[1] Crawford was born in Cardinal, Ontario, and played junior hockey in Vernon, near Ottawa,[2] winning the Shaver Cup with the team in 1910.

[4][6] Following the collapse of the NHA in 1917, the Bulldogs joined the newly formed National Hockey League, but chose not to operate in its first seasons.

[8] Completing the season in Toronto, Crawford and the Arenas won the Stanley Cup,[5] defeating the Pacific Coast Hockey Association's Vancouver Millionaires in a five-game series.

[9] The Arenas signed Crawford to a new contract before the 1918–19 season, a deal that was protested by Ottawa who claimed that they retained his rights since he was only given to Toronto on loan.

NHL president Frank Calder was required to arbitrate a resolution, and ordered the Toronto club to surrender one player of Ottawa's choice in exchange for Crawford.

[7] By the time he joined the Tigers, he was already considered one of the game's all-time great players,[11] and was regarded as one of the fastest skaters in Western Canada.

[15] Later on January 27 NHL president Frank Calder fined Crawford $25 for rough play based on referee Harvey Pulford's report.

[16] During the 1923–24 WCHL season Crawford, playing for the Calgary Tigers, was suspended one game by the league for assaulting Gordon Keats of the Edmonton Eskimos.