Career
He played hurling with his local club James Stephens and with the Kilkenny senior inter-county team in the 1970s. Club
Crotty first tasted hurling success at club level when he was studying at University College Cork. This was later quickly converted into a Leinster club title and a coveted All-Ireland club title.
1976 saw Crotty add another county medal to his collection, however, ‘the Village’ club lost their provincial and All-Ireland titles.
Once again this victory was converted into another set of Leinster and All-Ireland club titles. Inter-county
Crotty first came to prominence on the inter-county scene with Kilkenny in the laye 1960s.
This was later converted into a first All-Ireland title as Kilkenny defeated Cork in a classic final. A second Leinster medal followed in 1973, however, ‘the Cats’ were later defeated by Limerick in the subsequent All-Ireland final.
Kilkenny were back in 1974 with Crotty adding a third consecutive Leinster medal to his collection.
In 1975 Crotty claimed a fourth Leinster medal, before winning his third All-Ireland medal following a victory over surprise finalists Galway. Kilkenny lost their provincial crown in 1976, however, Crotty did add a National Hurling League medal to his collection earlier in the year. ‘The Cats’ bounced back in 1978 with Crotty winning a fifth provincial title.
Unfortunately, his team were later defeated by Cork in the All-Ireland final, as ‘the Rebels’ completed the final leg of a three-in-a-row of championship titles.
1979 saw Kilkenny continue their dominance in Leinster with Crotty winning his sixth and final provincial title. He later collected his fourth and final All-Ireland medal as Kilkenny defeated Galway once again.