BOB CRAWFORD

PROFILE: Bob Crawford was born in 1929 and started in the greyhound business in 1945. For many years he also owned an auto battery business.

HISTORY: A 16 year old Crawford appeared at Biscayne in Florida because he wanted “to buy a set of wheels and wear stylish threads.” He also worked for a time at Flagler and Hollywood, also in Florida. “I started out in this game because I had to, I needed the money,” he once said. “But I started to develop an interest in the dogs and their breeding and now I couldn’t think of being away from it”. He began as a lead out and worked his way up through virtually every job in the racing department. Since 1970 he has been presiding judge at Biscayne. His strong ally in the judging booth is Florida’s ‘Rules of Racing’. “I’ve always felt a racing official’s first responsibility is to have a thorough knowledge of rules, so I have made sure that I do.” Racing rules prohibit an official from owning greyhounds that race at the track he works. “I’d love to own some dogs, but I couldn’t race them here and if I raced them at some other track, I wouldn’t be able to watch them. That would take most of the fun out of it.”

ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Became a respected judge and held that position for more than 40 years. “He was well respected in the business. I have always found him to be fair and square” writes George Alder.