Robert Erskine Wade Copland-Crawford (5 September 1852 – 23 May 1894) was a Scottish soldier and amateur sportsman.
He played football four times for Scotland in the representative matches played between 1870 and 1872, scoring the opening goal in the first match. He also played first class cricket for M.C.C. in 1872 and 1873.
He served in the Afghan War from 1878 to 1880, and was mentioned in dispatches. He was later a police-officer in Sierra Leone, but ended his career in disgrace when he was imprisoned for causing the death of a native by flogging.
Family and education
Crawford was born in Elizabeth Castle, Jersey where his father, Captain Robert Fitzgerald Crawford was serving with the Royal Regiment of Artillery.
He was raised in Edinburgh, before attending Harrow School between 1866 and 1871. At Harrow, he was a member of the school football XI between 1869 and 1871 and represented the school at cricket between 1868 and 1871.
The family name was changed to "Copland-Crawford" in September 1872.
Sporting career
Football
While still at Harrow School, Crawford was selected to represent Scotland at football in the first "pseudo-international" organised by C. W. Alcock and Arthur Kinnaird in March 1870. Late in the second half, Alcock instructed England's goalkeeper to leave his goal and move upfield in support of the forwards; Crawford took advantage of this and, shooting from distance into an empty goal, gave Scotland the lead with 15 minutes remaining. (The Sporting Gazette of Saturday 12 March 1870 described the goal as "a rather lucky kick" and "almost a fluke".) England equalised in the final minute with a goal from Alfred Baker and the match ended in a 1–1 draw.
Crawford retained his place for the next match between the two sides played on 19 November 1870, which ended in a 1–0 victory for the English and again "played well".
Having missed out on the third match, Crawford, now with the Harrow Chequers club, played in the final two matches on 18 November 1871 and 24 February 1872, which both ended with victories for England. In each of these matches he was joined by his brother, Fitzgerald. According to a report on the November 1871 match, Crawford was "truly unwearied from beginning to end" although "owing to the long journey from Edinburgh, . . . (he) hardly showed his best form." In the report on the final match, he and his brother were praised for their "untiring forward play throughout".
As a member of the Harrow Chequers club, he played (as team captain) alongside his brother against the Wanderers in the opening match of the 1871–72 season, which ended scoreless. In the match report in the Morning Post on Monday, 16 October 1871, the Crawford brothers were commended for being "conspicuous for excellent play". Both brothers were later to become members of the Wanderers club; Robert's last match for the Wanderers was the FA Cup semi-final against Queens Park on 4 March 1872 which ended in a 0–0 draw.
Cricket
Crawford played cricket for Harrow School between 1868 and 1871. His best performances for the school came against a side from Lords and Commons on 10 June 1871 when he scored 72 runs and took four wickets with his underarm bowling (plus one catch) in a drawn match, and against Harrow Town on 4 July 1871 when he claimed six wickets in Harrow Town's second innings.
He made two first class appearances for M.C.C. in 1872 and 1873 as well as an appearance for the North of England against the South. He made several other appearances for the M.C.C. as well as playing for the Old Harrovians, the Army and I Zingari, for whom he scored his only recorded century in a match against Household Brigade on 18 July 1872; he scored 106 playing with a young George Harris, who scored 117. Harris was later to captain Kent and England.
Military career
Copland-Crawford joined the 2nd Middlesex or Edmonton Royal Rifle Regiment of Militia and in September 1873 was appointed as a sub-lieutenant. The following January, he joined the 60th Rifles with the rank of sub-lieutenant and resigned his commission with the 2nd Middlesex Militia.
In January 1876, he was promoted to the full rank of lieutenant with the 60th Foot. He served in the Afghan War from 1878 to 1880, and was mentioned in dispatches for his involvement in the Battle of Ahmed Khel in April 1880. He also took part in the march to Kandahar under the overall command of Sir Frederick Roberts.
He resigned his commission on 6 August 1884.