Errol Gilmour Crossan (6 October 1930 – 23 April 2016) was a Canadian professional soccer player, active primarily in England, who played as a

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Early and personal life

Crossan was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

. His family moved to the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

when he was eight, before returning to Canada in 1949, where he began his career with the Marpole Athletic Club.

Career

After making his Pacific Coast League debut with Vancouver St. Andrews FC in 1950–51, he played three seasons with New Westminster Royals from 1951–52 to 1953–54. He helped the Royals capture the 1952–53 league title and then the 1953 Canadian championship. In 1953, he played in a North American championship match, helping the Royals win the Jack Diamond Trophy over the Chicago Falcons. After a proposed move to England to play for

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

in 1953 fell through, Crossan joined Manchester City in January 1954. He later played for Gillingham,

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...

and

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...

, scoring 57 goals in 226 games in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

. Crossan played a significant role in Norwich's 1959 FA Cup run, when the team from the Third Division reached the semifinal, beating Manchester United along the way. Crossan played in all 11 ties, scoring four goals. He later returned to Canada to play for

Toronto City Toronto City was a Canadian soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario. Between 1961 and 1967, teams using this name competed in both the Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League and the United Soccer Association. History ECPSL In 1961, along with ...

, before moving west to resume his career in the Pacific Coast League. After a season with the New Westminster Royals, he joined Vancouver Columbus FC. He spent the next three seasons with Columbus FC where he won his second Canadian title in 1964. He then rejoined Westminster Royals. Crossan was inducted into the

Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame honours people and institutions for their contributions to Canadian soccer. It was founded in 1997 by the Ontario Soccer Association and was originally located in Vaughan, Ontario. As of 2019, the Canada Soccer Ha ...

in 2000 and the Norwich City Hall of Fame in 2002. He died on 23 April 2016 in Langley, British Columbia.

Honours

Team

Westminster Royals * Canadian Championship (Challenge Trophy) winner (1953) * Pacific Coast League winner (1952–53) *Jack Diamond Trophy, North American championship (1953) Vancouver Columbus FC * Canadian Championship (Challenge Trophy) winner (1964)

Individual

* Canada Soccer Hall of Fame: 2000 * Norwich City Hall of Fame: 2002 *Soccer Hall of Fame of British Columbia: 2019

References

External links

* / Canada Soccer Hall of Fame {{DEFAULTSORT:Crossan, Errol 1930 births 2016 deaths Soccer people from British Columbia Canadian expatriate soccer players Canada Soccer Hall of Fame inductees Canadian soccer players Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League players Expatriate footballers in England Men's association football wingers Gillingham F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Soccer players from Montreal Southend United F.C. players English Football League players Toronto City players Westminster Royals players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in England ICSF Columbus FC players