He played junior hockey for the Cornwall Royals and the Kitchener Rangers, winning the Memorial Cup in 1982 with the latter team. Undrafted by the NHL, Crawford was signed by the Buffalo Sabres in 1984 after two seasons with the Rochester Americans. Despite the signing, and another by the Detroit Red Wings in 1988, Crawford never made it to the NHL until he joined the Boston Bruins in 1989. Even then, he only played 7 games in 1988-89 and 19 in 1991-92, scoring a total of 2 goals and 1 assist. He retired in 1994.