 Nicknamed "Red", he was born in Granite City, Illinois.Strictly a line drive hitter, Friend entered the majors with the St. Louis Browns, playing for them two years (1949–50) before joining the Detroit Tigers (1953), Cleveland Indians (1953), Boston Red Sox (1955) and Chicago Cubs (1955–56).His most productive season came for the 1950 Browns, when he posted career-numbers in games played (119), home runs (8), RBI (50) and runs (48), while hitting a .237 batting average.