Samuel Earl Crawford (April 18, 1880 – June 15, 1968), nicknamed "Wahoo Sam", was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Crawford batted and threw left-handed, stood tall and weighed . Born in Wahoo, Nebraska, he had a short minor league baseball career before rapidly rising to the majors with the Cincinnati Reds in 1899. He played for the Reds until 1902. Taking advantage of the competition for players between the National League and the then-ascendant American League, Crawford then joined the Detroit Tigers and played for Detroit, primarily in right field, from 1903 to 1917. He was one of the greatest sluggers of his era, leading his league in home runs twice and in runs batted in three times. He still holds the MLB record for most career triples with 309, a record likely never to be broken. While with the Tigers, Crawford played alongside superstar Ty Cobb, and the two had an intense rivalry while also helping Detroit win three American League championships from 1907 to 1909. After his MLB career ended, Crawford moved to California, where he lived the rest of his life. He was a player and umpire in the Pacific Coast League and was a coach at the University of Southern California. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1957. Early life Crawford was born in Wahoo, Nebraska, in 1880, the son of Stephen O. Crawford (born 1842 in Vermont) and Nellie Crawford (born 1855 in Iowa). In 1901, he married Ada M. Lattin, born circa 1881 in Nebraska. He was listed as a ballplayer in 1910, and had one daughter, Virginia, born circa 1905 in Michigan. Various ship records confirm his birthdate and that of wife Ada. As of the 1920 U.S. census the family was living in Los Angeles, with other records establishing Samuel having arrived March 15, 1918. According to a biography from the Nebraska Hall of Fame, Crawford was a star athlete at Wahoo High School, leading the team to two state football championships in 1896 and 1897 and was also noted for "foot racing" wherever he played. In 1898, he joined a traveling baseball team in Wahoo. They traveled on a lumber wagon from town to town for weeks at a time, challenging the locals to baseball games, and passing the hat to pay their expenses. Crawford was offered an opportunity in the spring of 1899