Jack Crawford (ice hockey)
| Jack Crawford | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
October 26, 1916 Dublin, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Died |
January 19, 1973 (aged 56) | ||
| 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
- Stanley Cup Champion (1939, 1941)
- NHL First All-Star team (1945-46)
- NHL Second All-Star team (1942-43)
- Elizabeth C. Dufresne Trophy (1944-45, 1945-46)
- Named one of the top 100 best Bruins players of all time.[8]
See also
References
- ^ "Legends of Hockey -- NHL Player Search -- Player -- Jack Crawford".
- ^ a b "AHL Hall of Fame". Retrieved August 11, 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ a b Bangor Daily News - Jan 19, 1973
- ^ a b "Jack Crawford 1940 Boston Bruins | HockeyGods". hockeygods.com. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Bruins Alumni: Happy Birthday Jack Crawford". Black N' Gold Hockey. October 26, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
- ^ a b "Jack Crawford Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
- ^ a b puckstruck (October 26, 2022). "jack crawford: the captain, the headgear, the hairline". puckstruck. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
- ^ 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
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database