Fred Crolius

Frederick Joseph Crolius (April 19, 1876 – August 25, 1960) was a professional baseball and football player. He is best remembered as being the first player from Tufts University to come to play Major League Baseball. He was at Tufts in 1894, and at Dartmouth College, where he also played college football, from 1896 until 1899. He spent two years in majors with the Boston Beaneaters and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Crolius also played pro football with the independent Homestead Library & Athletic Club and the Pittsburgh Stars of the first National Football League. He later served as a coach for both sports after his playing career ended.

Baseball
At age 24, he broke into the big leagues on April 19, 1901, with the Boston Beaneaters. Crolius served as the team's fourth outfielder, playing mostly right field where he backed up Jimmy Slagle. In 1901, his rookie year, he held a batting average of .240 with 1 home run and 13 RBIs. On July 22, 1901 Crolius had 4 Hits which led to 3 Runs Scored in a 16-3 win over the Chicago Cubs.

In his second year in the majors, Crolius played for the Pittsburgh Pirates for 9 games in 1902, before ending his baseball career. In 1906 he was made ineligible to play with any National club by the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues due to a contract dispute with a minor league club from Toronto.

Football
In 1898 Fred Crolius was the captain of the Dartmouth football team. He was considered one of the best halfbacks in the game, but received little notice from the media, since Dartmouth was historically seen as having a weak football program.

In 1901 as a member of the Homestead Library & Athletic Club, located near Pittsburgh, Crolius served as the team's halfback. That year he scored the tying touchdown against the Blondy Wallace's Philadelphia Athletic Club. Homestead would go on to win the game 6-5. (Touchdowns were worth 5 points in 1901).

In 1902, Crolius served as a halfback on the Pittsburgh Stars, a member of first National Football League that was suspected of being financed by baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates. During the 1902 season, the Stars won the league championship.

Baseball
After his playing career, Crolius served as the coach the Villanova Wildcats baseball team from 1905 until 1911. While with Villanova, acquired a 116-45-5 record. He also served as the manager of the Lancaster Red Roses, where he guided the team to a 70-58 record in 1906.

Football
In 1899, he also served as the head coach for the Bowdoin College football team. He guided Bowdoin to a 2-6 record. In 1902, Crolius was the head coach of the Pitt Panthers football team. That year the team racked up a 5-6-1 record.

Crolius then coached the Villanova Wildcats to an 18-38-5 record between 1904 and 1911.