George Daniel Crowe (March 22, 1921 – January 18, 2011) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player who appeared in 702 games in the major leagues as a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...

between and . Before joining

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

in 1949, Crowe played with the Negro National League's (Rochester)

New York Black Yankees The New York Black Yankees were a professional Negro league baseball team based in New York City; Paterson, New Jersey; and Rochester, New York. Beginning as the independent Harlem Stars, the team was renamed the New York Black Yankees in 1932 an ...

in 1947 and 1948, and he also played professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

. Born in

Whiteland, Indiana Whiteland is a town in Pleasant, Franklin and Clark townships, Johnson County, Indiana, United States. The population was 4,599 at the 2020 census. Whiteland is located in north/central Johnson County approximately south of Indianapolis in ...

, Crowe graduated from nearby Franklin High School in 1939. He led the Franklin Grizzly Cubs to a notable state runner-up finish in 1939 in the IHSAA Boys Basketball Tournament. He attended college at Indiana Central College (now the

University of Indianapolis The University of Indianapolis (UIndy) is a private United Methodist Church-affiliated university in Indianapolis, Indiana. It offers Associate, Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral degrees. It was founded in 1902 as Indiana Central University an ...

), where he was a member of the Class of 1943. He was the first Indiana "Mr. Basketball" and served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Baseball career

MLB first baseman

Crowe batted and threw left-handed, stood tall and weighed . In

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

, he played for the Boston / Milwaukee Braves (1952–1953; 1955),

Cincinnati Redlegs Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

(1956–1958) and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

(1959–1961), all of the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

. He hit 31 home runs for Cincinnati in 1957, filling in most of the season for the injured

Ted Kluszewski Theodore Bernard Kluszewski (September 10, 1924 – March 29, 1988), nicknamed "Big Klu", was an American professional baseball player, best known as a power-hitting first baseman for the Cincinnati Reds teams of the 1950s. He played from 1947 th ...

. He was selected to the 1958 NL All-Star squad but did not play in the July 8 midsummer classic, won by the rival

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

4–3 at

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

's Memorial Stadium. The previous season, Cincinnati fans had been involved in a

ballot stuffing Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud, or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share o ...

campaign to put all of the team's regulars in the Senior Circuit's starting lineup for the

1957 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 1957 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 24th playing of the midseason exhibition baseball game between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game w ...

Ed Bailey Lonas Edgar Bailey, Jr. (April 15, 1931 – March 23, 2007) was an American professional baseball player and later served on the Knoxville, Tennessee city council. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from through . A six-time All-St ...

Johnny Temple John Ellis Temple (August 8, 1927 – January 9, 1994) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman from 1952 to 1964, most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, where ...

Roy McMillan Roy David McMillan (July 17, 1929 – November 2, 1997) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from 1951 to 1966, most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, wh ...

Don Hoak Donald Albert Hoak (February 5, 1928 – October 9, 1969), nicknamed "Tiger", was an American professional baseball third baseman and coach. He played eleven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (–) for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, C ...

Frank Robinson Frank Robinson (August 31, 1935 – February 7, 2019), nicknamed "the Judge", was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams over 21 seasons: the Cincinnati Reds (1956–196 ...

Gus Bell David Russell "Gus" Bell Jr. (November 15, 1928 – May 7, 1995) was an American professional baseball player and scout. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from 1950 to 1964, most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds ...

and

Wally Post Walter Charles Post (July 9, 1929 – January 6, 1982) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right fielder from 1949 to 1964, most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, where he was one o ...

were voted into the lineup, but Crowe was beaten out in the tally by future Cardinal teammate

Stan Musial Stanley Frank Musial (; born Stanislaw Franciszek Musial; November 21, 1920 – January 19, 2013), nicknamed "Stan the Man", was an American baseball outfielder and first baseman. Widely considered to be one of the greatest and most consistent ...

Minor and winter league baseball

Crowe was 28 years old when he moved from the

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...

to "

Organized Baseball Organized baseball is an outdated term that collectively describes what is now known as Major League Baseball (MLB) and its various affiliated minor leagues, under the authority of the commissioner of baseball. Historically, these leagues were bo ...

", as it slowly began the process of

racial integration Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation), leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of Race (classification of human beings), race, and t ...

in the late 1940s. He was a prodigious minor league batsman, never hitting below .334 until he was a 40-year-old player-coach in 1961, his final year as an active player. In 1950, Crowe played for the

Hartford Chiefs The Hartford Chiefs was the final name of the American minor league baseball franchise representing Hartford, Connecticut, that played in the Eastern League (then Class A) between 1938 and 1952. The Hartford franchise was an affiliate of the Bos ...

of the Class A Eastern League, where he won the batting title (.353) and led the circuit in hits and runs scored. He twice led the Triple-A American Association in

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

, with 119 (1951) and 128 (1954). Crowe also played winter ball with the Santurce Crabbers of the Puerto Rico Professional Baseball League during the 1954–55 season, where, as a teammate of

Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (May 6, 1931 – June 18, 2024), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of ...

Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, primarily as a right fielder. On December ...

, Buster Clarkson and Bob Thurman, Crowe formed part of the ''Escuadron Del Panico'' (the "Panic Squadron") that led the Crabbers to the league and

Caribbean World Series The Caribbean Series ( Spanish: ''Serie del Caribe'') is an annual club tournament contested by professional baseball teams in Latin America. It is organized by the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation. The series is normally played in ...

championships.

Left-handed second baseman

Crowe played two-thirds of an

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

in one game as a

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

on June 14, 1958, switching fielding positions with Johnny Temple. Still wearing his over-sized first baseman's

mitt Mitt may refer to: Gloves *Mitten, a garment covering the whole hand *Baseball mitt, a leather glove worn by baseball players on defense Arts and media * ''Mitt'' (film), a 2014 documentary film about Mitt Romney *The Mitt, a bronze sculpture of ...

—Crowe threw left-handed and playing any infield position other than first base is rare for a southpaw—he completed a

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Le ...

against the batter,

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

John Briggs of the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

. Although the Cubs won the contest, 4–3, Chicago skipper

Bob Scheffing Robert Boden Scheffing (August 11, 1913 – October 26, 1985) was an American professional baseball player, coach (baseball), coach, manager (baseball), manager and front-office executive. Nicknamed "Grumpy", the native of Overland, Missouri, is ...

played the game under protest because Crowe had used a non-standard infielder's glove. Scheffing's protest led to a rule change mandating that first basemen moving to a different defensive position must exchange their mitt for a regulation fielder's glove.

MLB totals and milestones

In 702 games over nine MLB seasons, Crowe posted a .270 batting average (467-for-1,727) with 215 runs, 70 doubles, 12

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

, 81

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

and 299 RBI. He recorded a .990

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

as a first baseman. Crowe set a record (later broken by Jerry Lynch and subsequently by Cliff Johnson) for most pinch-hit home runs in major league baseball history with 14.

Basketball career

Crowe played basketball for the barnstorming

New York Renaissance The New York Renaissance, also known as the Renaissance Big R Five and as the Rens, were the first black-owned, all-black, fully-professional basketball team in history, established in October 1923, by Robert "Bob" Douglas. They were named after t ...

Big Five (aka "Rens"). In 1947 Crowe played basketball for the integrated Los Angeles Red Devils, a team that also included future

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

' star

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first Black American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the Baseball color line, ...

. Crowe played professional basketball in the National Basketball League (NBL) and the American Basketball League (ABL). He first played for the

Dayton Rens The Dayton Rens were a member of the National Basketball League (NBL) for the 1948–49 season and were the only all-black team to play in a white league. This milestone came just one year after Jackie Robinson, playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers, b ...

of the NBL during the 1948–49 season and averaged 10.9 points per game. Crowe moved to the

New York Harlem Yankees Glens Falls-Saratoga, also known as Schenectady Yankees, Saratoga Harlem Yankees and New York Harlem Yankees was an American professional basketball team based in several New York State locations. It was a member of the American Basketball League ...

of the ABL during the 1949–50 season and averaged 13.6 points per game. He returned to the Yankees as they were renamed to the Glens Falls-Saratoga for the 1952–53 season and he averaged 12.3 points per game. Crowe briefly served as the team's head coach during the season and recorded three losses.

Family

He was the younger brother of Ray Crowe, who was the head basketball coach of the

Crispus Attucks High School Crispus Attucks High School (also known as Crispus Attucks Medical Magnet High School) is a public high school of Indianapolis Public Schools in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. Its namesake, Crispus Attucks (c.1723 – March 5, 1770), was an Africa ...

teams that won two consecutive Indiana state titles in 1954–55 and 1955–56, led by

Oscar Robertson Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938), nicknamed "the Big O", is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Robertson played ...

Notes

References

External links

an
Seamheads
*
Corbett, Warren, ''George Crowe''

Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and statistical record of baseball. The organization was founded in Cooperstown, New York, on Au ...

Biography Project
Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowe, George 1921 births 2011 deaths 21st-century African-American sportsmen African Americans in World War II American Basketball League (1925–1955) players American men's basketball players Baseball players from Indiana Basketball players from Franklin, Indiana Boston Braves players Centers (basketball) Charleston Marlins players Cincinnati Redlegs players Dayton Rens players Forwards (basketball) Hartford Chiefs players Indianapolis Greyhounds baseball players Indianapolis Greyhounds men's basketball players Major League Baseball first basemen Milwaukee Braves players 20th-century American sportsmen Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players National League All-Stars New York Black Yankees players Pawtucket Slaters players St. Louis Cardinals players St. Louis Cardinals scouts San Juan Marlins players Toledo Sox players United States Army personnel of World War II African-American United States Army personnel 20th-century African-American sportsmen