The 6 ft (1.8 m), 170 lb (77 kg) right-hander was born in Brant, New York, and raised in nearby North Collins. He briefly attended Cortland State University before enlisting in the United States Navy, and serving as a radio operator in the Amphibious Unit during World War II. After the war, Fricano signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers and began his professional baseball career at age 23 in 1947.\n', '

He spent five seasons in the Dodgers\' farm system, compiling a 66–33 record and 3.24 earned run average when his contract was purchased by the Philadelphia Athletics early in the 1952 season. He went 17-8 with a 2.26 ERA for the Triple-A Ottawa A\'s to earn a call up to Philadelphia that September. He made two appearances out of the bullpen, pitching a total of five innings, and allowing just one earned run. He earned his first major league win against the Detroit Tigers on September 12.\n', '

The following Spring, Fricano impressed A\'s manager Jimmy Dykes enough to earn himself a bullpen job for the start of the 1953 season. He made five relief appearances (all in losses) before making his first start in the second game of a May 22 doubleheader with the Boston Red Sox. After surrendering a first inning home run to Hoot Evers, Fricano held the Sox scoreless. The score was tied at one when Fricano led off the eighth with a double, then stole third. He came around to score the go-ahead run on Eddie Robinson\'s sacrifice fly. The lead, however, did not last, as the A\'s bullpen allowed a ninth inning run to send the game into extra innings.\n', '

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