| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish name | Tadhg Ó Cruadhlaoich | ||
| Sport | Gaelic football | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Born | (1921-04-24)24 April 1921 Clonakilty,County Cork,Ireland | ||
| Died | 4 December 1963(1963-12-04) (aged 42) Clonakilty, County Cork, Ireland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
| Nickname | Tadhgo | ||
| Occupation | Van driver | ||
| Club | |||
| Years | Club | ||
1939–1957 | Clonakilty | ||
| Club titles | |||
| Cork titles | 7 | ||
| Inter-county | |||
| Years | County | Apps (scores) | |
1943–1949 | Cork | 15 (0–03) | |
| Inter-county titles | |||
| Munster titles | 3 | ||
| All-Irelands | 1 | ||
| NFL | 0 | ||
Timothy J. Crowley (24 April 1921 – 3 December 1963), also known asTadhgo Crowley, was an IrishGaelic football player and referee. Throughout his 18-year club career, he played for his hometown clubClonakilty, winning sevenCounty Championship titles during agolden age for the club; he also playedhurling for 'Clon', and had much success in theWest Cork Championship. At inter-county level, hecaptained theCork county team to the1945 All-Ireland Championship title; he had earlier won anAll-Ireland title as a member of the Cork minor hurling team in1939. As well as being a successful captain for club and county, Crowley ledMunster to win twoRailway Cups: in 1946 as captain, and in 1948. Towards the end of his career, he served as a referee at club and inter-county levels.
Crowley is widely considered one of the best players of his generation, and among the greatest of all time, as well as being regarded by many in the sport as Cork's greatest ever centre-back.[1] ACork Examiner obituary stated that his "high fetching, fearlessness, long kicking and clever anticipation put him in a class apart." Crowley is the youngest of Cork's seven All-Ireland-winning captains and was the first of those to accept theSam Maguire Cup. He was posthumously named in the centre-back position on the Cork Team of the Century in 1984 and the Cork Team of the Millennium in 2000.
Crowley joined theClonakilty club at a young age and was just out of the minor grade when he was added to the club's senior team.[2] Hisdebut championship season culminated with him lining out as midfield partner toMick Finn in the1939 county final. Crowley was described in newspaper reports as being one of the more "prominent" Clonakilty players, and he ended the game with his firstwinners' medal after a 0-07 to 0-05 win overBeara.
Crowley had just turned 21 years old when he was appointed club captain and it was in that role that he guided Clonakilty to the1942 county final against arch rivals of the timeFermoy. The 1-08 to 1-05 victory gave him a second county championship medal. It was the first of three successive defeats of Fermoy in finals, with Crowley acting as captain on each occasion.[3]
Crowley handed the team captaincy toDessie Cullinane for the1945 championship. However, four-in-a-row proved beyond Clonakilty after a defeat by Fermoy. Both sides clashed for the fifth consecutive year in the1946 county final. Crowley, who was described in theEvening Echo as being thematch winner, secured a fifth championship title after the 1-02 to 0-03 victory. Clonakilty qualified for a sixth successivecounty final the following year, with Crowley collecting a sixth winners' medal after the 2-05 to 1-04 win overSt. Nicholas'.
After appearing in six successive county finals, Clonakilty's form took a dip and it was the1952 decider when they next appeared. The 31-year-old Crowley was now regarded as a veteran of the team and had been switched from centre-back to the full-back line. However, he claimed a seventh championship medal after the 1-04 to 0-04 win overreigning championsCollins. This was his last big occasion with Clonakilty. After missing the1954 county final defeat by St. Nicholas', Crowley retired from club football after Clonakilty's exit from the1957 championship.
Crowley first appeared on the inter-county scene as a member of the Cork minor hurling team during the1939 Munster Minor Championship.[4] After scoring two goals on his debut in the semi-final win overLimerick, he was switched to midfield for the 8-03 to 0-2 win overClare in the final. Crowley retained the midfield berth for the rest of the championship and claimed anAll-Ireland medal as partner toÉamonn Young in the 5-02 to 2-02 defeat ofKilkenny in the final.[5]
Success withClonakilty at club level resulted in Crowley being selected for theCork senior football team for the1943 Munster Championship, while he also took over thecaptaincy of the team. After making his debut in a 2-03 to 0-09 draw withKerry, he later guided Cork to their firstMunster Championship title since1928 after a 1-07 to 1-04 defeat ofTipperary in thefinal.
After being dropped from the team the following year, Crowley earned a recall in 1945 while once again taking over the captaincy.[6] He also took up the centre-back position and it was from here that he guided Cork to a second Munster Championship title in three years after a 1-11 to 1-06 defeat of Kerry in thefinal. After giving what has been described as his best performance in theAll-Ireland semi-final againstGalway, Crowley subsequently captained Cork to their firstAll-Ireland Championship in34 years after a 2-05 to 0-07 win overCavan in the1945 All-Ireland final.[7][8][9] He was Cork's third All-Ireland-winning captain and the first to receive theSam Maguire Cup.
Cork surrendered their All-Ireland title at the first hurdle with a defeat by Kerry in the1946 Munster Championship, before losing back-to-back provincial finals to the same opposition over the following two years. Crowley was switched to the left corner-back position for the1949 Munster Championship and claimed a third winners' medal after a 3-06 to 0-07 win over Clare in thefinal. The subsequentAll-Ireland semi-final defeat by Cavan was Crowley's last championship game for Cork.
Crowley's performances for Cork in 1943 earned a call-up to theMunster team for the1944 Railway Cup. After being omitted from the team the following year, he was once again selected in 1946 and captained the team to a 3-05 to 1-09 defeat ofLeinster. The provincial team surrendered their title toUlster. However, Crowley claimed his second Railway Cup title in 1948 after a 4-05 to 2-06 win over Ulster in the final.[10]
Crowley was born inClonakilty,West Cork, the youngest of eight children born to John and Julia Crowley (née Twohig). After his education he worked as a van driver. Crowley married Sheila Crowley and they had two sons.
Crowley died at his home in Clonakilty on 3 December 1963, after suffering astroke while attending the weekly meeting of the Clonakilty Coursing Club. At just 42-years-old he was the third member of the 1945 All-Ireland-winning team to die.