Sam Crawford - Early Years

Early Years

Crawford was born in Wahoo, Nebraska, in 1880, the son of Stephen O. Crawford (born 1842 in Vermont) and Nellie Crawford (born 1855 in Iowa). In 1908, he married Ada (maiden name probably Lattin), born circa 1880 in Nebraska, according to the 1930 census. He was listed as a ballplayer in 1910, and had one daughter, Virginia, born circa 1905 in Michigan. Various ship records confirm his birthdate and that of wife Ada. As of the 1920 U.S. census, he was living in Los Angeles, with wife Ada and daughter Virginia, and a new addition: Samuel, born ~1918 in California (Samuel Earl Crawford, March 15, 1918 – October 18, 1996).

According to a biography from the Nebraska Hall of Fame, Crawford was a star athlete at Wahoo High School, leading the team to two state football championships in 1896 and 1897 and was also noted for “foot racing” wherever he played. In 1898, he joined a traveling baseball team in Wahoo. They traveled on a lumber wagon from town to town for weeks at a time, challenging the locals to baseball games, and passing the hat to pay their expenses. Crawford was offered an opportunity in the spring of 1899 to play for the Chatham Reds of the Canadian League for $65 per month, plus board. Crawford seized the opportunity and left behind his job as a barber’s apprentice. From Chatham, Crawford moved on to play for the Grand Rapids Prodigals in the Western League.