Frank Crawford
 |
|
| Sport(s) | Football |
|---|---|
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
March 12, 1870 Colebrook, New Hampshire |
| Died | November 25, 1963 (aged 93) Portland, Maine |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1891 | Michigan |
| 1892 | Wisconsin |
| 1893–1894 | Nebraska |
| 1895 | Texas |
| 1896 | Nebraska Wesleyan |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 25–14–1 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1 WIUFA (1894) | |
Frank Crawford (March 12, 1870 – November 25, 1963) was a college football coach, lawyer, and law professor. He attended Yale University and served as the first head football coach at the University of Michigan in 1891. He also coached at the University of Wisconsin (1892), Baker University (1892), the University of Nebraska (1893–1894), and the University of Texas (1895). He later had a long career as a lawyer in Nebraska and France. He was a professor of law at Creighton College of Law from 1906 to 1913.
Crawford was born in 1870 at Colebrook, New Hampshire. He was the son of Francis B. Crawford, a starch manufacturer and state legislator, and Susan J. (Randall) Crawford. He attended preparatory school at St. Johnsbury Academy in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. He enrolled at Yale University, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1891. Sources are at odds over whether or not Crawford played football for the Yale Bulldogs football team. According to the University of Nebraska web site, Crawford was "a member of the dominant Yale teams of the mid-1880s."The Michigan Daily also reported that Crawford played football at Yale "for several years." However, the University of Michigan web site notes that "Yale archivists found no evidence that he played varsity football" and concludes that Crawford "may have played some football while a Bulldog, but definitely did not win a varsity letter."
After graduating from Yale, Crawford enrolled at the University of Michigan School of Law, receiving his law degree in 1893. As a first-year law student, Crawford was both the unpaid coach and a substitute player for the 1891 Michigan Wolverines football team. He helped lead the team to a 4–5 record. He has been identified by several sources as the first football coach in University of Michigan history. Other sources indicate that Crawford and Mike Murphy were the joint head coaches of the 1891 Michigan football team. Others state that Murphy relinquished the coaching duties to Crawford midway through the season to allow him to focus on his duties as trainer. The Chicago Daily Tribune reported in November 1891 that the Michigan team was "coached systematically" by Murphy, Crawford, Horace Greely Prettyman and James Duffy.
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