A former Toronto Argonauts running back is being named as the new commissioner of the Ontario Hockey League. According to Rogers Sportsnet, former Argonauts running back and special teams specialist Bryan Crawford of Hamilton, Ontario will take over the role from the recently retired David Branch of Bathurst, New Brunswick. Branch had been the OHL Commissioner from 1979 to 2024.
In addition to having a football background, Crawford has a golf, basketball and Canadian University Sports background. He was the manager of sports programming, interim executive director and director of operations for Ontario University Athletics from 2012 to 2015, the Senior Director of Operations for Canada Basketball from 2015 to 2018, and since 2018 has been the tournament director for the Royal Bank of Canada Canadian Open for golf.
As a CFL player, Crawford was an elite special teams player for the Argonauts. In his seven seasons with the Argonauts from 2005 to 2011, he set the Argonauts’s record for special team tackles (137). From an offensive standpoint, Crawford had 26 rushes for 217 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. He had a career high 121 yards rushing in 2010.
Crawford also had a standout football career at Queen’s University. He was the Queen’s Rookie of the Year in 2001, the Golden Gaels Special Teams Player of the Year in 2002, and the most valuable player at the 2004 Canadian Interuniversity Sport East West All-Star Game.
