he thought his rights were threatened or his reputation besmirched. The later and difficult years of the Sugg sports business were punctuated with legal claims and counter-claims involving Frank, some of them with his co-directors as the opposing party. But we are jumping ahead in his story. 20 Family Background and Early Days 18 Gerry Wolstenholme, Frank Sugg as Plaintiff?, Derbyshire CCC Yearbook , 1998, pp 69-73. 19 Lorna Brown cutting.