Missouri State

PHIL CRAWFORD
Football, Basketball and Track, 1938-42
Inducted February 28, 1987

Phil Crawford was a three-sport letterman at Missouri State between 1938 and 1942, including membership on MSU football teams in the 1938-1941 era that represent the best level of success over any four-year period in Bruin grid history. Coach Howard Blair was then at the beginning of his seven-year run as the Bears head mentor and his first four teams chalked up a combined mark of 31-5-3 in the four seasons in which Crawford lettered. That included the unbeaten MIAA championship team of 1940 along with two other squads which finished second in the conference. Crawford grabbed a pair of touchdown passes in the Bears 25-21 win over Hastings College in 1939, with the second TD providing the margin of victory for MSU. A native of Jasper, Crawford was a key member of the 1940 MSU juggernaut which outscored its opposition 279-20 and outgained the foes 2428 yards to 705 over 10 games. A hard-running halfback and defensive back, he was a regular his last three seasons for the grid Bears. The basketball Bears of Andy McDonald enjoyed three winning seasons in that span with Crawford also a four-year letterman on the hardwoods. MSU finished as the MIAA runnerup in 1939 and 1942. Crawford operated at the guard position and was a starter on the 1941 MSU team which defeated the University of Missouri in the first game ever played in McDonald Arena. He also lettered in track four years as a pole vaulter, long jumper and relay participant.