Patrick James Crossan (1894 – 28 April 1933) was a Scottish professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

defender who played in the

Scottish League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional association football, football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers F.C., Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, wh ...

for Heart of Midlothian.

Personal life

Crossan joined Hearts from

Arniston Rangers Arniston Rangers Football Club are a Scottish football club, based in the town of Gorebridge. They play in the East of Scotland Football League (Second Division), having moved from the SJFA East Region Premier League in 2018. Nicknamed "Arni", ...

on 8 Nov 1911, aged 17, alongside Willie Wilson. 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

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

s. 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! After the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in August 1914, Crossan enlisted in

McCrae's Battalion McCrae's Battalion was the affectionate name given by the people of Edinburgh to the 16th (Service) Battalion of the Royal Scots in World War I, raised from volunteers in 1914 as part of the New Armies called to the Colours by Lord Kitchener. The ...

of the

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regimen ...

. Around the same time he was selected for the

Scottish League XI The Scottish League XI was a representative side of the Scottish Football League. The team regularly played against the (English) Football League and other national league select teams between 1892 and 1980. For a long period the annual fixture be ...

with teammates Peter Nellies, James Low and Harry Graham. Once on active service, he was hit in the leg by

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near Bazentin, France on 9 August 1916, during the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

. The leg was marked for amputation but was saved after being operated on by a

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surgeon. After recovering back in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, Crossan was posted to the 4th Battalion to serve in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign and he was present during the

Battle of Jerusalem The Battle of Jerusalem occurred during the British Empire's "Jerusalem Operations" against the Ottoman Empire, in World War I, when fighting for the city developed from 17 November, continuing after the surrender until 30 December 1917, to ...

. He was posted back to the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

in 1918 and was gassed in April that year. 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 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. Paddy married the sister of Harry Wattie on 30 July 1926. After his retirement from football, he opened Paddy's Bar on

Rose Street Rose Street is a street in the New Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is a narrow street running parallel between Princes Street and George Street. Today, it is principally a shopping street, however, it is well known for its many bars and ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. Crossan died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

in 1933 and was buried in Mount Vernon Cemetery.

References

External links

Pen portrait of Crossan, 1914

1894 births 1933 deaths 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Scottish men's footballers Scottish Football League players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Leith Athletic F.C. players Footballers from West Lothian Men's association football defenders Royal Scots soldiers McCrae's Battalion Scottish Football League representative players Arniston Rangers F.C. players British Army personnel of World War I Tuberculosis deaths in Scotland Military personnel from West Lothian {{Scotland-footy-defender-1890s-stub