He played in the major leagues with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1964–1975), St. Louis Cardinals (1976), Houston Astros (1977) and Oakland Athletics (1977).

He batted and threw left-handed, and was the father of UCLA football player Willie Crawford who graduated from Beverly Hills High School in 1988.

Because of the Bonus Rule in existence at the time, Crawford had to play for the Dodgers' major league team in both 1964 and 1965.

As a major league baseball player, defensively, he played in a shallow manner, so as to cut down on potential Texas Leaguers.

His career numbers included 507 runs, 152 doubles, 35 triples, 47 stolen bases, and 431 walks for a .349 on-base percentage.

At age 57, Willie Crawford died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, apparently of kidney disease.