By Jon Weisman
Fifty years ago today, the Dodgers signed 17-year-old Fremont High School outfielder Willie Crawford to a bonus contract worth $100,000.
That might not seem so unusual in this era of seven-figure contracts for teenage amateur ballplayers. But less than three months later, just nine days after his 18th birthday, Crawford made his Major League debut with Los Angeles.
Crawford’s signing on June 22, 1964 was headline news in the Times, which cited assistant general manager Red Patterson as saying Crawford had “lucrative offers” from 16 MLB teams. The Times added that Crawford “has been clocked in 3.1 seconds going to first base,” which would be faster than Dee Gordon on his Little League home run last week.
Dodger scouts Al Campanis, Kenny Myers and Tom Lasorda worked as a team to sign the highly prized athlete at his parents’ home, 1447 E 69th St.
Even Charley Finley, the controversial owner of the Kansas City Athletics, made a last-minute personal appearance at Crawford’s home Sunday in an effort to sign him. …
… The club said it believed this was the highest bonus ever paid a Negro. It is the second highest ever paid out by the Dodgers, Frank Howard having received $107,000.
Here’s what Bruce Markusen wrote 10 years ago about Finley’s pursuit of Crawford.
Al Campanis filed a scouting report that said Crawford “hits with the power of Roberto Clemente and Tommy Davis at a similar age.” Kansas City As owner Charlie Finley lifted the level of praise even further, calling Crawford “a Willie Mays with the speed of Willie Davis.”
Finley liked Crawford so much that he gave the youngster a large, framed, signed portrait of himself, which eventually hung in the Crawford living room. Even more pertinently, Finley offered Crawford a bonus of $200,000 to play center field for his A’s — more than any previous bonus given to an African-American player. Crawford seemed genuinely intrigued by the advances of Finley, referring to him as “one of the nicest millionaires I know.”
Yet, Crawford turned down the millionaire’s offer, instead signing a $100,000 bonus contract with the Dodgers. As a native and resident of the Watts section of Los Angeles, Crawford simply didn’t feel comfortable about moving away from the California coast. He also found himself swayed by Dodgers scout (and future Hall of Fame manager) Tom Lasorda, who had taken the time to attend the funeral of Crawford’s grandfather.
Crawford batted .326 with 16 doubles, five triples and six homers for the Single-A Santa Barbara Rancheros in the summer of ’64, before being added to the big-league roster of the Dodgers, who were 73-73 and 15 games out of first place when Crawford took his first swings. He went 1 for 2 as a pinch-hitter, then singled twice, doubled and stole a base in his first start, September 29 against the Cubs.
The 6-foot-1 outfielder made cameo appearances for the Dodgers in 1965, 1966 and 1967, before essentially becoming a part-time player from 1968-72. Not until 1973, nearly a decade after his debut — though he was still only 26 — did Crawford get 500 plate appearances.
Sent to St. Louis in 1976 in a trade that brought back former Dodger teammate Ted Sizemore, Crawford was done in the Majors by age 31, playing his final game for Finley’s now-Oakland A’s. Crawford signed with the Dodgers ahead of Spring Training in 1978, but was released March 30 and died at age 57 in August 2004.
Though his Dodger career was ultimately unremarkable, the outpouring of memories at Dodger Thoughts (mostly lost to the Internet ether, though a few were captured by Kevin Roderick at L.A. Observed) in the wake of his passing 10 years ago still sticks with me.
oldbrooklynfan
For some reason Willy Crawford never lived up to the hype. We always thought that some day he would blossom but that never happened. It’s sad that he died at such a young age. He’s a Dodger with an unforgettable name.