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Not like his predecessor David Branch, who ran the Ontario Hockey League for 45 years until he retired a few months back.

Filling Branch’s gigantic shoes hasn’t fazed Crawford.

After all, the 42-year-old Hamilton native has made a living breaking the mould.

Crawford didn’t pick up a football until Grade 12 but went on to enjoy a seven-year career in the Canadian Football League.

He had never swung a club regularly before taking over as director of the RBC Canadian Open with Golf Canada.

And he wasn’t a hoops hound, yet served as the senior director of operations for Canada Basketball.

Now, he’s the head honcho in the OHL.

The Record caught up with the new commissioner during a break in his bid to tour all the member rinks before Christmas.

You were a running back for the Toronto Argonauts. Your brother, Brad, was drafted by the Argos and your sister, Lauren, played NCAA soccer. What was the Crawford household like growing up?

“I’m a bit older than my brother (five years) and sister (eight) so we did have a gap. We never played against each other. My parents (Glenn and Elaine) placed a high value on being active. They invested a lot of time and energy and support into our extracurricular activities. Part of the reason I chose to work in sports as a career was because of the role it played for me as a young person.�

You got your start in sports management in Grade 5?

“This is true (laughs). I don’t recall what grade it was exactly. I ran a neighbourhood basketball tournament. I got prizes donated by the old Kenesky Sports (a famed Hamilton sports store, now closed). I did the whole the thing. My mom still has a picture of it. I think she found it funny when I got into the business of running basketball tournaments as a professional with Canada Basketball.�

Thank you, Chris Vrantsis. He was the high school buddy that convinced you to play football in Grade 12 at Barton Secondary School?

“Chris was one of my close friends in high school. He was a big football player. When I got to Grade 12, I decided I wanted to play football with my friends and went from being on the ice one day to being on the football field the next and I never went back on the ice after that.�

Speaking of the Barton Barons, you were city champs in 1999. You beat Sir Winston Churchill 24-17 in overtime. You scored the winning touchdown.

“I did. I got a couple TDs in that game. We were in the A Division and they were in the B Division. They won their way all the way up. It was a very close, good game that was probably closer than we would have expected given the success our team had. I certainly remember it to this day.�

More than a decade of football at Barton, Queen’s University and the Argos. Was that your sole championship win?

“You got it. I lost in the Yates Cup (to McMaster University) and a whole bunch of games to the Montreal Alouettes. That’s the one and only (big) football win.�

You’re a playwright and an actor. You cowrote, directed and starred in “No Day But Today� in high school?

“(Laughs). I didn’t think this would be the direction of this conversation. Man, I haven’t thought about that in decades. I took dramatic arts in high school. It was like a very teenage angst play about way too many heavy topics when I look back on it. “No Day But Today” was a reference to the Broadway show “Rent” and building off the moment and valuing those things because you don’t know what’s around the corner. It was a lot of fun. It was a completely different world to be doing theatre and then being on a football team.â€�

You were a goalie as a kid. Goalies are supposed to be weird. You sound normal.

“I was a goalie and a catcher in baseball. I was totally weird. The thing about goalies and catchers is that you got that perspective of the whole ice or diamond. You’re involved in the game in a whole other way than some of the other positions.�

How does a kid from Hamilton play for the archrival Argos? I mean, your grandfather had season tickets for the Tiger-Cats.

“It was crisis of character maybe. The Argos drafted me. I had lived in Hamilton my entire life (save university). I had a wonderful role with the Argos and we had really good teams for most of my career. I go to Tiger-Cats and Argos games every year. I’m a fan of the league before anything else. But I definitely cheer for the Argos if I have to make a choice between the two.�

Hockey is cliquey. What are some of the advantages of being an outsider?

“I think it has allowed me to think of challenges in different ways and have a broader perspective and lens. I don’t bring the same sorts of biases, and I don’t have that background or history that others might. That can also be a challenge of sorts.�

There are 20 OHL clubs now, what are your views on expansion?

“I think it’s something the league has to be open to considering as the dynamics and environment change. We have to be cognizant of our product and the depth of it. Our image is developing young people first and foremost. Our mission is about supporting our communities. But we are a sports and entertainment organization that offers a product that is hockey. Expansion is something where we will continue to evaluate opportunities and consider what might make a benefit to our league, our members in it and the hockey system as a whole.�

Last season, Saginaw and London battled for the west title. They were the top teams in the OHL. Will the league ever change its playoff structure so the best two teams can meet in the final?

“Who knows? Ultimately, all of those things, just like expansion, will be on the table. We will continue our due diligence and evaluate opportunities and rule changes to improve the product for our players and our fans. “

There were six fights in Kitchener’s game against Windsor in Week 1. The QMJHL has banned fighting. What is your stance on fighting in the OHL?

“Once again, it’s one of those things where we have to continue to evolve with the sport and make sure that we’re staying with how the sport is aligned and changing. With any of our rule sets, we need to continue to evaluate what is in the interest of player safety, the quality of the game and the fan experience. As a leader in the sport, people will look to us to make sure we’re doing our due diligence to make data-driven, quantitative decisions about how we can drive our game forward to make it enjoyable and accessible for everyone.â€�

Did David Branch give you any advice before leaving?

“Of course. He gives me advice every week. He has continued on in a consultant role for the next couple of years, or as long as he’s up for it. It’s important for me to have his vast insight into issues and to bounce ideas off of him. But … I have to make sure I’m authentic to myself and my own styles and vision for things and not try to be what David was and be my own authentic leader.�

Last one, Subway or Mike’s Submarines (a Hamilton sub chain)?

“Subway. (Laughs). That’s a funny question. There was a Mike’s over near Barton Secondary School, and I used to hit it all the time. No question about it. I liked the Mike’s Subs when I went to high school, that’s for sure.�