Frank “Trader” Lane – Traded Red and Tried to Trade Stan Musial

Lane had an abrasive personality and people in and around baseball were not fond of him as he had little value fr his players and personnel. He appeared to just want to make a name for himself.

Lane would gain notice for his many transactions, earning nicknames such as “Trader Frank,” “Frantic Frank,” “Trader Lane,” and “The Wheeler Dealer” for the more than 400 trades he made in his career, including 241 with the White Sox alone. In addition to dealing star players such as Norm Cash, Rocky Colavito, and Roger Maris, Lane also dispatched future Hall of Famers Enos Slaughter, Red Schoendienst, and Early Wynn. When he also tried to trade the legendary Stan Musial, Cardinals owner Gussie Busch blocked the transaction.

In 1960 he traded his manager Bobby Sykes.

He died at age 84 in a nursing home in Dallas Texas.  In Bobby Bragan’s book, “You Can’t Hit the Ball With the Bat On Your Shoulder,” Bragan wrote that he was asked by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn’s office to represent them at the funeral. Bragan would be the lone baseball official to attend Lane’s rites.