Crawley was larger than life as athlete, official
His bigger-than-life aura made him a constant presence on football fields across the United States.
But Carl Crawley’s athletic, business and personal reach went far beyond football fields.
He is special in many ways. Crawley was a great athlete at Monessen High School, California University and in semi-professional football.
As a Greyhound he played five sports: football, basketball, baseball, track and field and volleyball. Crawley was the main cog in Monessen’s 1956 WPIAL and PIAA volleyball championships. He graduated from Monessen in 1957.
He was as adept as a 100-yard sprinter as he was in the shot put, exhibiting a rare combination of speed and strength.
“I did a little bit of everything,” said Crawley, now 81. “We won quite a few games at Monessen and California. We had a tremendous volleyball team at Monessen. I enjoyed the sport. We had fun and success. It took a lot of body control and you had to be able to jump. Winning that state championship in 1956 was special.”
He and his wife, Sara, are longtime residents of New Eagle. The couple has two daughters and three grandchildren.
After transferring from Dayton University to California State College, Crawley ran for a touchdown on his first carry as a Vulcans football player.
“Carl was always the leader, someone to look up to,” said Bob Burns, a high school, college and semi-pro football teammate of Crawley’s. “He always gave us direction and purpose. We were close since eighth grade.
“Carl excelled in whatever he did. He did everything the right way. He did well in every sport because of his leadership by example and his encouraging words. While he was a man of few words, when Carl spoke, we all listened carefully. He was just like his dad.”
Crawley’s legacy is more than just his athletic exploits and excellence.
Crawley was one of the top college football officials in the country.
He became an umpire for the old Major Independents – at that time it included Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia, Temple, Army, Navy, Notre Dame and others.
When the Big East Conference formed, Crawley was the head umpire, a member of the top crew.
He officiated many of the top New Year’s Day bowl games – two of which helped determine the NCAA champion.
At Cal, Crawley shined in baseball, basketball, and football. In 1960, he was selected the Pennsylvania Conference Lineman of the Year. He helped the 1960 Vulcans finish with a 7-1 record.
A year before, Crawley started his Vulcans career in dramatic style by running 75 yards for a touchdown the first time he touched the ball as the team’s fullback. He helped Cal to a 6-2 record that season.
“Carl was an excellent high school referee and then got his chance to work college games,” Burns said. “His (officiating) career just went up and up from there. He worked some incredible games and all the top bowl games.”
Crawley played for the Wheeling Ironmen, where he served as the team’s placekicker and a defensive linemen. He earned a spot on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ preseason roster and stayed there until the final cut. Crawley also spent some time in the Philadelphia Eagles’ organization.
He was a legend for Wheeling and then the Pittsburgh Ironmen where he enjoyed a tremendous semi-professional career, including being named Most Valuable Player in consecutive years.
Crawley, a member of several Hall of Fames, was inducted into the Minor Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012. He was inducted into the Mid Mon Valley Chapter of The Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1997 and California University Athletic Hall of Fame (2001).
Making the calls
Tom Stabile and Pat Ratesic were two of the top officials in Western Pennsylvania and beyond.
Both were trained, mentored and befriended by Crawley and the late Gene Steratore Sr., the latter a high-level college football and basketball referee.
“Carl was always supportive of my career,” Stabile said. “He would always provide some comments and little suggestions. I was a young official in the WPIAL and Carl was already a distinguished umpire in Division I. He was as good as any person I ever officiated with.
“He was always in charge and he was so without yelling or screaming. He just had that look and that presence about him that you knew he was in control.”
Stabile recalled a time when he and Crawley worked a game at WVU, and they stopped at a Morgantown area fast-food restaurant to grab a quick meal.
“I walked over, and they had this picture framed on the wall,” Stabile explained. “Carl was a humble guy. He let his work speak for itself. He told me to go look at the picture. It was an action shot of a WVU player. But clearly in the picture was Carl intently working the game and looking at the action. He was proud of the work he did.”
One of Ratesic’s fondest memories of Crawley was from a trip to the annual officials’ clinic. Ratesic rode with Steratore, Crawley and the late Walter Malinchak.
“They’d ask you about 100 questions regarding the rules at the clinic,” recalled Ratesic, who also was a high school administrator and former president and vice president of the WPIAL.
“Gene was asking the questions in the car. Here I am with these well-established officials. I’m just laughing my (butt) off.
“Carl then took me in. We worked on the same crew a couple of years. I got to know his family. Carl was just so calm and in control. I was honored to work with him. He was the man.”
Both Stabile and Ratesic believe Crawley should have been an NFL official. His performance and body of work warranted such stature.
“Carl could have and should have been an NFL official,” Ratesic said. “There were few African-American officials then. Carl could have helped in that area.”
Crawley has an explanation.
He feels he was lied to by the NFL, which told potential professional football officials that working in the USFL would preclude them of ever working in the NFL.
Crawley made the decision to not officiate in the short-lived league to preserve his possible opportunity to officiate in the NFL.
Once the USFL went defunct, the NFL did hire officials from the USFL.
Crawley felt he was misled. He and his family decided he would not apply to officiate in the NFL.
That reality, while reached by Crawley himself, doesn’t sit well today.
“They (NFL) told us not to work in the USFL,” Crawley said.
“They said if we did, we’d never be accepted to the NFL. I decided not to go and then some guys who were referees in the USFL ended up working in the NFL.”
Sara Crawley added that the NFL later sent a letter of apology to her husband.
“It was too late then,” she said. “The nerve to write they were sorry.”
She added that her husband’s officiating career was one of pride for the entire family and that they had been blessed to enjoy many New Years on the road at almost every major bowl game.
“We were blessed,” she said.
Crawley started his officiating career in 1967. He worked high school games for six years and became a college official in 1973.
Crawley was the umpire in the 1997 Rose Bowl when Arizona State lost to Ohio State. The Sun Devils could have laid claim to the national championship with a victory.
Crawley also officiated the 1995 Orange Bowl, the national championship game for the 1994 season. Nebraska topped Miami to win the national title.
In addition, he became a technical advisor and evaluator for the Big East and Atlantic 10 conferences. In all, Crawley served as a Division I referee for 19 years.
“Carl is a humble guy,” Ratesic said. “He was a hell of an athlete. He could have played professional baseball. He’d hit those rising line drive home runs. He has a beautiful family.
“There’s no downside to Carl Crawley.”
The last whistle
Crawley remains president of the Rams Club, a group that helps raise money for the benefit of Ringgold Rams students. He credits several people and area businesses for helping the fundraising efforts and singled out Joe Ravasio and Chuck Smith for their help, assistance and time.
In his younger days, Crawley was active in the community as a coach in the Monongahela Midget Football League for several years, and was Joe Montana’s first football coach.
The two families have remained friends.
Crawley also served on the Board of Directors of Mon-Vale Health Resources, Inc., parent company of Monongahela Valley Hospital, Inc., and was appointed to the hospital’s Board of Trustees in 1997. He was also chairman of the Civil Service Commission in New Eagle, a Trustee of Ebenezer Baptist Church, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Mon Valley Football and Basketball Officials Association.
Crawley was vice president for sales and marketing for the Jones Brewing Company of Smithton and had been with the company for nearly 40 years.
“Carl was a big guy,” Stabile said. “He just had that look and control about him. We are friends to this day. We’ve lost some good friends. To me, Carl Crawley is bigger than life.”