Rusty Crawford
Two-time Stanley Cup champion and early hockey star.
Samuel Russell Crawford (November 7, 1885 – December 19, 1971) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Quebec Bulldogs in the National Hockey Association (NHA), the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Arenas in the National Hockey League (NHL), and the Saskatoon Crescents, Calgary Tigers, and Vancouver Maroons in the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). He lifted the Stanley Cup twice—first with the Bulldogs in 1913 and again with the Arenas in 1918. An early star of the sport, Crawford skated in 258 games across those three major leagues and netted 110 goals. The Hockey Hall of Fame inducted him in 1963.
Crawford grew up in Cardinal, Ontario, and played junior hockey in Vernon, near Ottawa, where his team captured the Shaver Cup in 1910. After a stretch of amateur hockey in Verdun, Quebec, he moved west to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. During the 1910–11 season with the Prince Albert Mintos of the Saskatchewan Professional Hockey League, he scored 26 goals in just seven games. He then spent the 1911–12 season with the Saskatoon Hoo-Hoos. Both the Mintos and Hoo-Hoos issued challenges for the Stanley Cup while Crawford was on their rosters, but each time his team was eliminated before facing the reigning champions.
Heading back east, Crawford joined the defending Stanley Cup champion Quebec Bulldogs of the NHA in 1912 and quickly became one of the league’s top scorers. In his first season, he helped the Bulldogs hold off a challenger from Sydney, Nova Scotia, to win his first Cup. When the NHA folded in 1917, the Bulldogs joined the new NHL but opted not to operate in its debut season. Crawford was picked up by the Ottawa Senators in a dispersal draft. He started the 1917–18 NHL season in Ottawa but was loaned to the Toronto Arenas late in the campaign, after the Senators signed Frank Nighbor and needed to trim their roster. Finishing the season in Toronto, Crawford and the Arenas won the Stanley Cup by defeating the Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association in a five-game series. Before the 1918–19 season, Toronto signed Crawford to a new contract, but Ottawa protested, arguing they still held his rights because he had only been loaned. NHL president Frank Calder stepped in to arbitrate and ordered Toronto to give Ottawa one player of their choosing in exchange for Crawford.
Quick Facts
- Played For
- Quebec Bulldogs / Ottawa Senators / Toronto Arenas / Saskatoon Crescents / Calgary Tigers / Vancouver Maroons
- Position
- Left wing
- Shoots
- Left
- Height Ft
- 5
- Height In
- 11
- Weight Lb
- 165
- Birth Date
- 1885-11-07
- Birth Place
- Cardinal, Ontario, Canada
- Death Date
- 1971-12-19
- Death Place
- Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada
- Career Start
- 1909
- Career End
- 1930
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Crawford played junior hockey in Vernon, near Ottawa, winning the Shaver Cup with the team in 1910. He moved to Saskatchewan, playing for the Prince Albert Mintos in 1910–11, where he scored 26 goals in 7 games, and then the Saskatoon Hoo-Hoos from 1911–12. Both teams issued challenges for the Stanley Cup in the year Crawford played with them, but his teams were eliminated before facing the holders. Returning east, he joined the defending Stanley Cup champion Quebec Bulldogs in 1912 and became a top scorer in the NHA, winning his first Stanley Cup in his first season. After the NHA collapsed in 1917, Crawford was claimed by the Ottawa Senators in a dispersal draft. He began the 1917–18 NHL season with Ottawa but was loaned to the Toronto Arenas late in the season, winning the Stanley Cup with Toronto. The Arenas signed Crawford to a new contract before the 1918–19 season, a deal protested by Ottawa; NHL president Frank Calder arbitrated, ordering Toronto to surrender one player of Ottawa's choice. After that season, Crawford returned to Saskatoon to play senior-amateur hockey with the Saskatoon Crescents. He remained with Saskatoon when they turned professional in the Western Canada Hockey League in 1921. He was traded to the Calgary Tigers in 1922 for cash, and by then was considered one of the game's all-time great players and one of the fastest skaters in Western Canada. He won the WCHL championship in 1923–24 and appeared in the 1924 Stanley Cup Final, where Calgary lost to the Montreal Canadiens. After one more year in Calgary, he was traded to the Vancouver Maroons for Fern Headley. He then moved to 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 age 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.
Reader's Guide
Crawford's career spanned multiple early professional leagues, including the NHA, NHL, and WCHL, and he was a two-time Stanley Cup champion. He was one of the sport's early stars, known for his speed and scoring ability, with 110 goals in 258 games across the three major leagues. His career included notable incidents of rough play: in 1910, while with Prince Albert Mintos, he was found guilty of assault in a Saskatoon city police court and fined $5 and costs; during the 1918–19 NHL season, he was fined $25 by NHL president Frank Calder for rough play after striking Jack Darragh with his stick; and during the 1923–24 WCHL season, he was suspended one game for assaulting Gordon Keats. Off the ice, he pleaded guilty to theft of $550 in Vancouver in 1926 and received a suspended sentence. After retirement, he farmed in the Spruce Home, Saskatchewan area, sold his farm in 1960, and moved to Prince Albert, where he died in 1971. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1963.
Did You Know?
- Crawford scored 26 goals in 7 games for the Prince Albert Mintos in 1910–11.
- He was fined $5 and costs in 1910 for assaulting Reginald Brehaut in a game.
- He won the WCHL championship in 1923–24 with the Calgary Tigers.
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