Erne was born on January 8, 1875 in Döttingen, Switzerland to a family of German descent.
His father once kept a vineyard near Zurich when he was a child, and after gaining success as a boxer in America, Frank purchased one for his father in New York.
Not surprisingly, Frank took wine with his meals for much of his life, including the period he reigned as a world feather and lightweight champion.

At the age of seven he emigrated to the United States with his family.
 According to one source, in the early 1890s he worked setting pins in a bowling alley at the Buffalo Athletic Club where he began his training.
During his career as a boxer, he worked as a manager of boxing classes, and physical culture schools.

Erne most prized his skills as a great strategist and "scientific boxer" rather than a strong puncher, and although his BoxRec record impressively shows 14 of 30 of his better publicized fights ending by knockout, few appear to be in early rounds.
 Apparently he could land a punch against a less skilled opponent when necessary, but he assigned greater value to what was known in his era as "ring generalship."
 Erne's favorite punch was a right to the chin, similar to an uppercut, after another boxer led with a left.
 Erne once told the Pittsburgh Press in an interview, "The majority of present day fighters are not ring generals, because they really are never called upon in a ten round bout to show ring generalship.
But in the old days a fighter who wasn't a ring general never amounted to much and didn't last very long."
Erne went on to note that it was the fighters with brains and not brawn who achieved the most during his boxing career.

Erne began to fight professionally by October 27, 1892 when he defeated John Roy at the Buffalo Athletic Club in New York in a fourth round knockout, showing that he was not a boxer who lacked punching ability when the opportunity arose.
 The fight was billed as the Featherweight Championship of Western New York and paid the winner the princely sum of $250 according to the Buffalo Courier.
Erne had defeated Roy by TKO one month earlier in Buffalo.

Erne first met World Featherweight Champion George Dixon in a ten round draw on December 5, 1895 at the Manhattan Athletic Club in New York City.
 Two weeks later he fought well known Australian boxer "Young Griffo", an 1890 Featherweight World Champion, at the Music Hall in Buffalo.
 According to the New York Sun, Griffo, to the frustration of the crowd, dominated the brief four round draw from the start and neither boxer put much effort into the fight.
Erne was born on January 8, 1875 in Döttingen, Switzerland to a family of German descent. His father once kept a vineyard near Zurich when he was a child, and after gaining success as a boxer in America, Frank purchased one for his father in New York. Not surprisingly, Frank took wine with his meals for much of his life, including the period he reigned as a world feather and lightweight champion.
At the age of seven he emigrated to the United States with his family.  According to one source, in the early 1890s he worked setting pins in a bowling alley at the Buffalo Athletic Club where he began his training. During his career as a boxer, he worked as a manager of boxing classes, and physical culture schools.
Erne most prized his skills as a great strategist and "scientific boxer" rather than a strong puncher, and although his BoxRec record impressively shows 14 of 30 of his better publicized fights ending by knockout, few appear to be in early rounds.  Apparently he could land a punch against a less skilled opponent when necessary, but he assigned greater value to what was known in his era as "ring generalship."  Erne's favorite punch was a right to the chin, similar to an uppercut, after another boxer led with a left.  Erne once told the Pittsburgh Press in an interview, "The majority of present day fighters are not ring generals, because they really are never called upon in a ten round bout to show ring generalship. But in the old days a fighter who wasn't a ring general never amounted to much and didn't last very long." Erne went on to note that it was the fighters with brains and not brawn who achieved the most during his boxing career.
Erne began to fight professionally by October 27, 1892 when he defeated John Roy at the Buffalo Athletic Club in New York in a fourth round knockout, showing that he was not a boxer who lacked punching ability when the opportunity arose.  The fight was billed as the Featherweight Championship of Western New York and paid the winner the princely sum of $250 according to the Buffalo Courier. Erne had defeated Roy by TKO one month earlier in Buffalo.
Erne first met World Featherweight Champion George Dixon in a ten round draw on December 5, 1895 at the Manhattan Athletic Club in New York City.  Two weeks later he fought well known Australian boxer "Young Griffo", an 1890 Featherweight World Champion, at the Music Hall in Buffalo.  According to the New York Sun, Griffo, to the frustration of the crowd, dominated the brief four round draw from the start and neither boxer put much effort into the fight.
Frank Erne