William Cropper (1862-89) - his grave in Brimington Cemetery

The reverse with its cricket and football motifs

Cropper in his Derbyshire cricket cap

WILLIAM CROPPER was born in Brimington, Derbyshire, on 27 December 1862. He died in Grimsby on 13 January 1889, aged only 26, and was buried in Brimington churchyard.

His gravestone there stands head and shoulders above most of the others. There is good reason for this, since Cropper was the victim of a cruel accident which made him a tragic celebrity of the Victorian age. The stone was erected from the proceeds of a substantial subscription fund raised by his family, friends and colleagues.

Like many Brimington-born men, Cropper began his working life at the nearby Stanton and Staveley Ironworks. But he also had sporting talent at both cricket and football. He played cricket for Derbyshire from 1882 to 1888 and played once for Derby County in 1886. Thereafter he turned out on the football field for the leading Derbyshire side Staveley FC.

As a cricketer he was a promising all-rounder - both a middle-order batsman and medium-paced bowler. Strangely he batted right-handed and bowled left-handed. He also incorporated a rather eccentric 'jump and hop' routine into his bowling run-up which earned him the nickname 'Kangaroo'. He played in 56 first-class matches for Derbyshire, scoring 1,601 runs and taking 170 wickets.

At football Cropper was a left-winger. After his solitary game for the Rams he donnned the red and black jersey of Staveley, who in the 1880s were one of the foremost football clubs in the country. They took many a scalp of the top clubs, and a visit to the Staveley ground was something to be feared, not least because their supporters were some of the most vociferous in the land who were apt to take partisanship a step too far.

It was while playing for Staveley that William Cropper met his sorry end. In an away game against Grimsby Town at Clee Park on Saturday 12 January 1889, fifteen miniutes had passed when Cropper collided heavily with the Grimsby right-back Dan Doyle. He took Doyle's knee full in the abdomen and left the field in obvious distress.

He was carried to the dressing room and bedded down there, it being considered unwise to remove him to hospital. His Staveley-born teammate - goalkeeper George Hay, also a Derbyshire cricketer of great repute - stayed by his bedside. But alas his watchfulness was to no avail, for Cropper's injury proved fatal. He died in Hay's arms in the Grimsby Town dressing room early the next day, the cause of death being stated as a 'ruptured bowel'.

The news of his untimely passing shocked the sporting world and a subscriprion was raised for the fine memorial which can be seen in Brimington Cemetery to this day. On one side it has a full inscription and on the other is carved with football and cricket motifs. Two handsome shrouded cups once surmounted the stone, but have now broken free and lie almost unnoticed close to his grave.

This article is part of the GRAVE MATTERS series on the Bygone Derbyshire site which aims to record unusual or 'celebrity'graves located in Derbyshire. If you know of any more, why not create an entry like this one and share your discovery with others.

• William Cropper
• Footballer-Cricketers - An Extinct Double Breed

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