ANNVILLE, Pa. — Game days for Lebanon Valley College are always exciting. But for one day every season, the numbers on the stat sheet are eclipsed by hundreds of hot dogs.
Hot Dog Frank Day happens during a Flying Dutchmen doubleheader.
"Any time we beat Albright College, the hot dogs were on Hot Dog Frank. The story goes back, long before my time. I know, it's hard to believe," laughs Lebanon Valley College grad and former Athletic Director Rick Beard.
Frank Aftosmes and his wife Mary ran 'Frank's Hot Dog Shop' in the square in Annville for 45 years. A quick bite was hardly the only thing he served to the students at Lebanon Valley College.
"If they needed money to go home for the weekend, he was there. If they needed food," recalled Bead. "And he would always say there was never somebody that didn't pay him back. Everybody knew that they could go to 'Hot Dog.'"
As a huge fan of Flying Dutchmen sports, Hot Dog Frank's support inspired an award at the school that's been given out each year since 1985. This year, it went to Rick and Lisa Beard.
"It's so humbling. I worked here at Lebanon Valley College since I graduated. Lebanon Valley College has done a lot more for me, frankly, than I've done for Lebanon Valley College," said Beard.
But the part of the yearly tradition that everyone seems to relish is the free hot dogs between the women's and men's games, where students and alumni, are once again welcomed by Hot Dog Frank.
Few would have enjoyed the 1994 Men's Basketball National Championship win more than Aftosmes, but sadly he died just six hours before the game tipped off.
"When you hear about Hot Dog Frank and you're kind of an outsider until you start to hear how deep it was and how deep his relationship was without students and how much of an impact he made to this college, do you really start to understand it," claimed Beard.
And if you think his impact is felt only one day each year, guess again. Right in the Peace Garden on campus stands a statue of Hot Dog Frank. It's a favorite spot for LVC grads to take pictures. It's even a stop on the college campus tour, complete with a National Championship ring.
"He would've loved that," added Beard. "If he could've experienced that, it would've been over the top for him."