William Ernest Crawford (17 November 1891 – 12 January 1959) was an

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

rugby union international during the 1920s. He was also a noted soccer player and was included in the

squad for the 1924 Olympic Football Tournament.

Club career

While living in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, Crawford played rugby union for

Malone Malone is an Irish surname. From the Irish "''Mael Eóin''", the name means a servant or a disciple of Saint John. People * Gilla Críst Ua Máel Eóin (died 1127), historian and Abbot of Clonmacnoise, Ó Maoil Eoin * Adrian Malone (1937–2 ...

and soccer for

Cliftonville Cliftonville is a coastal area of the town of Margate, situated to the east of the main town, in the Thanet district of Kent, South East England, United Kingdom. It also contains the area known as Palm Bay. The original Palm Bay estate was ...

. After moving to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, he maintained his interest in both codes. He was club captain at

Lansdowne Lansdowne or Lansdown may refer to: People * Lansdown Guilding (1797–1831), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines naturalist and engraver *Fenwick Lansdowne (1937–2008), Canadian wildlife artist * George Granville, 1st Baron Lansdowne (1666–1735) ...

for the 1921–22 and 1922-23 seasons, taking over from Noel Purcell. At the same time he also played soccer for

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

. Due to his rugby union commitments and the presence of fellow full backs, Jack McCarthy and

Bertie Kerr Herbert William Joseph Kerr (19 October 1896 – 23 November 1973), also known as Bertie Kerr or Bert Kerr, was an Irish association football player during the 1910s and 1920s. Kerr played for Bohemians, the League of Ireland XI and Irelan ...

, Crawford was never a first choice in the Bohemians senior team, but he did play regularly for their second team in the Leinster Senior League. During the 1926–27 and 1927–28 seasons Crawford would also assist

Athlone Town Athlone Town Association Football Club () is an Irish football club from Athlone who are playing in the League of Ireland. The club is the oldest in the League as it was founded in 1887. First elected to the League of Ireland in 1922, they pl ...

on a number of occasions, especially when they visited Dublin.

International career

Rugby union

Between

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...

and

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...

Crawford made 30 appearances for

. He made his debut on 14 February 1920 against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium ( ga, Bóthar Lansdún, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for ...

. The majority of his appearances were in the

Five Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions ar ...

but in

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

he also played against a touring

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. During his international rugby career he scored six conversions and two penalties. He also captained Ireland on fifteen occasions between

and 1927. One of the highlights of his career came on 13 February

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...

when he captained Ireland to a 19-15 win over England - their first win over England for fifteen years. He played his final game for Ireland against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

on 12 March 1927. His Ireland teammates included William Roche and Noel Purcell.

Soccer

In 1924, after playing in a trial game, Crawford was one of six

players selected in a squad to represent

at the 1924 Olympic Football Tournament. The other five were Jack McCarthy,

Johnny Murray Johnny Murray (25 February 1898 – 12 November 1954) was an Irish soccer player during the 1920s. Murray was a skilful winger who played for Ormeau, Blue Crusaders, Bohemians and Drumcondra F.C. He joined Bohs in 1921 and stayed at Dalymount ...

Christy Robinson Christopher "Christy" Robinson (1902 – 21 February 1954) was an Republic of Ireland, Irish soccer player during the 1920s and 1930s. Robinson was a skilful inside forward during this era in the League of Ireland and was part of the All-Conq ...

and John Thomas. However, when the final squad was reduced to sixteen, Crawford found himself dropped. He accompanied the team to the tournament as a spectator but did not participate as a player. He later also played for UCD.

Later years

Crawford later served as a selector for the

team that won the Grand Slam in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

, and was president of the

Irish Rugby Football Union The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) ( ga, Cumann Rugbaí na hÉireann) is the body managing rugby union in the island of Ireland (both Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ...

for the 1957-58 season. He also served as president of Skerries Rugby Club.

References

External links

Newulsterbiography.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Ernie Association footballers from Northern Ireland Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Footballers at the 1924 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Ireland Lansdowne Football Club players League of Ireland players Bohemian F.C. players Cliftonville F.C. players Athlone Town A.F.C. players Malone RFC players 1891 births 1959 deaths Barbarian F.C. players Leinster Senior League (association football) players Association football defenders Rugby union players from Belfast Rugby union fullbacks