.jpg) Fred Crolius on the 1898 Dartmouth football team | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1876-12-16)December 16, 1876 Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | August 25, 1960(1960-08-25) (aged 84) Ormond Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1895–1898 | Dartmouth |
| 1901 | Homestead Library & Athletic Club |
| 1902 | Pittsburgh Stars |
| Baseball | |
| 1896–1899 | Dartmouth |
| 1901 | Boston Beaneaters |
| 1902 | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| Position(s) | Halfback (football) Outfielder (baseball) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1899 | Bowdoin |
| 1900 | MIT |
| 1902 | Western U. of Pennsylvania |
| 1904–1911 | Villanova |
| Baseball | |
| 1905–1911 | Villanova |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 22–50–6 (college football) 116–45–5 (college baseball) |
| Fred Crolius | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born:(1876-04-19)April 19, 1876 Jersey City, New Jersey | |
| Died: August 25, 1960(1960-08-25) (aged 84) Ormond Beach, Florida | |
Batted: Unknown Threw: Unknown | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 19, 1901, for the Boston Beaneaters | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| August 30, 1902, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| MLB statistics | |
| At Bats | 238 |
| Hits | 58 |
| RBIs | 20 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Player Manager
| |
Frederick Joseph Crolius (December 16, 1876 – August 25, 1960) was anAmerican football andbaseball player and coach. He was the first player fromTufts University to playMajor League Baseball. He was at Tufts in 1894, and atDartmouth College, where he also playedcollege football, from 1896 until 1899. He spent two years in majors with theBoston Beaneaters and thePittsburgh Pirates. Crolius also played pro football with the independentHomestead Library & Athletic Club and thePittsburgh Stars of thefirst National Football League.[1] He later served as a coach of both sports after his playing career ended.
At age 24, he broke into the big leagues on April 19, 1901, with theBoston Beaneaters. Crolius served as the team's fourth outfielder, playing mostlyright field, where he backed upJimmy Slagle. In 1901, his rookie year, he held abatting average of .240 with 1home run and 13RBIs. On July 22, 1901, Crolius had four hits which led to three runs scored in a 16–3 win over theChicago Cubs.
In his second year in the majors, Crolius played for thePittsburgh Pirates for nine games in 1902, before ending his baseball career. In 1906 he was made ineligible to play with any National club by theNational Association of Professional Baseball Leagues due to a contract dispute with aminor league club fromToronto.[2]
In 1898 Fred Crolius was the captain of the Dartmouth football team. He was considered one of the besthalfbacks in the game, but received little notice from the media, since Dartmouth was historically seen as having a weak football program.[3]
In 1901 as a member of the Homestead Library & Athletic Club, located nearPittsburgh, Crolius served as the team's halfback. That year, he scored the tyingtouchdown against theBlondy Wallace'sPhiladelphia Athletic Club. Homestead won the game 6–5; touchdowns were worth five points in 1901.[4]
In 1902, Crolius served as a halfback on thePittsburgh Stars, a member offirst National Football League that was suspected of being financed by baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates.[5] During the 1902 season, the Stars won the league championship.[1]
After his playing career, Crolius served as the coach theVillanova Wildcats baseball team from 1905 until 1911. While with Villanova, acquired a 116–45–5 record.[6] He also served as the manager of theLancaster Red Roses, where he guided the team to a 70–58 record in 1906.[7]
In 1899, he also served as the head coach for theBowdoin College football team. He guided Bowdoin to a 2–6 record.[8] In 1902, Crolius was the head coach of thePittsburgh Panthers football team. That year the team racked up a 5–6–1 record.[9] Crolius then coached theVillanova Wildcats to an 18–38–5 record between 1904 and 1911.
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowdoin Polar Bears(Independent)(1899) | |||||||||
| 1899 | Bowdoin | 2–6 | |||||||
| Bowdoin: | 2–6 | ||||||||
| Western University of Pennsylvania(Independent)(1902) | |||||||||
| 1902 | Western University of Pennsylvania | 5–6–1 | |||||||
| Western University of Pennsylvania: | 5–6–1 | ||||||||
| Villanova Wildcats(Independent)(1904–1911) | |||||||||
| 1904 | Villanova | 4–2–1 | |||||||
| 1905 | Villanova | 3–7 | |||||||
| 1906 | Villanova | 3–7 | |||||||
| 1907 | Villanova | 1–5–1 | |||||||
| 1908 | Villanova | 1–6 | |||||||
| 1909 | Villanova | 3–2 | |||||||
| 1910 | Villanova | 0–4–2 | |||||||
| 1911 | Villanova | 0–5–1 | |||||||
| Villanova: | 15–38–5 | ||||||||
| Total: | 22–50–6 | ||||||||
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by None | Lancaster Red Roses Managers 1906 | Succeeded by |