Dan Crowley

Daniel Patrick Crowley

• Bats Right, Throws Right

• High School Manual Arts High School

• Born May 28, 1907 in Los Angeles, CA USA
• Died August 30, 1994 in Los Angeles, CA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Dan Crowley began his professional baseball career in 1926 with the Salt Lake City Bees of the Utah-Idaho League. He played until 1933, when he had his last season with the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League. Mainly a first baseman, he hit .326 in 124 games in his first season, and .314 in 84 games also with salt Lake City in 1927.

In 1925, he formed a barnstorming team, the "Crowley All Stars" made of professional players who would compete against college teams in the Los Angeles area during the off-season. The Crowley All Stars played exhibition games against the University of Southern California for some 60 years, the last time in 1984. Among players who appeared for the team are Bob Lemon, Mel Almada, Harry Danning, Jack Salveson, Rip Russell and Steve Mesner.

Crowley worked many years as a scout for the New York Yankees and was also a college baseball umpire. Thanks to his proximity to Hollywood, he got to play the home plate umpire in the movie Pride of the Yankees.

Further Reading

• Rick Obran: "The Sandlot Mentors of Los Angeles", in Jean Hastings Ardell and Andy McCue, ed.: Endless Seasons: Baseball in Southern California, The National Pastime, SABR, Number 41, 2011, pp. 23-27.