Aaron Judge teams up with 9/11 family to help sock company rise to new heights
One of the things Lisa Friedman said she remembers the most about her late husband Andy was his love for sports.
He was a big Giants and Yankees fan and helped coach their twin sons' sports games when they were kids, she told "GMA 3."
After he was killed in the 9/11 attacks, Friedman and her sons, Mike and Dan, immediately went out to help the Ground Zero workers by donating socks to help them out.
"The socks represented a sign of hope," Lisa Friedman said.
In 2017, the Friedmans took that idea and turned it into a successful clothing business selling socks for tall men. The family said they could not believe how much the business had grown and were even more humbled when one of the most popular Yankees gave them a boost.
Dan Friedman said he and his brother, who stand six feet, nine inches tall and six feet, 11 inches tall respectively, both wear size 16 shoes and sometimes struggle to find socks that fit them.
"We decided to finally take the problem into our own hands or take the problem onto our own feet," Dan Friedman said.
Mike Friedman said they wanted to honor their father and the others lost on 9/11 with the company's logo.
"On the ankles of the socks, we put the Tall Order logo, which represented the clear blue sky that was on 9/11," he said.
Three years ago, the company got an extraordinary order from the equipment manager of the Yankees.
They said that outfielder Aaron Judge, who stands six feet, seven inches tall, was uncomfortable with his current socks and discovered Tall Socks.
Judge, who last year broke the team's all-time home run record, told "GMA 3" that he felt a difference in his performance after wearing Tall Order socks.
"They were a game changer for me on the field," he said.
Judge became a partner with the company that also created specialty socks of which a portion of the proceeds are donated to Judge’s All Rise Foundation charity.
"When I dove into the company and what the family is about…and meet them and hear the stories…that was hand in hand with what I wanted to do," Judge said.
Lisa Friedman said she is proud of how far her family business has come and said her husband would have been honored to be connected with the Yankees.
"My kids have grown into such wonderful young men, and they get to work with Aaron Judge and do the kind of work that Andrew would want us to do," she said.
Lisa Friedman showed her gratitude by presenting Judge a $25,000 check for his foundation during GMA3.
"He says the socks are a game changer. He's a game changer in everyday lives," she said.
