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.
Playing career
Crawford was born in Cardinal, Ontario, and played junior hockey in Vernon, near Ottawa, winning the Shaver Cup with the team in 1910. Following a stint playing amateur hockey in Verdun, Quebec, Crawford moved to Saskatchewan, settling in Prince Albert.
thumb|left|230px|Rusty Crawford with the [[Quebec Bulldogs]]
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. He won his first Stanley Cup in his first season, helping the Bulldogs defend their title against challenger from Sydney, Nova Scotia. 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. 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. Completing the season in Toronto, Crawford and the Arenas won the Stanley Cup, The Arenas signed Crawford to a new contract before 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. Following the season, Crawford returned to Saskatoon to play senior-amateur hockey with the Saskatoon Crescents. and was regarded as one of the fastest skaters in Western Canada.
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. He appeared in the 1924 Stanley Cup Final, where Calgary lost to the Montreal Canadiens.
During the 1918–19 NHL season, in a game between the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Arenas, Crawford, representing Toronto, assaulted Jack Darragh of the Ottawa club by striking him with his stick over the neck, and he was given a double major penalty (10 minutes) by referee Harvey Pulford. Previous to the attack on Darragh he had also slashed Frank Nighbor during the first period drawing a major penalty on the play. During the interval between the second and third period Sergeant Barlow of the Ottawa police department visited the Toronto dressing room and informed coach Dick Carroll of the Toronto Arenas that if he used Crawford in the upcoming period Crawford would be arrested for assaulting Darragh. Later on January 27 NHL president Frank Calder fined Crawford $25 for rough play based on referee Harvey Pulford's report.
During the 1923–24 WCHL season Crawford, playing for the Calgary Tigers, was suspended one game by the league for assaulting Gordon Keats of the Edmonton Eskimos.
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 safekeeping. He was given a suspended sentence.
Following his retirement, Crawford farmed in the Spruce Home, Saskatchewan area. He sold his farm in 1960 and moved to Prince Albert, where he remained until he died in 1971.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em"
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! colspan="5"|Regular season
! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"|
! colspan="5"|Playoffs
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Season
! Team
! League
! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM
! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM
|-
| 1907–08
| Montreal Montegnards
| MCHL
| — || — || — || — || —
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1908–09
| Newington Ontarios
| OHA Sr
| — || — || — || — || —
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1909–10
| Prince Albert Mintos
| N-SSHL
| 3 || 4 || 0 || 4 || —
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1909–10
| Prince Albert Mintos
| Sask-Pro
| — || — || — || — || —
| 4 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 14
|-
| 1910–11
| Prince Albert Mintos
| Sask-Pro
| 7 || 26 || 0 || 26 || —
| 4 || 4 || 0 || 4 || 26
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1911–12
| Saskatoon Hoo-Hoos
| Sask-Pro
| 1 || 2 || 0 || 2 || —
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1911–12
| Saskatoon Wholesalers
| Sask-Pro
| 1 || 2 || 0 || 2 || —
| 2 || 2 || 0 || 2 || 12
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1912–13
| Quebec Bulldogs
| NHA
| 19 || 4 || 0 || 4 || 29
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1912–13
| Quebec Bulldogs
| Stanley Cup
| — || — || — || — || —
| 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1913–14
| Quebec Bulldogs
| NHA
| 19 || 15 || 10 || 25 || 14
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1914–15
| Quebec Bulldogs
| NHA
| 20 || 18 || 8 || 26 || 30
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1915–16
| Quebec Bulldogs
| NHA
| 22 || 18 || 5 || 23 || 54
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1916–17
| Quebec Bulldogs
| NHA
| 19 || 11 || 9 || 20 || 77
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 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
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1918–19
| Toronto Arenas
| NHL
| 18 || 7 || 3 || 10 || 51
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1919–20
| Saskatoon Crescents
| SSHL
| 12 || 3 || 3 || 6 || 14
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 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
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1922–23
| Saskatoon Sheiks
| WCHL
| 19 || 7 || 6 || 13 || 10
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1922–23
| Calgary Tigers
| WCHL
| 11 || 3 || 1 || 4 || 7
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1923–24
| Calgary Tigers
| WCHL
| 26 || 4 || 4 || 8 || 21
| 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 2
|-
| 1923–24
| Calgary Tigers
| West-PO
| — || — || — || — || —
| 3 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 4
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1923–24
| Calgary Tigers
| St-Cup
| — || — || — || — || —
| 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0
|-
| 1924–25
| Calgary Tigers
| WCHL
| 27 || 12 || 2 || 14 || 27
| 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 4
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 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
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 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
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1929–30
| Minneapolis Millers
| AHA
| 43 || 3 || 4 || 7 || 32
| — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1930–31
| Prince Albert Mintos
| N-SSHL
| — || — || — || — || —
| — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | NHA totals
! 99 !! 66 !! 32 !! 98 !! 204
! 4 !! 3 !! 0 !! 3 !! 19
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | WCHL totals
! 121 !! 34 !! 21 !! 55 !! 102
! 9 !! 1 !! 1 !! 2 !! 10
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" | NHL totals
! 38 !! 10 !! 3 !! 13 !! 117
! 2 !! 2 !! 1 !! 3 !! 9
|}