Rusty Crawford

Rusty Crawford
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1963

Crawford with the Toronto Arenas
Born (1885-11-07)November 7, 1885
Cardinal, ON, CAN
Died December 19, 1971(1971-12-19) (aged 86)
Prince Albert, SK, CAN
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shot Left
Played for Quebec Bulldogs
Ottawa Senators
Toronto Arenas
Saskatoon Crescents
Calgary Tigers
Vancouver Maroons
Playing career 1909–1930
Rusty Crawford with the Quebec Bulldogs

Samuel Russell Crawford (November 7, 1885 – December 19, 1971) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Quebec Bulldogs of the National Hockey Association (NHA), Ottawa Senators and Toronto Arenas of the National Hockey League (NHL) and Saskatoon Crescents, Calgary Tigers and Vancouver Maroons of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). He was a two-time Stanley Cup champion, winning the trophy with the Bulldogs in 1913 and the Arenas in 1918. Crawford was one of the sport's early stars and appeared in 258 games in the three major leagues, scoring 110 goals. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1963.[1]

Playing career

Crawford was born in Cardinal, Ontario, and played junior hockey in Vernon, near Ottawa,[2] winning the Shaver Cup with the team in 1910.[3] Following a sting playing amateur hockey in Verdun, Quebec, Crawford moved to Saskatchewan, settling in Prince Albert.[2] He played with the Prince Albert Mintos of the Saskatchewan Professional Hockey League in 1910–11 where he scored 26 goals in 7 games. He joined the Saskatoon Hoo-Hoos for 1911–12. Both the Mintos and Hoo-Hoos issued challenges for the Stanley Cup in the year Crawford played with them, but his teams were eliminated from the competition by other teams before facing the holders of the trophy.[4]

Returning east, Crawford joined the defending Stanley Cup champion Quebec Bulldogs of the National Hockey Association (NHA) in 1912 and became a top scorer in the NHA during his time there.[5] He won his first Stanley Cup in his first season, helping the Bulldogs defend their title against challenger from Sydney, Nova Scotia.[4][6] Following the collapse of the NHA in 1917, the Bulldogs joined the newly formed National Hockey League, but chose not to operate in its first seasons. Crawford was claimed by the Ottawa Senators in a dispersal draft.[7] He began the 1917–18 NHL season with Ottawa, but was loaned to the Toronto Arenas late in the season as the Senators were required to keep their roster within required limits after they signed Frank Nighbor to a contract.[8] Completing the season in Toronto, Crawford and the Arenas won the Stanley Cup,[5] defeating the Pacific Coast Hockey Association's Vancouver Millionaires in a five-game series.[9] The Arenas signed Crawford to a new contract prior to the 1918–19 season, a deal that was protested by Ottawa who claimed that they retained his rights since he was only given to Toronto on loan. NHL president Frank Calder was required to arbitrate a resolution, and ordered the Toronto club to surrender one player of Ottawa's choice in exchange for Crawford.[10] Following the season, Crawford returned to Saskatoon to play senior-amateur hockey with the Saskatoon Crescents.[7]

He remained with Saskatoon while they turned into a professional team with the formation of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) in 1921. He was traded to the Calgary Tigers in 1922 for cash.[7] By the time he joined the Tigers, he was already considered one of the game's all-time great players,[11] and was regarded as one of the fastest skaters in Western Canada.[12] He won the WCHL championship in 1923–24, scoring one of Calgary's goals in a 2–0 victory over the Regina Capitals to clinch the title.[13] He appeared in the 1924 Stanley Cup Final, where Calgary lost to the Montreal Canadiens.[11]

After one more year in Calgary, Crawford was traded to the Vancouver Maroons in exchange for Fern Headley.[12] After one year in Vancouver, he moved onto the Minneapolis Millers of the American Hockey Association for four seasons and was a member of their 1927–28 championship team. Crawford announced his retirement in 1930 at the age of 45. He coached one season of senior hockey with Prince Albert of the Saskatchewan Senior Hockey League in 1930–31 before leaving the sport for good.[5] Crawford was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1963.[1]

Off the ice

Crawford ran into legal trouble in Vancouver in 1926 when he pleaded guilty to the theft of $550 at a party. He admitted taking the money, but intended to keep it only for safe keeping. He was given a suspended sentence.[14]

Following his retirement, Crawford farmed in the Prince Albert area. He sold his farm in 1960 and moved to Spruce Home, Saskatchewan, where he remained until his death in 1971.[2][15]

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1909–10 Prince Albert Mintos Sask-Pro 3 4 0 4 4 1 0 1 14
1910–11 Prince Albert Mintos Sask-Pro 7 26 0 26 4 4 0 4 26
1911–12 Saskatoon Hoo-Hoos Sask-Pro 1 2 0 2 — — — — —
1911–12 Saskatoon Wohlesalers Sask-Pro 1 2 0 2 2 2 0 2 12
1912–13 Quebec Bulldogs NHA 19 4 0 4 29 1 0 0 0 0
1913–14 Quebec Bulldogs NHA 19 15 10 25 14 — — — — —
1914–15 Quebec Bulldogs NHA 20 18 8 26 30 — — — — —
1915–16 Quebec Bulldogs NHA 22 18 5 23 54 — — — — —
1916–17 Quebec Bulldogs NHA 19 11 9 20 77 — — — — —
1917–18 Ottawa Senators NHL 11 1 0 1 9 — — — — —
1917–18 Toronto Arenas NHL 9 2 0 2 51 2 2 1 3 9
1918–19 Toronto Arenas NHL 18 7 3 10 51 — — — — —
1919–20 Saskatoon Crescents SSHL 12 3 3 6 14 — — — — —
1920–21 Saskatoon Crescents SSHL 14 11 7 18 12 4 2 2 4 4
1921–22 Saskatoon/Moose Jaw Crescents WCHL 11 3 1 4 7 — — — — —
1922–23 Saskatoon Sheiks WCHL 19 7 6 13 10 — — — — —
1922–23 Calgary Tigers WCHL 11 3 1 4 7 — — — — —
1923–24 Calgary Tigers WCHL 26 4 4 8 21 7 1 1 2 6
1924–25 Calgary Tigers WCHL 27 12 2 14 27 2 0 0 0 4
1925–26 Vancouver Maroons WHL 14 0 0 0 8 — — — — —
1926–27 Minneapolis Millers AHA 32 2 3 5 51 6 3 0 3 13
1927–28 Minneapolis Millers AHA 34 4 2 6 27 8 3 0 3 10
1928–29 Minneapolis Millers AHA 40 3 9 12 33 4 0 0 0 0
1929–30 Minneapolis Millers AHA 43 3 4 7 32 — — — — —
NHA totals 99 66 32 98 204 4 3 0 3 19
NHL totals 38 10 3 13 117 2 2 1 3 9
WCHL totals 121 34 21 55 102 9 1 1 2 10

References

  1. 1 2 Hockey Hall of Fame 2003.
  2. 1 2 3 Podnieks, Andrew (2003). Players: The ultimate A–Z guide of everyone who has ever played in the NHL. Toronto: Doubleday Canada. p. 172. ISBN 0-385-25999-9.
  3. ↑ "Vernon Hockey Team, Osgoode Cup holders". Ottawa Citizen. 1928-04-05. p. 12. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
  4. 1 2 Duplacey, James; Zweig, Eric (2010). Official Guide to the Players of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Firefly Books. p. 117. ISBN 1-55407-662-5.
  5. 1 2 3 "Rusty Crawford biography". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
  6. ↑ "Quebec Bulldogs 1912–13 Stanley Cup champions". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
  7. 1 2 3 "Rusty Crawford transactions and statistics". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
  8. ↑ "Frank Nighbor rejoined the Ottawa squad at Toronto; will play rest of season". Ottawa Citizen. 1918-02-05. p. 6. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
  9. ↑ "Toronto Arenas 1917–18 Stanley Cup champions". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
  10. ↑ "National Hockey League clubs to operate a three-team schedule". Ottawa Citizen. 1918-12-16. p. 8. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
  11. 1 2 "Calgary Tigers – a team of legends". Edmonton Oilers Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
  12. 1 2 "Rusty Crawford traded to Vancouver". Calgary Herald. 1925-11-04. p. 18. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
  13. ↑ "Tigers are Western Canada hockey champions". Calgary Herald. 1924-03-08. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
  14. ↑ "Sentince suspended on "Rusty" Crawford". Border Cities Star. 1926-01-25. p. 13. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
  15. ↑ "Little son of "Rusty" Crawford is burned". Calgary Herald. 1931-05-27. p. 5. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
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