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Louis Crews

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Louis Crews
Biographical details
Bornc. 1918
Bessemer, Alabama, U.S.
Died (aged 87)
Huntsville, Alabama, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1937–1940Alabama A&M
Position(s)Quarterback, running back
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1950–1956Alcorn A&M (backfield)
1957–1959Jarvis Christian
1960–1975Alabama A&M
Baseball
1950–1957, 1959[a]Alcorn A&M
UnknownAlabama A&M
Men's basketball
1957–1960Jarvis Christian
Women's basketball
1950–1957
Note[b]		Alcorn A&M
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1957–1959Jarvis Christian
Head coaching record
Overall108–64–3 (football)
40–16 (men's basketball)
Bowls0–1
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Football
5 SIAC (1962–1963, 1966, 1971–1972)
Baseball
1 SCAC (1953)
1 SIAC (?)
Women's basketball
2 SCAC (1951, 1952)

Louis C. Crews (c. 1918 – January 20, 2005) was an American athlete and sports coach. He was best known for his time as head football coach at Alabama A&M University, a position he held from 1960 to 1975. He also was head baseball and women's basketball coach at Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College (now known as Alcorn State University), head baseball coach at Alabama A&M, and served as head football and men's basketball coach at Jarvis Christian College. He is the all-time winningest head coach of the Alabama A&M Bulldogs football program. The team plays home games at Louis Crews Stadium, named in his honor.

Early life and education

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Crews was born in Bessemer, Alabama, in c. 1918.[4] He attended Dunbar High School and graduated in 1936, later playing college football for the Alabama A&M Bulldogs from 1937 to 1940.[2] Playing quarterback and running back,[5] he scored the Bulldogs' first-ever touchdown in the Magic City Classic.[6] He graduated in 1941, being part of the first four-year graduating class at the school.[6] Afterwards, he joined the United States Armed Forces and served four years, also playing football during this time.[4] Upon finishing his duty, Crews enrolled at Ohio State University, at which he received a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education.[4] He later earned a Master of Science and director's degree from Indiana University, and received a diploma from Yale University.[3]

Coaching career

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Crews began his coaching career at Wilberforce University in 1946, serving until 1947 as a physical education teacher and coach.[7] According to The Huntsville Times, after this he served with Bishop College.[3] Crews began serving as a coach and physical education teacher at Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College (now known as Alcorn State University) in 1950, and was the head baseball coach, head women's basketball coach, and assistant football coach, serving with the backfield.[2][8] He was in these roles through 1957, and led the women's basketball team to two South Central Athletic Conference (SCAC) championships (1951 and 1952) and the baseball team to a SCAC title in 1953.[2]

Crews served as athletic director, head football coach and head men's basketball coach at Jarvis Christian College (now known as Jarvis Christian University) from 1957 to 1960.[2] He went 14–12 as football coach and 40–16 in basketball.[2] He also returned to Alcorn A&M in 1959 to coach the baseball team, leading them to a 7–7 record, according to the school's media guide.[1]

In 1960, Crews was appointed head football coach at Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College (now known as Alabama A&M University), succeeding George H. Hobson.[2] He went on to serve 16 years in the position, and is widely credited with "setting the tone" for the football program.[9] The Bulldogs had won just one game in the last season, and had scored more than 20 points in a game only ten times in the previous decade.[9] In his first year, he led them to a 7–1 record and was named the conference coach of the year.[7] By his fourth year, he had led them to an overall mark of 31–4 and in 1963 they went undefeated.[5] At the 1963 Birmingham Grid Forecasters' banquet, he was named the "College Football Coach of the Year."[10] His football teams won five Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) championships and compiled a record of 94–52–3 by the time he left the school following the 1975 season, making him Alabama A&M's all-time winningest football coach.[5] He also coached their baseball team and led them to their only conference championship in history.[4]

In football, Crews was considered a great offensive coach and used tactics that were ahead of his time.[9] He was known for his tendency for using passing and trap plays.[9] Crews often used a plan called third man out, which involved a running back doing a route in addition to the ends, a play that was almost unheard of during that time.[9] He also developed a set of plays which he described as the "L offense," in which the "fullback and tailback lined up behind tackle and a wingback and split end set to the opposite side of the formation."[9] His offenses were high scoring, with the team averaging over 32 points-per-game one year, when in the decade prior to his arrival they had scored more than 20 in a single game only ten times.[9]

Later life and death

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Crews died on January 20, 2005, at the age of 87, in Huntsville, Alabama.[5]

Crews was inducted into both the Alcorn State Athletic Hall of Fame and the Alabama A&M Athletic Hall of Fame.[11][12] He was also inducted into the SIAC Hall of Fame,[4] and Alabama A&M named their stadium in his honor.[13] The Louis Crews Classic, Alabama A&M's first home game of each season, was named in his honor.[14]

Head coaching record

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Football

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Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Jarvis Christian Bulldogs () (1957–1959)
1957 Jarvis Christian 3–5
1958 Jarvis Christian 5–4
1959 Jarvis Christian 6–3
Jarvis Christian: 14–12
Alabama A&M Bulldogs (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1960–1975)
1960 Alabama A&M 7–1
1961 Alabama A&M 8–1 5–0 2nd
1962 Alabama A&M 8–2 6–0 T–1st
1963 Alabama A&M 8–0 7–0 1st
1964 Alabama A&M 6–1–1
1965 Alabama A&M 5–4
1966 Alabama A&M 8–1 6–0 1st L Orange Blossom Classic
1967 Alabama A&M 4–4–1
1968 Alabama A&M 5–4
1969 Alabama A&M 6–3
1970 Alabama A&M 5–4
1971 Alabama A&M 5–6 4–3 T–1st
1972 Alabama A&M 7–1–1 6–0–1 T–1st
1973 Alabama A&M 5–5 3–2 T–3rd (Division I)
1974 Alabama A&M 4–7 1–4 T–5th (Division I)
1975 Alabama A&M 3–8 2–3 5th (Division I)
Alabama A&M: 94–52–3
Total: 108–64–3

[2][15]

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ The Alcorn State Braves media guide lists Crews as the team's first head coach, serving in 1959 and compiling a 7–7 record.[1] Newspaper reports from 1960 discussing Crews' career state he coached the team from 1950 to 1957, and not in 1959.[2]
  2. ^ Crews was said to have coached at Wilberforce University from 1946 to 1947 and is listed in one source as also having had a stint at Bishop College; however, the sports he coached are unknown.[2][3]

Citations

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  1. ^ a b "2020-21 Multi-Sport Record Book" (PDF). Alcorn State University. p. 113. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 24, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Jackson, Marion E. (September 23, 1960). "Sports Of The World". Alabama Tribune. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ a b c "Louis Crews Obituary". The Huntsville Times. January 23, 2005 – via Legacy.com through AL.com.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Coach Louis Crews". Huntsville History Collection.
  5. ^ a b c d "Former A&M coach Louis Crews dies at 87". The Anniston Star. Associated Press. January 22, 2005. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ a b Benson, Reggie (October 31, 1987). "Classic special for former coach". The Montgomery Advertiser. p. 25, 32 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ^ a b Jackson, Marion E. (December 30, 1960). "Alabama A&M's Lewis Crews Named 1960 Coach Of The Year". Alabama Tribune. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  8. ^ "Alcorn Holds Athletic Banquet". Jackson Advocate. January 1, 1955. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Nance, Roscoe (September 9, 2010). "Inaugural Louis Crews Classic to Honor All-Time Coach". Southwestern Athletic Conference.
  10. ^ "Coach Louis Crews". Alabama Tribune. January 10, 1964. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  11. ^ "Louis Crews (1992)". Alabama A&M Bulldogs.
  12. ^ "Louis Crews (Coach) (1997)". Alcorn State Braves.
  13. ^ "Louis Crews Stadium". Alabama A&M Bulldogs.
  14. ^ "What to Know 2023 Louis Crews Classic". Alabama A&M Bulldogs. September 7, 2023.
  15. ^ "NCAA Statistics". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
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