Leonard George Crawley
(26 July 1903 ? 9 July 1981) was an English
sportsman
and later
journalist
. He was most accomplished at
golf
and
cricket
as detailed below, but also played
tennis
to a very high standard and was an excellent ice-skater, a good
rackets
player and a fine shot.
[1]
[2]
Golf
[
edit
]
| This section
needs expansion
. You can help by
adding to it
.
(
July 2008
)
|
Crawley was a very accomplished
golfer
, playing four times in the
Walker Cup
and winning the
English Amateur
in 1931, and after retiring from playing sport he spent a quarter of a century as golf correspondent for the
Daily Telegraph
.
[2]
As correspondent for the
Daily Telegraph
newspaper, Crawley was the only British journalist present at
Hazeltine National Golf Club
in 1970 when
Tony Jacklin
became the first Briton to win the
U.S. Open
since 1924. Crawley accompanied Jacklin during the tournament and became increasingly conscious of his responsibility as Jacklin improved his lead with each passing day. "By God, I have all England at my feet" he was heard to say.
[3]
He played for Cambridge University v Oxford University in 1925.
He won the
English Amateur Championship
in 1931, and was a beaten finalist (at 37th) in 1934 and 1937.
Won the Presidents Putter in 1932,1947,1951 and 1952.
Won the
Worplesdon Mixed Foursomes
in 1937 with
Molly Heppel
and in 1949 and 1950 with
Frances Stephens
Won the London Amateur Foursomes with
Philip Scrutton
in 1952.
Won the
Berkshire Trophy
in 1948.
Runner-up in the
French Open
in 1937.
Played for Great Britain & Ireland in the Walker Cup in 1932, 1934, 1938, and 1947.
Played for England in the Home International Matches in 1931-32-33-34-36-37-46-47-48-49.
Won numerous amateur events in the 1930s and 1940s and many medals in the Royal and Ancient Golf club's Spring and Autumn meetings. Was a member of numerous Harrovian winning
Halford Hewitt
sides.
In 1932 he received an enquiry as to his availability to go to Australia on the M.C.C. Tour (the Bodyline Series) but had to decline as he had already been selected for the Walker Cup match at Brookline, at which he was the only British player to score a point.
Cricket
[
edit
]
After some excellent performances for the
Harrow
XI, including a century against
Eton
at
Lord's
in 1921,
[1]
Crawley made his
first-class
debut for
Worcestershire
against
Somerset
in early August 1922, even before he had appeared for
Cambridge
.
[4]
Although he did little in that game, against
Glamorgan
a few days later he ? named as captain ? made 91 out of 198 in Worcestershire's first innings.
[5]
In 1923 Crawley appeared regularly for Cambridge, fitting his Worcestershire appearances around those for the university, and he had a very successful year, ending with 801 first-class runs (his highest season's aggregate) at an
average
of 44.50. His three games for Worcestershire in August included his maiden hundred: a knock of 161 against
Northamptonshire
at
Worcester
. In this game he shared a third-wicket stand of 304 with
William Fox
;
[6]
however,
Marylebone Cricket Club
(MCC) declared both Crawley and Fox's qualifications to play for the county invalid.
[2]
Fox was to play on for Worcestershire after a two-season break, but Crawley left the county at the end of the summer.
Crawley went with MCC to the
Caribbean
in the winter of 1925?26, although as
West Indies
had yet to attain
Test
status this was not considered a major tour, and he played no first-class games. Upon his return he joined
Essex
, with whom he remained until the end of his county career. Although he never turned out for more than a few games each summer, he produced some notable feats of batting, such as the second-innings 176
not out
he hit, under pressure of time, to beat
Sussex
in 1927.
[1]
Crawley's highest score of 222 was made in 1928 against Glamorgan, although this was a drawn game in which the teams' combined first innings approached a thousand.
[7]
A more impressive feat came in July 1936 (not 1937 as his
Wisden
obituary states) when he played his first match of the season (again against Glamorgan). In this game he made 118 in an innings where no other batsman passed 18.
[8]
The effort involved, however, meant that he was unable to bat in the second innings.
This was in fact to be the last century of his career, as he effectively retired at the end of the season, save only for one final outing, for MCC against Cambridge, in 1939.
[9]
A number of Crawley's relatives played first-class cricket: the most significant of these was his cousin
Aidan Crawley
, who played 87 first-class matches, mostly between 1927 and 1932.
Golf team appearances
[
edit
]
Amateur
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Media related to
Leonard Crawley
at Wikimedia Commons