Career
Crawford was brought up on the Phibsboro Road in Dublin, Ireland, in the shadow of Dalymount Park. Crawford"s football career started when he was instructed by the local constabulary to stop playing football on the roads. The local Phoenix Park provided a safer place to kickabout and he was soon spotted there by scouts from Bulfin United, a feeder club for Street Patrick"s Athletic.
He played many times for the League of Ireland XI in games that at that time were regarded as the equivalent of full internationals.
After a 1952 game against the Football League XI, when as a 19-year-old he marked Stanley Matthews, he received excellent reviews for his mature performance and refusal to be drawn to the tackle. Matthews himself heaped praise upon the young Crawford.
He was picked for the full international squad on more than one occasion but did not receive a full international cap despite having "warmed the bench", most notably against Yugoslavia in 1955. He was incredibly unlucky in that regard as at that time only one substitution was allowed.
Crawford founded the Professional Football players Association of Ireland with the help of the legendary English football player Jimmy Hill during the 1950s.
This association remains active today in promoting the welfare of Irish soccer players. Following a contractual dispute with Street.Pats that kept him out of football for almost two years he returned to League of Ireland football for the 1959 - 1960 season with Limerick F.C. This was despite offers from big English clubs including Arsenal. Crawford is fondly remembered by many soccer fans as a cultured and lightning fast fullback, regarded by many to the best Irish player in that position never to play a full international.
He lived quietly in his native Dublin following the end of his career and died at home aged 51 in Dublin in August 1985 following a long illness and in the presence of his family.