Crawford to join Sumter Sports HOF

By DENNIS BRUNSON
Item Sports Editor
dennisb@theitem.com

While researching The Item archives for a column, Item editor and chairman Hubert Osteen came across a story written by his father, H.D., in October of 1934, in which he interviewed a Major League Baseball player from Sumter named Clifford “Pat” Crawford.

Having never heard his late father mention Crawford's name, Osteen began to do research on Crawford. What he found out that Crawford was a tremendous minor league player and had a respectable Major League career.

“He was a special athlete who kind of got lost in the mist of time,” Osteen said of Crawford. “I'm glad I found him. (Item researcher) Sammy Way and I began to research him, and we came to the conclusion he needed to go in (to the Sumter Sports Hall of Fame).”

Crawford will be inducted posthumously along with Tim Jones, Kenny Franklin, Harry Stokes and the late Jamacia Jackon on Thursday and awards dinner beginning at 6:30 p.m. at The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Club of Sumter located at 26 Council Street.

“He was the first person from Sumter we know of who played in the Major Leagues and the first to play in a World Series,” Osteen said of Crawford, who passed away in 1994 at the age of 91 in Morehead City, N.C.

Crawford played all or part of four seasons in the majors, all in the National League. He had a career batting average of .280, getting 182 hits in 651 at-bats. He had 23 doubles, five triples and nine home runs while driving 104 runs.

His best season was in 1930 when he split the year between the New York Giants and Cincinnati Reds. Crawford batted .287 in 300 at-bats, with 10 doubles, three triples, six home runs and 43 runs batted in.

Crawford was born in Society Hill in 1902 before moving to Sumter early in his life. He graduated high school in Sumter 1919 and went to Davidson College where he starred in baseball and basketball. After graduating from Davidson in 1923, he began his professional baseball career.

As a minor leaguer, Crawford batted above .300 each season and had a career average of .347. While playing with Columbus of the American Association in 1931 and 1932 after breaking into the big leagues in 1929, Crawford batted .374 and .369, respectively. He was the league's most valuable player in '32 when he also hit 30 home runs.

Crawford was personally scouted by New York Giants Hall of Fame manager John McGraw and was signed by the organization. He broke in with the Giants in '29 and was traded to Cincinnati the following year. After the two-year hiatus in the minors, Crawford played for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1933 and '34. He was part of the '34 World Series championship team that beat the Detroit Tigers in seven games.

The 1934 team was also famous for the Gashouse Gang, which featured the likes of Dizzy Dean, Daffy Dean and Pepper Martin.

“Well, the Deans are just a couple of big country boys, good-hearted and hard-working,” Crawford replied in H.D. Osteen's story. “They are not nearly as wild as pictured. Neither one drinks nor dissipates in any way.”

Crawford's final two professional at-bats came in the World Series, and he was hitless in both. He contracted blood poisoning from an operation in 1935, leaving him with a stiff joint and he never played professionally again.

Reach Sports Editor Dennis Brunson at dennisb@theitem.com or (803) 774-1241.