Joshua Crane (October 24, 1869 – December 7, 1964) was an American athlete who participated in a number of sports, including court tennis, golf, and polo. He was a four time United States court tennis champion and was on the team that made the finals of the 1904 U.S. Open Polo Championship.
Crane defeated O. S. Campbell in three sets to win the 1901 Racquet and Tennis Club championship.[6] That same month he defeated Philip Stockton three games to one to win the National Court Tennis Championship.[7] He repeated as national champion in 1902 when he defeated L. M. Stockton.[8] The following year he defeated Charles Sands to win his third title.[9] That winter, Sands defeated Crane in the finals of the Tuxedo Club's Gold Racquet championship.[10] In a rematch of the 1903 finals, Crane defeated Sands to win the 1904 indoor championship.[11] They faced off again in the 1905 national finals, but this time Sands was the victor.[12]
In 1906, Crane was defeated in the national semi-finals by Jay Gould II.[13] Crane returned to the final in 1907, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, and 1915 but was beaten by Gould each time.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20] Crane won the tournament in 1916 and 1917, but was defeated in the challenge round by the reigning champion, Gould.[21][22]
In 1914, Crane made it to the final of the British amateur court tennis championship, but lost to E. M. Baerlin.[23] In 1915 he and George R. Fearing made it to the finals of the national amateur doubles championship, but lost to Gould and W. H. T. Huhn.[24] In 1916 Crane lost to Clarence C. Pell in the finals of the Gold Racquet tournament.[25] Crane made it to the finals of the national doubles championship in 1920 with C. T. Russell and in 1921 with Fearing. Both times he was defeated by Gould and Joseph Wear.[26][27]
On March 14, 1907, Harvard Crimson football captain Bartol Parker offered Crane, who had never played football at the varsity level, the position of head coach. Crane's only previous coaching experience came in 1906, when he instructed the Harvard drop kickers during the team's practices.[34] His one-year appointment was approved by the Harvard athletic committee on March 22, 1907.[35] The 1907 team finished with a 7–3 and lost to Yale in that year's rivalry game.[36] Before the start of the 1908 season, a committee of six Harvard alumni and captain Francis Burr was formed to hire a football coach and chose Percy Haughton over Crane.[37]
Golf
Crane appeared in numerous golf tournaments in the United States, France, and Great Britain.[3] He competed in The Open Championship and played in the Amateur Championship from 1926 to 1933.[38][39][40] In 1963, Crane, at the age of 83, won his namesake tournament at the Dedham Polo and Country Club.[41]
Yachting
Crane competed in a number of regattas hosted by the Beverly Yacht Club.[42] He won the Buzzard's Bay championship from 1907 to 1912.[3]
Bridge
Crane's team made it to the quarterfinals of the 1933 eastern bridge championship. He was a proponent of the simple game of contract over a game of conventions and systems.[43]
Personal life
On January 18, 1897, Crane married Ethel Hill, youngest daughter of William H. Hill and heiress to 1/6 of his $4,000,000 estate.[4] They had six children. On March 30, 1913, Crane struck a telephone pole in Middleboro, Massachusetts while driving from his home, Fox Hill Farm, in Westwood, Massachusetts to his summer home in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. Crane, his son Emery, and his nephew, weren't seriously injured, however Ethel Hill Crane was thrown through the windshield. She died from her injuries on April 16, 1913.[44][1]
In 1914, Crane married Katherine Symes, daughter of George G. Symes, in her hometown of Denver. Her brother, John Foster Symes, was a polo teammate of Crane's.[45] She died in 1956.
In 1933, Crane was a witness in the civil trial between Arthur Mason and Frederick H. Prince. Mason sought $50,000 in damages for injuries he suffered with Prince allegedly struck him with polo mallet. Although he was not present when the alleged attack took place, defense counsel James W. Sullivan called on Crane as an expert on the game of polo.[49] The jury ruled in favor of Mason and he and Prince eventually agreed on a settlement of $15,000.[50][51]
Crane was predeceased by all three of his sons. Joshua Crane Jr., was a noted aviator who died in a crash on August 28, 1935.[52] Emery Crane, born in 1901, died in San Diego, California in an accident at the Willite Confection Company in 1924.[53] Alexander Crane was a craftsman and artist who died in 1953.[54]
Crane spent his later years in Santa Barbara, California. He died on December 7, 1964, at the age of 95. He was survived by daughters Priscilla Crane, Catherine Trowbridge, and Margery ter Weele.[3][38]
References
^ ab"Mrs Joshua Crane Dead". The Boston Daily Globe. April 17, 1913.
^"News from the Classes". The Harvard Graduates' Magazine: 133–134. September 1905. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
^"For Tennis Championship". The New York Times. April 6, 1901.
^"J. Crane Jr Wins". The Boston Daily Globe. April 13, 1901.
^"Court Tennis Champion: Joshua Crane, Jr., Wins the National Amateur Honors". The New York Times. April 6, 1902.
^"National Tennis Champion: Joshua Crane Jr of the B. A. A. Wins title for Third Time by Defeating C. E. Sands of New York 6–1, 5–6, 6–5, 13–11". The Boston Daily Globe. April 5, 1903.
^"Gold Racquet Championship: Charles E. Sands Defeats Joshua Crane, Jr., in Three Straight Sets at Tuxedo". The New York Times. December 13, 1903.
^"Crane Tennis Champion". The New York Times. April 10, 1904.
^"Sands Beats Crane for Championship". The Boston Daily Globe. April 10, 1905.
^"Gould Again: Youngster Beats the Veteran Crane". The Boston Daily Globe. April 5, 1906.
^"Gould Plays a Great Game". The Boston Daily Globe. March 24, 1907.
^"Gould Defends Title: Court Tennis Champion Beats Joshua Crane on Boston Courts". The New York Times. April 11, 1909.
^"Jay Gould Retains Court Tennis Title". The New York Times. April 10, 1910.
^"Gould Keeps Tennis Title". The New York Times. April 9, 1911.
^"Jay Gould is Still Champion". The New York Times. April 14, 1912.
^"Gould Easily Retains Title". The Boston Daily Globe. April 13, 1913.
^"Gould Ten Times Champion". The Boston Daily Globe. April 12, 1915.
^"Jay Gould BeatsCrane With Ease". The New York Times. April 9, 1916.
^"Gould Defends Championship". The Boston Daily Globe. April 8, 1917.
^"Crane Loses in Finals". The New York Times. May 7, 1914.
^"Gould and Huhn Beat at Tennis". The Boston Daily Globe. April 18, 1915.
^"Gold Racquet Now Belongs to Pell". The New York Times. February 14, 1916.
^"Gould and Wear Take Net Title". The New York Times. March 28, 1920.
^"Gould-Wear Team Retains Its Title". The New York Times. April 17, 1921.
^"Dedham Freebooters Win at Polo". The New York Times. August 8, 1908.
^"Great Neck Poloists Beat Rockaway". The New York Times. July 15, 1913.
^"Bryn Mawr's Polo Cups". The New York Times. July 28, 1915.