Eddie Crawford, Ole Miss’ last three-sport letterman, dies

Published 5:37 pm Sunday, July 9, 2017

Ole Miss has lost one of its sports legends.

Eddie Crawford, the school’s last three-sport letterman, died Sunday at the age of 82. Crawford spent his last days in Hospice care in Tupelo after battling Alzheimer’s disease.

Crawford starred in football, basketball and baseball for Ole Miss from 1954-56 and also ran track for one season. He was a starting halfback on Ole Miss’ Southeastern Conference championship teams in 1954 and 1955 and an All-SEC center fielder in 1956.

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He played one season of professional football after being drafted by the New York Giants before returning to Ole Miss in 1962 to begin what would be more than 50 years of service to the school. He was inducted into the Ole Miss Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.

Crawford’s most recent post was a part-time role as a special assistant to the athletic director after retiring from full-time work in 2005. He also served as the interim athletic director for three months in 1998, senior associate athletic director, associate athletic director for development and director of the Loyalty Foundation, now known as the Ole Miss Athletics Foundation.

He served as head men’s basketball coach from 1963-68 and was also a football assistant.

A native of Jackson, Tennessee, Crawford was also a member of three other Halls of Fame: the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame (2012), the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame (1996) and the Jackson-Madison County (Tennessee) Hall of Fame (1986).