Early Years
In September 1899, Grand Rapids sold Crawford to the Cincinnati Reds. Crawford played in 31 games for the Reds at the end of the 1899 season. At age 19, and just one year removed from his days playing for Wahoo's traveling team, Crawford was playing in the major leagues with future Hall of Famers Jake Beckley and Bid McPhee. Crawford took advantage of the opportunity, hitting .307 in 31 games with the Reds in 1899. In 1900, at age 20, Crawford played in 101 games and was among the National League leaders in triples with 15 and home runs with 7.
Crawford proved to be one of the best sluggers in baseball in 1901, batting .330 and hitting a major league leading 16 home runs. Crawford was also 3rd in the National League in triples (16), RBIs (104), and slugging percentage (.524). Crawford had another solid year in 1902, leading the National League in total bases (256) and triples (22), and placing second in batting average (.333), slugging percentage (.461), and extra base hits (43). Crawford hit a remarkable 12 inside-the-park home runs in 1901 – a major league record that has never been equaled. He also holds the career record with 51 inside-the-park home runs.

Cincinnati Reds: 1899-1902
At the end of 1902, a bidding war for players developed between the National and American Leagues. Crawford signed contracts with both the Reds and the Detroit Tigers. The competing contracts led to a publicized legal dispute, with a judge ultimately awarding Crawford to the Tigers but requiring $3,000 in compensation to the Reds.
Crawford joined the Tigers for the 1903 season and remained there until the end of his major league career in 1917. In 1903, he led the American League with 25 triples, and finished second in the batting race with a .335 batting average.
With the addition of Ty Cobb at the end of the 1905 season, the Tigers had two of the best hitters in baseball. Cobb and Crawford led Detroit to three straight American League pennants in 1907, 1908, and 1909, but both of them slumped in their World Series appearances, contributing to the Tigers' losses in back-to-back-to-back World Series. Crawford hit for a .243 average in three World Series, and Cobb hit an uncharacteristic .200 in the 1907 World Series and .231 in the 1909 World Series.
Although Crawford never got to play in another World Series, he remained one of the most feared hitters in baseball through 1915. In 1911, he hit a career-high .378 with 115 RBIs and 57 extra base hits. From 1913-1915, Crawford played in 472 consecutive games for the Tigers. In another remarkable feat, Crawford was among the American League leaders in hits, RBIs, extra base hits, slugging percentage, and total bases every year from 1905-1915. He led the American League in triples five times, including an American League record 26 triples in 1914. Crawford remains the all-time major league leader with 309 triples in his career.
Though his fielding suffered in his later years, Crawford was an excellent fielder in his prime. In 1905, he led all American League outfielders with a .988 fielding percentage –35 points higher than the league average. And in 1900, his range factor was 2.68 – 55 points higher than the league average of 2.13.
In 1916, the Tigers began transitioning the right field responsibilities from Crawford to their young hitting star, Harry Heilmann. That year, Crawford played 78 games in right field, and Heilmann played 66. Despite leading the league in both RBIs (112) and extra base hits (54) in 1915, Crawford saw his plate appearances cut almost in half in 1916 (from 694 to 368) as the Tigers made room in the lineup for Heilmann.
In 1917, Crawford lost his spot in the lineup altogether and was relegated principally to a pinch-hitting role. In his new limited role, Crawford did not fare well, batting .173 in 104 at bats. At the end of the 1917 season, Crawford was released and did not play again in Major League Baseball.

Detroit Tigers: 1903-1917
Despite being discarded by the Tigers, Crawford was not ready to quit playing. He joined the Los Angeles Angels in the Pacific Coast League, helping them to win league championships in 1918 and 1921. Perhaps hoping to show the Tigers were wrong in casting him aside, Crawford exploded on the scene for the Angels, as he got two hits, stole a base, and threw out two runners in his first game. [6] Crawford played four seasons for the Angels (1918-1921). In 1919, he hit .360 with 239 hits, 41 doubles, 18 triples, 14 home runs, and 14 stolen bases. He collected another 239 hits, 46 doubles, and 21 triples in 1920, and even in 1921 managed 199 hits and 44 doubles.
Crawford decided to stay in Southern California, and in 1924, he accepted a position as the head coach of the University of Southern California baseball team. Crawford was the USC baseball coach from 1924-1929 and was instrumental in the development of the California Intercollegiate Baseball Association in 1927. He led USC to a second-place finishes in his last two seasons. Crawford was 59-46-3 as the USC coach and 55-33 against other college teams. [7]
Crawford later worked as an umpire in the Pacific Coast League from 1935-1938. Crawford found it to be a thankless job and a lonely life, and quit after four years. (Lawrence Ritter, "The Glory of Their Times," pp. 55-56)

Player, Coach and Umpire in California: 1918-1936
Sam Crawford and Ty Cobb were teammates for parts of thirteen seasons. They played beside each other in right and center field, and Crawford followed Cobb in the batting order year after year. Despite the physical closeness, the two had a complicated relationship.
Initially, they had a student-teacher relationship. Crawford was an established star when Cobb arrived, and Cobb eagerly sought his advice. In interviews with Al Stump, Cobb told of studying Crawford's base stealing technique and of how Crawford would teach him about pursuing fly balls and throwing out base runners. Cobb told Stump he would always remember Crawford's kindness. (Al Stump, Cobb: The Life and Times of the Meanest Man Who Ever Played Baseball (1994), pp. 58-60)
The student-teacher relationship gradually changed to one of jealous rivals. Cobb was not popular with his teammates, and as Cobb became the biggest star in baseball, Crawford was unhappy with the preferential treatment given to Cobb. Cobb was allowed to show up late for spring training and was given private quarters on the road – perks not offered to Crawford. The competition between the two was intense. Crawford recalled that, if he went three for four on a day when Cobb went hitless, Cobb would turn red and sometimes walk out of the park with the game still on. When it was initially (and erroneously) reported that Nap Lajoie had won the batting title, Crawford was alleged to have been one of several Tigers who sent a telegram to Lajoie congratulating him on beating Cobb.
In retirement, Cobb wrote a letter to a writer for The Sporting News accusing Crawford of not helping in the outfield and of intentionally fouling off balls when Cobb was stealing a base. Crawford learned about the letter in 1946 and accused Cobb of being a "cheapskate" who never helped his teammates. He said that Cobb had not been a very good fielder, "so he blamed me." Crawford denied intentionally trying to deprive Cobb of stolen bases, insisting that Cobb had "dreamed that up." (Stump, Cobb, pp. 190-191)
When asked about the feud, Cobb attributed it to jealousy. He felt that Crawford was "a hell of a good player," but he was "second best" on the Tigers and "hated to be an also ran." Cobb biographer Richard Bak noted that the two "only barely tolerated each other" and agreed with Cobb that Crawford's attitude was driven by Cobb's having stolen Crawford's thunder. (Richard Bak, Peach (2005), p. 38)
Although they may not have spoken to each other, Cobb and Crawford developed an uncanny ability to communicate nonverbally with looks and nods on the base paths. They became one of the most successful double steal pairings in baseball history.
After Cobb died, a reporter found hundreds of letters in Cobb's home answering letters Cobb had written to influential people lobbying for Crawford's induction into the Hall of Fame. Crawford was reportedly unaware of Cobb's efforts until after Cobb had died. (Richard Bak, Peach, p. 176)

The Crawford-Cobb Rivalry
Crawford was finally elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1957. At the time, Crawford was living in a little cabin on the edge of the Mojave Desert near Pearblossom, California. Reporters showed up in Pearblossom with the news, shocking the locals who were unaware that their neighbor had even played Major League Baseball. After his election, Crawford told the curator in Cooperstown that he wanted his plaque to read, "Wahoo Sam." He noted: "That's my hometown, and I'm proud of it." [8]
In retirement, he became somewhat reclusive, staying away from official baseball functions. In 1962, he was interviewed by Lawrence Ritter for his book The Glory of Their Times, a series of interviews with the players of the early 20th Century. Crawford's tales of Tiger teammates such as Cobb, Cincinnati teammates like deaf player William "Dummy" Hoy, and opponents such as Wagner helped to make the book one of the most admired ever written about baseball.
Crawford spent much of his later years working in his garden and reading. During the Ritter interviews, Crawford quoted from the works of philosopher George Santayana and abolitionist Robert Ingersoll, and discussed the works of one of his favorite writers, Honoré de Balzac. As for how he hoped to be remembered, Crawford said: "When I kick off they'll say, 'Well, good old Sam, he wasn't such a bad guy after all. Everything considered, he was pretty fair and square. We'll miss him.'" (Lawrence Ritter, "The Glory of Their Times," p. 69)
Crawford suffered a stroke on May 26, 1968, and died two weeks later at Hollywood Community Hospital in Los Angeles at age 88. He was interred in the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California. In 1999, he ranked Number 84 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

Career Statistics

List of major league players with 2,000 hits
List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples
List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
List of Major League Baseball home run champions
List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions