James L. Crane

{{Short description|American football coach (1877–1942)}}

{{For|the actor|James Crane (actor)}}

{{Use American English|date=July 2022}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}

{{Infobox college coach

| name = James L. Crane

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1877|7|28}}

| birth_place = Mount Sterling, Illinois, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1942|9|2|1877|7|28}}

| death_place = Humberstone, Ontario, Canada

| alma_mater =

| player_years1 = c. 1895

| player_team1 = Knox

| player_years2 = 1897–1898

| player_team2 = Princeton

| player_positions = Tackle, fullback, end

| coach_years1 = 1899–1900

| coach_team1 = Vanderbilt

| overall_record = 11–6–1

| bowl_record =

| tournament_record =

| championships =

| awards =

| coaching_records =

}}

James Lowrie Crane (July 28, 1877 – September 2, 1942) was an American college football coach, lawyer, lumber businessman, and city councilman in Buffalo, New York. He was the sixth head football coach at Vanderbilt University, serving for two seasons, from 1899 to 1900, and compiling a record of 11–6–1. Crane attended Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, where the played football as a tackle and fullback. He then moved on to Princeton University, where he was a substitute end in 1897 and 1898.{{cite news |author= |title=On Top Round |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/106455902/nashville-banner/ |newspaper=Nashville Banner |location=Nashville, Tennessee |date=September 29, 1900 |page=17 |access-date=July 27, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com {{Open access}} }}

Crane was born on July 28, 1877, in Mount Sterling, Illinois. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1902 and moved that year to Buffalo, where he joined the law office of Wilson S. Bissell. He later worked for the law firm of Lockwood, Hoyt & Green and then became secretary of White, Gatwick, Mitchell, a lumber dealer in North Tonawanda, New York. Crane was active in the Republican Party and served on the Buffalo Common Council, representing the Delaware District from 1938 to 1941. He died on September 2, 1942, at his summer home in Lorraine, then a part of Humberstone and now Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada.{{cite news |author= |title=Former Councilman Cranes Dies At His Summer Home in Canada |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/106455962/obituary-for-councilman-crane/ |newspaper=Buffalo Evening News |location=Buffalo, New York |date=September 2, 1942 |page=27 |access-date=July 27, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com {{Open access}} }}