Mr. Football 2000 • Roscoe Crosby, wide receiver • Union High School
The legend of Roscoe Crosby: Part two Tragedy and misfortune helped steal his career in sports. In retrospect, they probably saved his life. First, the update. Yes, Roscoe Crosby is alive and well. Crosby rarely grants interviews, and when we meet he immediately introduces himself and throws out the first question. “Guess you’re wondering what I’ve been up to,” he says. Truth is, many sports fans have wondered about Roscoe Crosby. There was a time, not long ago, when Crosby was South Carolina’s most celebrated athlete. As a senior at Union High School in the fall of 2000, Crosby was rated the number-two football receiver in the country. Blessed with a rare combination of speed, strength and size, he was a dazzling wide receiver. In early December, he helped lead the Yellow Jackets to a second consecutive state championship. A week later, Crosby was crowned South Carolina’s Mr. Football. When asked if he remembers anything about the ceremony, he laughs out loud. “What!? Of course I remember,” Crosby says incredulously. “I went out that week to buy a new suit to wear. We had won state, so the season was already a success. But I’ll be honest. I wanted that award. I wanted to be the best.” After football season, Crosby put on his high school
baseball uniform. As great as he was catching passes, football was his second-best sport. A sweet-swinging left-hander, Roscoe Crosby could hit a baseball like nobody’s business. Just ask Kevin Floyd, a scout for the Kansas City Royals. “When I first saw him, I told my boss, ‘Look, I’ve been doing this 25 years. I’ve never seen anything like this kid. He may be the perfect baseball player,’” Floyd says. By the spring of his senior year, major league scouts had Crosby tabbed as one of the top five baseball prospects in the country. “That was a crazy, crazy time,” Crosby recalls as he thinks back to his last semester of high school. “You’re pulled a million different directions. Do I play football? Take the money and play baseball?” Crosby decided he could do both. In February 2001, in front of a throng of media, he announced he would play football at Clemson. In June, the Kansas City Royals, undeterred by Crosby’s desire to be a part-time baseball player, drafted him and gave him a signing bonus of $1.7 million. When a reporter asked Allen Baird of the Kansas City Royals why the team made an investment in a player who was not 100 percent committed to baseball, the general manager shot back with a list of glowing evaluations from his scouting staff. Then he added this about Crosby: “He just makes it look so easy.”
Above and Right: Milton Morris
Roscoe Cosby shares his life story with at-risk teens. “Talking about sports helps me get their ear. But when they learn my past, I have a way to their heart.”
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SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | November/December 2013 | scliving.coop