Joan Crawford (born August 22, 1937) is an American former

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player and member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (enshrined in 1997),

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame The Women's Basketball Hall of Fame honors those who have contributed to the sport of women's basketball. The Hall of Fame opened in 1999 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It is the only facility of its kind dedicated to all levels of women's ba ...

(enshrined in 1999), and

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

Hall of Fame.

Early life

Crawford was born to Monroe Crawford and Iris(Blan) Crawford. She was one of five children; she had two brothers and two sisters. Crawford became interested in basketball when she was only in fifth grade. She learned many of the fundamentals of the game from her brother Robert. She learned enough about the game and was skilled enough to be invited onto the senior team in high school while only a freshman in Van Buren, AR. Crawford and the Van Buren Pointerettes won a state championship in her sophomore, junior and senior season. She was the team captain for the Pointerettes and was selected All-State and All-District all 3 years. She was inducted into th
VBHS Hall of Honor
in 2000.

College and AAU

Crawford attended Clarendon Junior College on a basketball scholarship. She graduated two years later, after helping Clarendon advance to the quarterfinals of the AAU national tournament in 1957. Her performance earned her AAU All-America honors. Crawford was offered a scholarship to

Wayland Baptist University Wayland Baptist University (WBU) is a private Baptist university based in Plainview, Texas. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas ( Southern Baptist Convention). Wayland Baptist has 11 campuses in five Texas cities, s ...

, one of the basketball powerhouses of the era, but chose to go to Nashville Business College, where

Nera White Nera D. White (November 15, 1935 – April 13, 2016) was an American basketball player. White played in the AAU national tournaments for the Nashville Business College team while completing her education at George Peabody College for Teache ...

, one of the outstanding players of the era, played. Crawford originally was enrolled in the school's business program, but dropped that and worked as a supervisor in the mail room. As an AAU team, the players did not have to be enrolled as students. Over the next twelve seasons, the Nashville team would win the National AAU Championship ten times, and Crawford was named to the All-America team in every year. In 1962, the Nashville team was especially dominant, winning every game in the post-season tournament by at least 14 points, and winning the championship game over Wayland 63–35. She would go on to win the

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

of the 1963 and 1964 AAU National Tournaments. Crawford played with Nera White for on the Nashville team for eleven years. Crawford noted, "We knew almost what each other was going to do. We didn't have to look or aim. A lot of times, in a fast break, I'd just throw it down to Nera, she'd just throw it down to me."

USA Basketball

With the US National team, Crawford won the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in 1957, and the

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

and

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

Pan American Games. The World Championship game was against the USSR, the first time the USA had faced the USSR in a major competition. The USA came into the final with a single loss to Czechoslovakia, while the USSR was undefeated. The USA team was down by three points at the half, but came back in the second half to win the championship 51–48. Crawford scored a game high 27 points in the championship game against Brazil.

Notes

References

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External links

Naismith Hall of Fame profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Jean 1937 births Living people Basketball players at the 1959 Pan American Games Basketball players at the 1963 Pan American Games Basketball players from Arkansas College women's basketball players in the United States Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Fort Smith, Arkansas American women's basketball players Pan American Games competitors for the United States United States women's national basketball team players