Howard "Tug" Crozier is one of the founding fathers of Bay State Wrestling and has been described by Wrestling U.S.A. magazine as "the Dean of New England high school wrestling coaches."

In 32 years as head coach of the North Andover High School wrestling team, Crozier amassed a record of 370-95-4, and both he and his teams compiled a host of accomplishments. Perhaps his most remarkable achievement came when North Andover's wrestling team set a Massachusetts record for all sports by going undefeated for 106 straight meets from 1976-1982. During that stretch, North Andover went 104-0-2 and went an additional 48 meets without a loss after the record streak was broken.

During Crozier's tenure, North Andover won two Division II New England Championships, four Division Il State Championships, nine North Sectional Championships and 14 Cape Ann League titles in 17 years in the league.

Crozier was responsible for the development of nine individual New England Champions, 24 State Champions, 50 Sectional Champions, and 80 Cape Ann League Champions. The most successful wrestler under his direction was Von Hoehn, who was a National Wrestling Federation All-American in 1985 and 1986.

For all of his accomplishments, Crozier has been honored at every level. He was named Massachusetts Coach of the Year in 1979, 1980, and 1988. He was also Sectional Coach of the Year seven times and Cape Ann League Coach of the Year eight times. He was also honored at the national level when in 1990, at the age of 70, Crozier was selected as Wrestling U.S.A. magazine's Man of the Year.

A native of Portland, Maine, Crozier graduated from Deering High School, before entering the U.S. Army from 1940-1946, serving in the Aleutian Islands. Crozier then went on to Springfield College, where he was a member of the football, wrestling, and track teams. He graduated in 1949 with a Bachelor of Science in physical education and earned his Master of Arts in education the following year from Springfield.