Jack Crawford (ice hockey)

"Johnny Crawford (ice hockey)" redirects here. For the actor, see Johnny Crawford.

Jack Crawford
Born (1916-10-26)October 26, 1916
Dublin, Ontario, Canada
Died January 19, 1973(1973-01-19) (aged 56)
Barnstable, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Right
Played for Boston Bruins
Playing career 1937–1952

John Shea Crawford (October 26, 1916 – January 19, 1973) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman and coach. He was born in Dublin, Ontario. Despite Crawford's preference to be called "Johnny" or "John", the media often referred to him as "Jack".[1]

Crawford started his National Hockey League career with the Boston Bruins in 1938. He played his entire career with the Bruins and retired after the 1950 season. In 1943 and 1946, he was a member of the NHL All-Star team. He won two Stanley Cups with Boston 1939, 1941.

Crawford later coached 659 games in the American Hockey League[2] He died at the Cape Cod Hospital on January 19, 1973. He was 56 years old.[3]

Amateur career

Crawford was born on October 26, 1916, in Dublin, Ontario. He had begun playing hockey at an early age but began to take it more seriously as a teenager and competed in the Ontario Junior league, winning the first ever Sutherland Cup as All-Ontario Junior "B" Champions in 1934.[4] He then played for both the St. Michael’s Majors and the West Toronto Nationals between 1934 and 1936. At 19, he moved up to the Toronto McColl-Fronteacs of the TIHL, where he played defense in 1936. In his final year Crawford joined the Kirkland Lake Blue Devils (GBHL), where he shined as a shut-down defenseman, also showing his offensive abilities by scoring six goals and ten points in nine games. After this the Boston Bruins signed him to their farm team the Providence Reds (IAHL) for the 1937-1938 season.[5]

Pro career

Crawford played in 46 games for the Reds during the 1937-1938 season and gained the attention of his coaching staff he resulting in him making his first two appearances with the Boston Bruins before the end of the season. After several strong performances during training camp the following year he earned a promotion to the Bruins blueline for the 1938-1939 season. The 5’11, 190-pound defender went on to have a solid rookie year in the NHL appearing in all 48 games that season, helping the Bruins win that year’s Stanley Cup.[5]

He remained key part of the team for his entire 12 year NHL career. Helping the team win another Cup during the 1940-1941 season. During his tenure he was relied on as a vital pieces of the Bruins blueline.[5]

Crawford had a breakout year during the 1942-43 season, being of the leagues top defenders resulting in him being named to the NHL Second All-Star team. The following year he had his best statistical season scoring 24 points (5 goals 19 assists).[6] He was named Bruins Captain during the 1945-46 season, going on to have another stellar campaign resulting in him being named to the NHL First All-Star team. He continued his defensive efficiency, then playing his final year with the Bruins in 1950.[6][5]

He then joined the Hershey Bears as a player-coach for two years, then retiring in 1952.[4]

During his career Crawford was known for being one of the few players to wear a helmet. Not for the sake of protection but to hide his hairline. Crawford once stated “When I played football as a teenager for St. Mike’s, “the paint would peel off inside of my helmet and the doctors say that some chemical in the paint triggered the skin infection that caused all of my hair to fall out over the years.”[7]

Coaching/later career

After retirement Crawford went on to coach 659 games in the American Hockey League (10th on the all-time list)[2] with the Hershey Bears (1950–52), Providence Reds (1955–60), Rochester Americans (1961–62), and Baltimore Clippers (1964–66). During the 1955-56 season Crawford coached the Reds to a Calder Cup championship.

He was the general manager of the Cape Cod Cubs of the Eastern Hockey League when he collapsed on January 17, 1973, while attending his team's home game. He died at the Cape Cod Hospital on January 19, 1973. He was 56 years old.[3]

Crawford was married and had 4 children.[7]

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1933–34 St. Michael's Buzzers OHA-Jr. — — — — — — — — — —
1933–34 St. Michael's Buzzers M-Cup — — — — — 13 9 4 13 14
1934–35 Toronto St. Michael's Majors OHA-Jr. 12 5 3 8 14 3 1 1 2 8
1935–36 West Toronto Nationals OHA-Jr. 9 3 3 6 4 5 2 2 4 5
1935–36 Toronto McColl-Frontenacs TIHL 15 0 0 0 20 4 1 0 1 4
1935–36 West Toronto Nationals M-Cup — — — — — 11 7 4 11 12
1936–37 Kirkland Lake Blue Devils GBHL 9 6 4 10 20 4 0 1 1 8
1937–38 Boston Bruins NHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1937–38 Providence Reds AHL 46 6 7 13 33 7 5 8 13 4
1938–39 Boston Bruins NHL 48 4 8 12 12 12 1 1 2 9
1939–40 Boston Bruins NHL 35 1 4 5 26 6 0 0 0 0
1940–41 Boston Bruins NHL 45 2 8 10 27 11 0 2 2 7
1941–42 Boston Bruins NHL 43 2 9 11 37 5 0 1 1 4
1942–43 Boston Bruins NHL 49 5 18 23 24 6 1 1 2 10
1943–44 Boston Bruins NHL 34 4 16 20 8 — — — — —
1944–45 Boston Bruins NHL 40 5 19 24 10 7 0 5 5 0
1945–46 Boston Bruins NHL 48 7 9 16 10 10 1 2 3 4
1946–47 Boston Bruins NHL 58 1 17 18 16 2 0 W 0 0
1947–48 Boston Bruins NHL 45 3 11 14 10 4 0 1 1 2
1948–49 Boston Bruins NHL 55 2 13 15 14 3 0 0 0 0
1949–50 Boston Bruins NHL 46 2 8 10 8 — — — — —
1950–51 Hershey Bears AHL 35 1 10 11 14 5 0 2 2 0
1951–52 Hershey Bears AHL 23 0 2 2 8 3 0 0 0 0
NHL totals 548 38 140 178 202 66 3 13 16 36

Head coaching record

Season Team Lge Type GP W L T OTL Pct Result
1950-51 Hershey Bears AHL Player-Head 70 38 28 4 0 0.571 Lost in round 2
1951-52 Hershey Bears AHL Player-Head 68 35 28 5 0 0.551 Lost in round 1
1955-56 Providence Reds AHL Head 64 45 17 2 0 0.719 Won Championship
1956-57 Providence Reds AHL Head 64 34 22 8 0 0.594 Lost in round 1
1957-58 Providence Reds AHL Head 70 33 32 5 0 0.507 Lost in round 1
1958-59 Providence Reds AHL Head 70 28 40 2 0 0.414 Out of Playoffs
1959-60 Providence Reds AHL Head 72 38 32 2 0 0.542 Lost in round 1
1961-62 Rochester Americans AHL Head 70 33 31 6 0 0.514 Lost in round 1
1964-65 Baltimore Clippers AHL Head 72 35 32 5 0 0.521 Lost in round 1
1965-66 Baltimore Clippers AHL Head†

† Replaced midseason

Awards and achievements

See also

References

  1. ^ "Legends of Hockey -- NHL Player Search -- Player -- Jack Crawford".
  2. ^ a b "AHL Hall of Fame". Retrieved August 11, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  3. ^ a b Bangor Daily News - Jan 19, 1973
  4. ^ a b "Jack Crawford 1940 Boston Bruins | HockeyGods". hockeygods.com. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d "Bruins Alumni: Happy Birthday Jack Crawford". Black N' Gold Hockey. October 26, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
  6. ^ a b "Jack Crawford Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
  7. ^ a b puckstruck (October 26, 2022). "jack crawford: the captain, the headgear, the hairline". puckstruck. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
  8. ^ Bruins Announce “Historic 100” Ahead of All-Centennial Team Reveal https://www.nhl.com/bruins/news/bruins-announce-historic-100-ahead-of-all-centennial-team-reveal
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Crawford_(ice_hockey)