Ben Crosby
Crosby while a player at Yale, c. 1891
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| Sport(s) | Football |
|---|---|
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
March 22, 1868 Halcott Centre, New York |
| Died | December 29, 1892 (aged 24) New York City |
| Alma mater | Yale University |
| Playing career | |
| 1890–1891 | Yale |
| Position(s) | Right end |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1892 | Navy |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 5–2 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| National championship (1891) | |
Benjamin Lewis Crosby, Jr. (March 22, 1868 – December 29, 1892) was an American football player, coach, and law student. Born in Halcott Centre, New York, Crosby attended Yale University beginning in 1889; while there, he was a popular student and sportsman. He was a two-year starter on the football team and a backup on the crew team. During his junior year, he was replaced on the football team by freshman Frank Hinkey and never returned to a starting position. The remainder of Crosby's time at Yale was successful and he enrolled at the New York Law School after graduation.
Crosby was invited in 1892 to serve as head coach of the United States Naval Academy football program. He accepted the position, and, using unusually rigorous practicing strategies, led the team to a 5–2 record, culminating in an upset victory over rival Army in the Army–Navy Game. He received commendation for the victory, including a gift of a personalized trophy. Following the season's conclusion, Crosby returned to New York to continue his studies, but he was hospitalized after an illness he contracted while coaching worsened shortly after his arrival. He died from typhoid fever in late December, at the age of 24.
Crosby was born on March 22, 1868 in Halcott Centre, Greene County, New York, son of David J. Crosby. As a child, Crosby attended Hopkins Grammar School in New Haven, Connecticut, the second person in his family to do so; a cousin, James Parkman Crosby, had attended the institution in the early 1870s. Ben Crosby graduated from the school in 1888, and the following year, he began classes at Yale University. Crosby was popular while at Yale, and was a member of both Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and the secret undergraduate society Skull and Bones. In his sophomore year, Crosby was the starting right end of the Bulldogs football team. The squad finished that season with a thirteen-and-one win-loss record; the sole loss came to the national champion Harvard. Crosby joined the university's crew team as a substitute the following year, and was described by classmates as being "quite prominent in athletics".
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