Clyde Crabtree
Encyclopedia
"Cannonball" Clyde Crabtree (November 3, 1905 – April 21, 1994) was an American college and professional football
player who was a halfback
and quarterback
in the National Football League (NFL) for a single season in 1930. Crabtree played college football
for the University of Florida
, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Frankford Yellow Jackets
and Minneapolis Red Jackets of the NFL.
in 1905. He attended J. Sterling Morton High School
, and played for the Morton Mustangs high school football
team even though he was relatively short and slight of build.
in Evanston, Illinois
, but dropped out after deciding that he did not like the social atmosphere of Northwestern. After his mother and stepfather moved to Florida, his parents convinced him to enroll in the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
, where he played for coach Tom Sebring
and coach Charlie Bachman
's Florida Gators football
teams from 1927 to 1929. He was a gifted athlete, and had the ambidextrous ability to punt or dropkick the ball off either foot while on the run, or throw a forward pass with either arm.
As a collegian, Crabtree was a key backfield contributor for three Gators squads in 1927, 1928 and 1929 that finished 7–3, 8–1 and 8–2, respectively. All three squads ranked among the very best teams produced by the University of Florida through that time, including the great Gator eleven of 1928 whose achievements remained unsurpassed by future Gators football teams through the 1960s, and arguably, through the early 1990s. In 1928, Crabtree was fortunate to have two of the best offensive ends in the country as his primary passing targets, Dutch Stanley
and All-American Dale Van Sickel
, and was supported by the other three talented and speedy backs of the Gators' "Phantom Four" offensive backfield—Carl Brumbaugh
, Rainey Cawthon and Royce Goodbread
. In an era before national polling, the 1928 Gators attracted national newspaper coverage as they outscored their opponents 336–44, setting a new national record for points scored in a season; they finished 8–1, losing their final game to coach Robert Neyland
's Tennessee Volunteers
in Knoxville
by a single point, 13–12.
As a junior
in 1928, Crabtree received third-team All-American honors from the Associated Press
, the Newspaper Enterprise Association and United Press. Crabtree was also a star forward for the Florida Gators basketball
team in 1928 and 1929, and was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1976.
and Minneapolis Red Jackets of the NFL. He played in fifteen games, started in seven of them, and was responsible for scoring two touchdowns.
in education in 1934. He also earned a master's degree
in education in 1951. Crabtree served as a high school sports coach in several of the high schools of Palm Beach County
and Dade County, Florida, and later, as a school administrator.
He died of complications from diabetes in 1994; he was 88 years old.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player who was a halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
and quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
in the National Football League (NFL) for a single season in 1930. Crabtree played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Frankford Yellow Jackets
Frankford Yellow Jackets
The Frankford Yellow Jackets were a professional American football team, part of the National Football League from 1924 to 1931, though its origin dates back to as early as 1899 with the Frankford Athletic Association. The Yellow Jackets won the NFL championship in 1926...
and Minneapolis Red Jackets of the NFL.
Early years
Crabtree was born in Altoona, IowaAltoona, Iowa
Altoona is a city in Polk County, Iowa, United States and is a part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 15,583 at the 2010 census; a special census taken in August 2005 counted 13,301 residents....
in 1905. He attended J. Sterling Morton High School
J. Sterling Morton High School East
J. Sterling Morton High School East is a public secondary school located in Cicero, Illinois. Morton East is one of three schools in J. Sterling Morton High School District 201. Morton East is a sophomore through senior building, with future students attending the J. Sterling Morton Freshman...
, and played for the Morton Mustangs high school football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
team even though he was relatively short and slight of build.
College career
Crabtree first attended Northwestern UniversityNorthwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in Evanston, Illinois
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
, but dropped out after deciding that he did not like the social atmosphere of Northwestern. After his mother and stepfather moved to Florida, his parents convinced him to enroll in the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, where he played for coach Tom Sebring
Harold Sebring
Harold Leon "Tom" Sebring was a Florida Supreme Court justice, and an American judge at the Nuremberg Trials of German war criminals after World War II. Sebring was a native of Kansas and an alumnus of Kansas State Agricultural College...
and coach Charlie Bachman
Charlie Bachman
Charles William "Charlie" Bachman, Jr. was an American college football player and head coach. Bachman was an Illinois native and an alumnus of the University of Notre Dame, where he played college football...
's Florida Gators football
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...
teams from 1927 to 1929. He was a gifted athlete, and had the ambidextrous ability to punt or dropkick the ball off either foot while on the run, or throw a forward pass with either arm.
As a collegian, Crabtree was a key backfield contributor for three Gators squads in 1927, 1928 and 1929 that finished 7–3, 8–1 and 8–2, respectively. All three squads ranked among the very best teams produced by the University of Florida through that time, including the great Gator eleven of 1928 whose achievements remained unsurpassed by future Gators football teams through the 1960s, and arguably, through the early 1990s. In 1928, Crabtree was fortunate to have two of the best offensive ends in the country as his primary passing targets, Dutch Stanley
Dennis K. Stanley
Dennis Keith "Dutch" Stanley, Sr. was an American education professor, university administrator and intercollegiate sports coach. Stanley was a native of England, but graduated from high school in Florida...
and All-American Dale Van Sickel
Dale Van Sickel
Dale Harris Van Sickel was an American college football, basketball and baseball player during the 1920s, who later became a Hollywood motion picture actor and stunt performer for over forty years...
, and was supported by the other three talented and speedy backs of the Gators' "Phantom Four" offensive backfield—Carl Brumbaugh
Carl Brumbaugh
Carl Lowry Brumbaugh was an American college and professional football player who was a quarterback and halfback in the National Football League for nine seasons in the 1930s...
, Rainey Cawthon and Royce Goodbread
Royce Goodbread
Royce Ethelbert Goodbread was an American college and professional football player who was a halfback and wingback in the National Football League for two seasons in the early 1930s...
. In an era before national polling, the 1928 Gators attracted national newspaper coverage as they outscored their opponents 336–44, setting a new national record for points scored in a season; they finished 8–1, losing their final game to coach Robert Neyland
Robert Neyland
Robert Reese Neyland, MBE was an American football player and coach and and officer in the United States Army, reaching the rank of brigadier general. He served three stints as the head football coach as the University of Tennessee...
's Tennessee Volunteers
1928 Tennessee Volunteers football team
The 1928 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1928 college football season. Robert Neyland served his third year as head coach of the Volunteers. The 1928 Vols went 9–0–1 with a record of 6–0–1 in the Southern Conference. The...
in Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
by a single point, 13–12.
As a junior
Junior (education)
"Junior" is a term used in the United States to describe a student in their 3rd year of study . A Junior is considered an upperclassman...
in 1928, Crabtree received third-team All-American honors from the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, the Newspaper Enterprise Association and United Press. Crabtree was also a star forward for the Florida Gators basketball
Florida Gators men's basketball
The Florida Gators men's basketball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of basketball. The Gators compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and the Southeastern Conference...
team in 1928 and 1929, and was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1976.
Professional career
Crabtree played professional football for a single season in , playing for the now-defunct Frankford Yellow JacketsFrankford Yellow Jackets
The Frankford Yellow Jackets were a professional American football team, part of the National Football League from 1924 to 1931, though its origin dates back to as early as 1899 with the Frankford Athletic Association. The Yellow Jackets won the NFL championship in 1926...
and Minneapolis Red Jackets of the NFL. He played in fifteen games, started in seven of them, and was responsible for scoring two touchdowns.
Life after football
Crabtree returned to the University of Florida after his NFL career was over, and graduated with a bachelor's degreeBachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in education in 1934. He also earned a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in education in 1951. Crabtree served as a high school sports coach in several of the high schools of Palm Beach County
Palm Beach County, Florida
Palm Beach County is the largest county in the state of Florida in total area, and third in population. As of 2010, the county's estimated population was 1,320,134, making it the twenty-eighth most populous in the United States...
and Dade County, Florida, and later, as a school administrator.
He died of complications from diabetes in 1994; he was 88 years old.
See also
- 1928 College Football All-America Team1928 College Football All-America TeamThe 1928 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1928...
- Defunct National Football League franchises
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- Florida Gators football, 1920–1929
- List of Florida Gators football players
- List of University of Florida alumni