"Crawford Top 'Dog' in Hawaiian Masters," by Chip Davey, Honolulu Advertiser, Dec 8, 1974

There was a dogfight on the beach at Pipeline while the Hawaiian Masters was waiting to get underway yesterday. In a sense, it was symbolic of what was to follow.

Twenty-two-year-old Jeff Crawford edged out Rory Russell by one point for the “goofyfooters” (right foot forward) championship in the six-to-eight-foot lefts at Pipeline.

“It was the easiest $200 I ever made,” laughed Russell, who is considered one of the best tuberiders around. “Not bad for an hour and five minutes.”

For Crawford, a Florida resident now living on the North Shore, it might have been easier. “That first wave just came to me,” said Crawford “I was right there ”

He was speaking of a fantastic tube that curled over him as he barreled inside for five or six seconds—completely concealed—blasting out into the whitewater at the end.

That ride, which came early in the heat and racked up the highest score of the day (17 points out of 20), proved to be the lone tuberide of the contest.

Russell a couple of smaller tubes, but for the most part they never fully formed and he wound up going only a short way before bailing out ‘“The waves were too much from the North.” said Crawford, who was $1000 richer for his efforts. “But this is where it is and I'll take it any time.”

What he meant was that Pipeline is a goofyfooter’s paradise and it takes a specialty surfer (which is what the Masters was billed as) to ride it.

“The people here respect the surf. It’s not like Sunset where you just grab a wave and hang on.”

Gerry Lopez, the ’72 and '73 Masters winner, wound up third (worth $100), but it was a frustrating day for the 5' 7" surfer.

"I should have switched feet.” said Lopez, after he had hurt his hack in the Duke contest semi-main heat earlier in the morning. [The Duke and the Pipeline Masters ran on the same day.]

In the long run, however, it was Crawford dueling Russell. While Russell caught the most waves (13) of anybody competing, Crawford opted for flashier, bigger rides and that's what counted.

Someone tossed them into the water and they eventually separated. Just like the surfers.

Excerpt from "Dueling for Dollars," by Drew Kampion, Surfing magazine, May 1975

There is [contest director] Fred Hemmings and there are all those Eclair 16 cameras and all the cameramen eating tuna on Wonderbread and the busty, beauteous jet-set ladies, and there, THERE! is Jeff Crawford, dropping into a ten-foot juicer and wailing along out-of-sight only to reemerge with the wave of the event, right in the beginning.

Rory Russell rode wave after wave, tube after tube, but Crawford's good one kept him in first. Lopez, surfing stiffly and taking off over on the shoulder compared to his usual drop zone, squeaked out a third.

"That first wave just came to me," Jeff said later. "I was right there." Jeff was obviously stoked with his win, and as the one-heat contest folded up and the scene shifted back to Sunset Beach he commented: "The waves were too much to the north, but this is where it is, and I'll take it any time."

Jeff took $ 1000 for the 65-minute event at his favorite spot, though it was a pretty cruddy day for surf there. Rory made $200. "The easiest $200 I ever made," he said. "

"I should have switched feet," Lopez said.

Darkhorse entry Butch Van Artsdalen, once known as Mr. Pipeline, fizzled, swam, and took eighth.

1974 Pipeline Masters

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