Biography
Centre forward Crawshaw joined Hull City in September 1946 and had a short Tigers career that will forever inhabit a small niche in the annals of the club’s history. Crawshaw had the distinction of scoring the club’s first goal at its new Boothferry Park home, in the Tigers’ second home game of the 1946/47 season against Crewe Alexandra – the first home game against Lincoln City had ended 0-0. Crawshaw also scored in the next game, a 1-3 defeat at Southport, but despite this goal-a-game record he never played again for the Tigers, leaving the club in October 1946 and returning to Stalybridge Celtic.
Cyril Crawshaw was born in Barton Upon Irwell, a village near Salford in Greater Manchester where a fine steel aqueduct carries the Bridgewater Canal over the Manchester Ship Canal and River Irwell. He began his career in local football before joining Lancashire Combination side Rossendale United in November 1935, within two months he was attracting the attention of several Football League clubs. In November 1936 he moved to Division Three North Rochdale where he made two senior appearances against Oldham Athletic and Port Vale in December 1936, but was back at Rossendale United after a few months. Crawshaw stayed with Rossendale until April 1938 when he transferred to Lancashire Combination rivals Fleetwood.
A month later in May 1938 Crawshaw was transferred to Dumfries-based Scottish Division One side Queen of the South in return for a £100 fee. Cyril made three starts for the Doonhamers’ first team during the 1938/39 season as well as scoring freely for the Reserves side. This form encouraged Division Three South side Exeter City to sign Crawshaw in July 1939 but his career at St James Park was curtailed when World War Two was declared two months later. Cyril occasionally played for Macclesfield and Queen of the South during the war before returning to Exeter late in 1945 and making one December 1945 appearance in the FA Cup against Newport County, scoring the Grecians consolation goal in a 1-3 defeat. By the end of the 1945/46 season Cyril had returned to the North West and briefly played for Stalybridge Celtic.
When Crawshaw left the Tigers in late October 1946 he returned to Cheshire League side Stalybridge Celtic and announced his arrival with a hattrick against Wellington. In March 1947 he moved to divisional rivals Ashton United and appeared to retire at the end of the 1946/47 season.
Crawshaw returned to the area of his birth and died in Worsley, a few miles north of Barton Upon Irwell, in January 2003.
Details
Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 2 March 1916, Barton Upon Irwell
Hull City First Game: 2 September 1946, Crewe Alexandra H (Division Three North), 30 years, 184 days old
Hull City Final Game: 7 September 1946, Southport A (Division Three North), 30 years, 189 days old
Clubs
Rossendale United (1935-1936), Rochdale (1936-1937), Rossendale United (1937-1938), Fleetwood (1938), Queen of the South (1938-1939), Exeter City (1939-1946), Stalybridge Celtic (1946), Hull City (1946), Stalybridge Celtic (1946-1947), Ashton United (1947)
Hull City Record
Career: 2 apps, 2 goals
Cyril Crawshaw| Season | LGE App | LGE Gls | FAC App | FAC Gls | FLC App | FLC Gls | EUR App | EUR Gls | OTH App | OTH Gls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946/47 | 2 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |