George Crowther (American football)
Encyclopedia
George M. "Kid" Crowther (October 3, 1891 - July 1963) was an American football
player. He was named the consensus All-American at quarterback in 1912.
, Crowther enrolled at Brown University
where he played three years of varsity football. He was Brown's starting quarterback from 1910–1912. He scored 77 points on 14 touchdowns and a field goal during his career at Brown. Crowther was considered "a slippery runner with good speed." Crowther did not wear a helmet and instead played with a white elastic band around his head.
Various accounts indicate that he weighed between 130 and 135 pounds while playing football at Brown. He received the nickname "Kid" because of his small size. In a game against Harvard
in 1912, the Harvard coach suggested that the diminutive Crowther should be removed for the game "for his own safety," and Crowther responded with a 48-yard run for a touchdown in the game. Crowther's run was Brown's only touchdown against Harvard; one newspaper described the play as follows: "The last period was played in twilight and it was then that Crowther, the Brown quarter back, ran half the length of the field for Brown's only touchdown."
Crowther also handled kickoff and punt returns for Brown, and in 1911 he tied the Brown record for the longest kickoff return with a 110-yard return against UMass. Crowther also had other long runs, including a 65-yard kickoff return against Bowdoin. He also led Brown to a 30–7 win over Penn, Crowther reportedly "returned punts like a demon, and crisply directed four touchdown drives that had the fans at old Andrews Field delirious with joy." At the end of the 1912 season, Crowthers was selected as a first-team All-American at the quarterback position by Walter Camp
(for Collier's Weekly
) and W.J. MacBeth.
Crowther also played baseball at Brown and later in semi-professional leagues around New England.
Crowther graduated from Brown in 1913. He later recalled playing against Jim Thorpe
in a Thanksgiving Day game against the Carlisle Indian School. He described Thorpe as the "best I ever played against."
Crowther lived in Fitchburg, Massachusetts in his later years. His wife, Elizabeth Crowther, died in September 1962. Crowther died less than a year later in July 1963.
Crowther was posthumously inducted into the Brown University Hall of Fame in 1972.
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. He was named the consensus All-American at quarterback in 1912.
Biography
A native of Fitchburg, MassachusettsFitchburg, Massachusetts
Fitchburg is the third largest city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,318 at the 2010 census. Fitchburg is home to Fitchburg State University as well as 17 public and private elementary and high schools.- History :...
, Crowther enrolled at Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
where he played three years of varsity football. He was Brown's starting quarterback from 1910–1912. He scored 77 points on 14 touchdowns and a field goal during his career at Brown. Crowther was considered "a slippery runner with good speed." Crowther did not wear a helmet and instead played with a white elastic band around his head.
Various accounts indicate that he weighed between 130 and 135 pounds while playing football at Brown. He received the nickname "Kid" because of his small size. In a game against Harvard
Harvard Crimson football
The Harvard Crimson football program represents Harvard University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision . Harvard's football program is one of the oldest in the world, having begun competing in the sport in 1873...
in 1912, the Harvard coach suggested that the diminutive Crowther should be removed for the game "for his own safety," and Crowther responded with a 48-yard run for a touchdown in the game. Crowther's run was Brown's only touchdown against Harvard; one newspaper described the play as follows: "The last period was played in twilight and it was then that Crowther, the Brown quarter back, ran half the length of the field for Brown's only touchdown."
Crowther also handled kickoff and punt returns for Brown, and in 1911 he tied the Brown record for the longest kickoff return with a 110-yard return against UMass. Crowther also had other long runs, including a 65-yard kickoff return against Bowdoin. He also led Brown to a 30–7 win over Penn, Crowther reportedly "returned punts like a demon, and crisply directed four touchdown drives that had the fans at old Andrews Field delirious with joy." At the end of the 1912 season, Crowthers was selected as a first-team All-American at the quarterback position by Walter Camp
Walter Camp
Walter Chauncey Camp was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". With John Heisman, Amos Alonzo Stagg, Pop Warner, Fielding H. Yost, and George Halas, Camp was one of the most accomplished persons in the early history of American football...
(for Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly was an American magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957. With the passage of decades, the title was shortened to Collier's....
) and W.J. MacBeth.
Crowther also played baseball at Brown and later in semi-professional leagues around New England.
Crowther graduated from Brown in 1913. He later recalled playing against Jim Thorpe
Jim Thorpe
Jacobus Franciscus "Jim" Thorpe * Gerasimo and Whiteley. pg. 28 * americaslibrary.gov, accessed April 23, 2007. was an American athlete of mixed ancestry...
in a Thanksgiving Day game against the Carlisle Indian School. He described Thorpe as the "best I ever played against."
Crowther lived in Fitchburg, Massachusetts in his later years. His wife, Elizabeth Crowther, died in September 1962. Crowther died less than a year later in July 1963.
Crowther was posthumously inducted into the Brown University Hall of Fame in 1972.