Sen. Young: ‘More Hoosiers Should Know the Name George Crowe’
WASHINGTON D.C. — Five U.S. Senators, including Indiana’s Mike Braun and Todd Young, introduced a resolution that honors George Crowe, 100 years after he was born.
“More Hoosiers should know the name George Crowe,” said Senator Young. “He was an American hero, and he deserves this recognition.”
As a member of the Franklin High School boys basketball team in 1939, Crowe was Indiana’s first-ever “Mr. Basketball.”
He then attended Indiana Central College (which is now the University of Indianapolis), playing basketball and baseball, along with running track.
He served in the U.S. Army during World War II.
Crowe would go on to play in the Negro Leagues with the New York Black Yankees. When MLB allowed black players, Crowe joined the Boston Braves. He would also play for the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals. In 1958, he was an MLB all-star. Jackie Robinson, who broke baseball’s color barrier, described Crowe as “articulate.”
Off the field, he was a Civil Rights advocate.
“Indiana is proud of its native son George Crowe, who in addition to being Indiana’s first Mr. Basketball and a legend on the Major League baseball diamond, was also an advocate for civil rights off the field who should be celebrated on the 100th anniversary of his birth,” said Senator Braun.
The baseball field at Franklin was named after him shortly after he retired in 1961. Crowe died in 2011.
LISTEN TO THE ON-AIR VERSION OF THIS STORY:
