Paddy Crossan

Paddy Crossan
Personal information
Full name Patrick James Crossan[1]
Date of birth 1894
Place of birth Addiewell, Scotland
Date of death 28 April 1933 (aged 39)[2]
Place of death Edinburgh, Scotland
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Addiewell Celtic
Seafield Athletic
1911 Arniston Rangers
1911–1925 Heart of Midlothian 283 (11)
International career
1914 Scottish League XI 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Patrick James Crossan (1894 – 28 April 1933) was a Scottish professional football defender who played in the Scottish League for Heart of Midlothian.[1][3]

Personal life

Crossan joined Hearts from Arniston Rangers on 8 Nov 1911,[4] aged 17, alongside Willie Wilson.[5] He lodged at Wilson's family home which was very close to the Tynecastle ground. He was powerful and an extremely fast runner, and supplemented his income occasionally by racing under pseudonyms.[6] Crossan was considered by many to be very good looking and it was said that although he could pass a ball, he could not pass a mirror![7]

After the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, Crossan enlisted in McCrae's Battalion of the Royal Scots.[2] Around the same time he was selected for the Scottish League XI with teammates Peter Nellies, James Low and Harry Graham.[8]

Once on active service, he was hit in the leg by shrapnel near Bazentin, France on 9 August 1916, during the Battle of the Somme.[2] The leg was marked for amputation but was saved after being operated on by a German POW surgeon.[2] After recovering back in Britain, Crossan was posted to the 4th Battalion to serve in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign and he was present during the Battle of Jerusalem.[2] He was posted back to the Western Front in 1918 and was gassed in April that year.[2]

He returned to Hearts after the war and featured in another six full seasons, receiving two benefit games and bringing his total number of competitive appearances to over 300[3] before being release on a free transfer in 1925, aged 31.

Paddy signed for Leith Athletic in August 1925. He scored against his old club in a 7–1 defeat on 19 August 1925.[9]

Paddy married the sister of Harry Wattie on 30 July 1926.[10]

After his retirement from football, he opened Paddy's Bar on Rose Street in Edinburgh.[11] Crossan died of tuberculosis in 1933 and was buried in Mount Vernon Cemetery.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b "The Heart of Midlothian FC Players' Roll of Honour" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 November 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Hearts of courage - The legendary McCrae's Own". Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Patrick Crossan - Hearts Career - from 02 Jan 1912 to 07 Feb 1925". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Report from Dundee Courier - Friday 10 November 1911". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  5. ^ "Players: Willie Wilson 1916". Mighty Leeds. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  6. ^ Alexander, Jack (2004). McCrae's Battalion: The Story of the 16th Royal Scots. Mainstream Publishing/Random House. ISBN 9781845968212.
  7. ^ Rees, Mike (2015). Men Who Played The Game : Sportsmen who gave their life in the Great War. Bridgend. ISBN 9781781722862. OCLC 935458537.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ^ "Scottish League player Paddy Crossan". www.londonhearts.com. London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  9. ^ "Wed 19 Aug 1925 Leith Athletic 1 Hearts 7 EoSS SF". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  10. ^ "Report from Arbroath Herald and Advertiser for the Montrose Burghs - Friday 06 August 1926". www.londonhearts.com. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  11. ^ "Friends mourn pub landlord". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  12. ^ "Midlothian Advertiser". 5 May 1933. p. 4.


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