Description
Samuel Earl “Sam” Crawford
Born: April 18, 1880 in Wahoo, Nebraska
Died: June 15, 1968 in Hollywood, California
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Height: 6’
Weight: 190 lbs.
Played For:
Cincinnati Reds (1899–1902)
Detroit Tigers (1903–1917)
Biography:
According to a biography from the Nebraska Hall of Fame, “Wahoo Sam” was a star athlete at Wahoo High School, leading the team to two state football championships in 1896 and 1897 and was also noted for “foot racing” wherever he played. In 1898, he joined a traveling baseball team in Wahoo. They traveled on a lumber wagon from town to town for weeks at a time, challenging the locals to baseball games, and passing the hat to pay their expenses.
At the end of 1902, a bidding war for players developed between the National and American Leagues. Crawford signed contracts with both the Reds and the Detroit Tigers. The competing contracts led to a publicized legal dispute, with a judge ultimately awarding Crawford to the Tigers but requiring $3,000 in compensation to the Reds. Crawford joined the Tigers for the 1903 season and remained there until the end of his major league career in 1917. In 1903, he led the American League with 25 triples, and finished second in the batting race with a .335 batting average.
Sam Crawford and Ty Cobb were teammates for parts of 13 seasons. They played beside each other in right and center field, and Crawford followed Cobb in the batting order year after year. Despite the physical closeness, the two had a complicated relationship.
Initially, they had a student-teacher relationship. Crawford was an established star when Cobb arrived, and Cobb eagerly sought his advice. In interviews with Al Stump, Cobb told of studying Crawford’s base-stealing technique and of how Crawford would teach him about pursuing fly balls and throwing out base runners. Cobb told Stump he would always remember Crawford’s kindness.
The student-teacher relationship gradually changed to one of jealous rivals. Cobb was unpopular with his teammates, and as he became the biggest star in baseball. The student-teacher relationship gradually changed to one of jealous rivals. Cobb was unpopular with his teammates, and as he became the biggest star in baseball, Crawford was unhappy with the preferential treatment given Cobb. Cobb was allowed to report late for spring training and given private quarters on the road – privileges not offered to Crawford. The competition between the two was intense. Crawford recalled that, if he went three for four on a day when Cobb went hitless, Cobb would turn red and sometimes walk out of the park with the game still on. When it was initially (and erroneously) reported that Nap Lajoie had won the batting title, Crawford was alleged to have been one of several Tigers who sent a telegram to Lajoie congratulating him on beating Cobb.
“He (Ty Cobb) was still fighting the Civil War, and as far as he was concerned we were all damn Yankees. But who knows, if he hadn’t had that terrible persecution complex he never would’ve been about the best ballplayer who ever lived.” – Sam Crawford
More info:
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=crawfsa01
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Crawford
