Jim Crawford was a rugged performer at West Fannin
By Mike Harper
West Fannin High School first opened its doors to students in the autumn of 1955. The school fielded the first football team in the history of Fannin County athletics that same year. West Fannin would continue to sponsor football teams for 21 years until the establishment of Fannin County High School in 1976.
The West Fannin grid squads posted an overall record of 82 victories, 115 losses and 11 ties during the 21 years of competition. The best individual season record was 6-3-1, a mark that was reached four times in 1965. This year’s Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame (FCSHOF) inductee Jim Crawford was a member of the 1963 and 1965 teams.
Jim Crawford was a rugged performer for the Yellow Jackets, always in the middle of the action on both offense and defense. He played both ways, at center when his teams possessed the ball and at linebacker when the Jackets were on defense. He was a backup to team captain John Harper and Tommy Callihan during his sophomore and junior years, and was a starter and co-captain throughout his senior season of 1965.
After the relatively successful 1963 season, fans were optimistic as the Yellow Jackets embarked on their 1964 campaign. The season proved disappointing but Jim Crawford began to emerge as a factor in the limited success of that team, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.
Crawford was promoted to the starting offensive and defensive teams as the winless 1964 team journeyed to Murray County for the ninth game of the season. He was cited for his strong defensive play in this contest, leading the Jackets to a 13-7 victory. He remained with the starting 11 as the Jackets prepared to face the arch-rival Copper Basin Cougars in the final game of the season. A victory would serve to heal some of the wounds of the battered Jackets.
On the chilly evening of November 6, the Cougars arrived to face West Fannin in front of the biggest crowd of the year. Scoring the first two times they got the ball; the Cougars gave every indication of making a long season longer for the Jackets who entered the game with a record of 1-8. Basin was 5-3 for the year. Crawford saved the day, however, when he intercepted a pass near midfield just before halftime returning the pigskin to the Basin 20 yard line. The Jackets found the endzone in two plays to close the gap to six points and seize the momentum heading into the second half. West Fannin scored the winning touchdown and converted the extra point in the third quarter to capture a hard-earned 13-12 victory. The Copper City Advance newspaper named Jim Crawford as the lineman of the week in recognition of his heroics.
Jim Crawford wrapped up his playing career with a stellar season in his senior year of 1965. He was elected as co-captain of the team along with 2014 FCSHOF inductee Steve Cheatham. He once again anchored the offensive line at center and played at a linebacker slot on defense during a season that would see the Yellow Jackets capture victories over Swain County (Bryson City, North Carolina), East Rome, Georgia, Murphy, North Carolina, North Whitfield, Georgia, Gilmer County, Georgia, and Murray County, Georgia. The annual battle with Copper Basin ended in a tie.
Jim was named to the Atlanta Journal Constitution 1965 class AA honorable mention all-state team and to the Chattanooga Times all Tri-State honorable mention team. His heroics included blocking an extra point attempt against Murray County to secure a 7-6 Yellow Jacket victory and again intercepting a pass against Copper Basin to preserve a 13-13 tie. He was named as the team’s most valuable lineman for the year.
Very popular with his teachers and classmates, Jim was selected as the best all-around senior boy in the 1966 West Fannin graduating class. He was also elected as an officer in the senior class and earlier as president of his sophomore class.
After graduation from high school, Jim remembers that he suffered from an “academic deficiency.” He grew up in a farming family in Epworth, the second youngest of seven boys.
In addition to the considerable time demands of a young man raised on a farm, Jim also was called upon to devote much of his “free” time to the manly art of chicken catching for the Crawford Chicken Company, an enterprise founded by his older brothers, Brownie and Jack. For those unaware of the nature of the activities of such an enterprise, one should take the time to read “The Poetry Company’, a memoir written by Joe Cobb Crawford, youngest of the Crawford clan. To quote Joe Cobb: “endurance, self-discipline and, most importantly, toughness, were unspoken characteristics of a chicken catcher.” Farming and chicken catching did not leave much time for Jim to devote to his academic development.
Upon entering college at Truett McConnell University in Cleveland, Georgia in the fall of 1966, Jim discovered that he possessed an aptitude for chemistry and physics. He earned a degree in Chemistry Education from the University of Georgia in 1971.
Jim Crawford taught chemistry and physics at various high schools in Georgia for 29 years. His longest tenures were 12 years each at Lithonia and Redan High Schools. In addition to his teaching duties, Jim also coached football, basketball and gymnastics at each of the schools that he served.
Jim married his wife, Sally, in 1979. They have two grown sons, Tyler and Thomas, and five grandchildren. Tyler is a church administrator in Germany and Thomas teaches psychology at Murray State University.
Shortly after his retirement from the education system, Jim developed an interest in videography. He began his videography activities with the Atlanta Contra Dancers and has provided his expertise to a number of other organizations during the last 18 years or so. He works locally with groups including the Epworth Community Club. He was a charter member of the FCSHOF board and was responsible for producing biographical videos of inductees beginning with the first induction class of 2013. He also co-produced a video called “The Eagles Soar,” a historical tribute to athletics in Epworth, that was shown at the Epworth High School reunion a few years ago.
Jim Crawford joins his brother Gene as a member of the FCSHOF.