Lives in Cricket No 19 - Frank Sugg

And ‘tis said he’s most fond of Burnley, And Burnley is fond of him. 47 Apparently Frank Sugg did captain Burnley, but only on a temporary basis when the regular captain was unavailable. In January 1888, Frank was suspended for a month for failing to turn up for training and soon after his return to duty the club, notwithstanding any mutual fondness, decided to dispense with his services. 48 According to Burnley Football Club’s historian, after Frank left that club he played for Bolton Wanderers. Yet in answer to my request for information, the Bolton club said: ‘We have no record of Frank Sugg having played for us. He may have appeared as a guest in a reserve game, but he certainly has not appeared in a competitive first-team game.’ 49 There is more solid information on Frank Sugg’s appearances for Everton. He played for the club between 1888, the year in which the Football League was established, and 1890. Sugg made ten appearances in the Everton first team in League matches – his only matches in the Football League – and doubtless also turned out for the club in more minor fixtures. 50 These appearances mark Frank Sugg as one of those who played professional cricket and football at the highest level. But whereas Frank was an established county cricketer and had been capped by England, his future in professional football would have appeared more limited. It was probably not surprising that, after the 1890 season, Frank should learn that his services were no longer required by Everton. As well as the clubs mentioned above, all of which are significant football clubs in the present day, Frank played for a 46 Frank Sugg the Footballer Frank played for football clubs big and small. 47 For an attractive and informative biography of Craig, see Tony Laughton, Captain of the Crowd: Albert Craig, Cricket and Football Rhymester, 1849-1909 , Boundary Books, 2008. The rhyme on Frank Sugg the footballer is not mentioned in the book. Lorna Brown provided me with a copy of it. 48 The writer is grateful to Ray Simpson, historian of Burnley Football Club, for much of the information in this paragraph. 49 Email, 7 May 2009. 50 His final season appears to have been 1892 when he played for West Manchester.