Crawford caught briefly in the Phillies' organization, then umpired around the Philadelphia
area to stay in the game. His slow, deliberate, strong calls and low crouch while
touching the catcher's back with his hands characterized his umpiring style. One
of the founders of the ML Umpires' Association, Crawford was asked to work the 1975
WS by umpire supervisor
Fred Fleig. Shag refused because it had been agreed that
the Series would use a rotation system for umpires.
According to Crawford, he was
fired for his refusal. "They said they retired me," he said, "but in my personal
opinion, they dumped me."
(RTM)