Mike Crangle

Crangle was born on February 3, 1947, in Chicago, Illinois.[1] He attended Hower High School in Ohio for three seasons.[2] He played football as a junior but was not allowed to play as a senior as he transferred to Central High School in Akron.[2] He played basketball in his one year at Central, helping them reach the state playoff semifinals.[2] After graduating, he worked as a sailor in the Great Lakes for one year before being drafted to serve in the United States Army.[2] He was stationed at Virginia Beach from May 1966 to May 1968, playing for a military service basketball team.[2]

After being discharged from the Army, Crangle was offered an athletic scholarship to play football for the Cincinnati Bearcats, which he accepted.[2] He started at defensive tackle on the freshman team in 1968, before joining the varsity in 1969 and being one of their starting defensive ends.[2] He quit the team in November 1969 in an event shrouded in mystery, as team officials refused to discuss and a university release stated he left the team for "personal reasons."[3] It was assumed the reason he left the team was due to a dispute occurring against Louisville, where he allegedly cast a racial slur against an African-American player.[4][5]

Crangle transferred to UT Martin in 1970 and was able to play immediately due to UT Martin being an NAIA team.[2] He was named All-Conference as both a junior and senior and was also named All-District as well as All-Mid South in his final year.[2][6] He was invited to the North–South All-Star Game and to the Senior Bowl after the conclusion of his college career.[2][7] He was credited with 134 tackles, 42 sacks, 33 pass breakups and seven fumble recoveries in his two seasons at UT Martin.[8]

Crangle was selected in the fourth round (85th overall) of the 1972 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints.[9] He signed his rookie contract on April 15.[7] Prior to the regular season opener, he was waived and re-signed to the taxi squad.[10] He was activated shortly afterwards and appeared in a total of 13 out of the Saints' 14 games.[11] He was a backup in each game and recorded no statistics as the Saints finished the season with a record of 2–11–1.[12][13] In June 1973, Crangle was traded to the Oakland Raiders for an undisclosed draft pick.[14][15] He left the team in mid-July.[16] Crangle did not play with any other teams afterwards, thus finishing his career with 13 games played, none as a starter.[12]