Patrick James Crossan (1894 – 28 April 1933) was a Scottish professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defender who played in the

Scottish League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 k ...

for Heart of Midlothian.

Personal life

Crossan joined Hearts from Arniston Rangers on 8 Nov 1911, aged 17, alongside Willie Wilson. He lodged at Wilson's family home which was very close to the Tynecastle ground. He was powerful and an extremely fast runner, and supplemented his income occasionally by racing under

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

s. Crossan was considered by many to be very good looking and it was said that although he could pass a ball, he could not pass a mirror! After the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in August 1914, Crossan enlisted in

McCrae's Battalion McCrae's Battalion was the affectionate name given by the people of Edinburgh to the 16th (Service) Battalion of the Royal Scots in World War I, raised from volunteers in 1914 as part of the New Armies called to the Colours by Lord Kitchener. Th ...

of the

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment line infantry, of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of England ...

. Around the same time he was selected for the

Scottish League XI The Scottish League XI was a representative side of the Scottish Football League. The team regularly played against the (English) Football League and other national league select teams between 1892 and 1980. For a long period the annual fixture be ...

with teammates Peter Nellies, James Low and Harry Graham. Once on active service, he was hit in the leg by shrapnel near Bazentin, France on 9 August 1916, during the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

. The leg was marked for amputation but was saved after being operated on by a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

surgeon. After recovering back in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

, Crossan was posted to the 4th Battalion to serve in the

Sinai and Palestine Campaign The Sinai and Palestine campaign was part of the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I, taking place between January 1915 and October 1918. The British Empire, the French Third Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy fought alongside the Arab Revol ...

and he was present during the

Battle of Jerusalem The Battle of Jerusalem also known as the Fall of Jerusalem occurred during the British Empire's "Jerusalem Operations" against the Ottoman Empire, in World War I, when fighting for the city developed from 17 November, continuing after the s ...

. He was posted back to the Western Front in 1918 and was gassed in April that year. He returned to Hearts after the war and featured in another six full seasons, receiving two benefit games and bringing his total number of competitive appearances to over 300 before being release on a free transfer in 1925, aged 31. Paddy signed for Leith Athletic in August 1925. He scored against his old club in a 7–1 defeat on 19 August 1925. Paddy married the sister of Harry Wattie on 30 July 1926. After his retirement from football, he opened Paddy's Bar on Rose Street in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. Crossan died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in 1933 and was buried in Mount Vernon Cemetery.

References

External links

Pen portrait of Crossan, 1914

1894 births 1933 deaths 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Scottish men's footballers Scottish Football League players Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Leith Athletic F.C. players Footballers from West Lothian Men's association football defenders Royal Scots soldiers McCrae's Battalion Scottish Football League representative players Arniston Rangers F.C. players British Army personnel of World War I Tuberculosis deaths in Scotland Military personnel from West Lothian 20th-century Scottish sportsmen {{Scotland-footy-defender-1890s-stub