Shag Crawford, 1916-2007

Henry Charles “Shag” Crawford, an NL umpire from 1956-75, died on July 11. He was 90.

Crawford, whose brother, Joey, was an NBA official, called more than 3,000 games, worked in three World Series three times, two NL championship series, and three All-Star games. He became an iconic figure in photographs of San Francisco Giants’ pitcher Juan Marichal going after Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Johnny Roseboro with a bat. In this picture, Sandy Koufax risks injury as he steps in to play peacemaker.

HBO Real Sports did a segment in its February 12, 2007 edition on Shag Crawford and his sons, Jerry and Joe. Shag didn’t look well at all at that point, but the pride he had in his boys was evident.

Larry R. Gerlach includes Crawford in his oral history The Men in Blue: Conversations with Umpires (Viking, 1980; reprinted by the University of Nebraska Press, 1994). Crawford tells a story of happenstance, of being in the right place at the right time when he was picked to move to the majors after being on the verge of giving up his dream.

In addition to the Giants-Dodgers contre-temps, Crawford was involved in another controversial game in the 1969 World Series between the Baltimore Orioles and the NY Mets in which he ejected O’s manager Earl Weaver for arguing balls and strikes. A rule is a rule, said Crawford, while admitting his concern about following the letter of the law in such a high-profile situation.

Crawford was also a leader in the umpires’ union and his career may have suffered for it, perhaps playing a role in his exit from the game.