He played baseball for several semi-pro and minor league teams throughout the 1920s including a stint as the left fielder for the 1922 Kinston Highwaymen in the Eastern Carolina Baseball Association, an independent or "outlaw league" team not affiliated with the National Association.
Major League
Crawford got his big break in 1929 when he made it to the majors with the New York Giants, which were still being managed by the Hall of Famer John McGraw. On May 26, 1929, Crawford hit a pinch-hitgrand slam off Socks Seibold in the sixth inning. Les Bell then hit a seventh-inning pinch-hit grand slam off Carl Hubbell. This was the only time in history that two pinch-hit grand slams were hit in the same game. In 1931 and 1932, he had over 237 and 236 hits respectively for minor league Columbus, Ohio.[2] He went in and out of the majors through the 1934 season and was named league MVP of the American Association while playing for the Columbus Senators in 1932.
Crawford died on January 25, 1994, in Morehead City, North Carolina, three days shy of what would have been his 92nd birthday. He was the last surviving member of the 1934 World Champion St. Louis Cardinals.