{{short description|English sportsman}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2016}} {{Use British English|date=March 2016}} {{Infobox cricketer | name = William Cropper | image = | country = England | birth_date = {{Birth date|1862|12|27|df=y}} | birth_place = Brimington, Derbyshire, England | death_date = {{Death date and age|1889|1|13|1862|12|27|df=y}} | death_place = Grimsby, England | batting = Right-handed | bowling = Left-arm medium | role = | club1 = Derbyshire | year1 = {{nowrap|1882–1888}} | type1 = FC | debutdate1 = 1 June | debutyear1 = 1882 | debutfor1 = Derbyshire | debutagainst1 = Yorkshire | lastdate1 = 23 August | lastyear1 = 1888 | lastfor1 = England XI | lastagainst1 = Australians | columns = 1 | column1 = First-class | matches1 = 60 | runs1 = 1,636 | bat avg1 = 15.00 | 100s/50s1 = 0/3 | top score1 = 93 | deliveries1 = 7,677 | wickets1 = 171 | bowl avg1 = 17.13 | fivefor1 = 8 | tenfor1 = 0 | best bowling1 = 7/25 | catches/stumpings1= 26/– | date = 21 July | year = 2010 | source = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/28/28845/28845.html CricketArchive }} '''William Cropper''' (27 December 1862 – 13 January 1889) was an English cricketer and footballer who played cricket for Derbyshire County Cricket Club between 1882 and 1888 and football, as a centre forward, once for Derby County.<ref>{{cite web | title = William Cropper | website = 11v11.com | publisher=Association of Football Statisticians | accessdate = 10 December 2017| url = https://www.11v11.com/players/william-cropper-44439/}}</ref> He was one of nineteen sportsmen to achieve the Derbyshire Double of playing cricket for Derbyshire and football for Derby County. He died aged 26 following an on-field injury while playing football for Staveley.
Cropper was born at Brimington, Derbyshire, the son of Thomas and Mary Cropper, and was a bricklayer.<ref>British Census 1881</ref> He made his debut for Derbyshire in the 1882 season. He also played for the North of England team.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.cricket-online.org/player.php?player_id=34738| title=William Cropper| publisher=Cricket Online| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214104826/http://www.cricket-online.org/player.php?player_id=34738| archive-date=14 February 2012| url-status=dead}}</ref> He shared most wickets for the club in the 1883, 1884, 1885 and 1886 seasons. In 1886, he played one football match for Derby County. Derbyshire lost first-class status for the 1888 season but Cropper continued playing for the side. Cropper played 113 innings in 60 first-class matches to score 1638 runs with an average of 15.00 and a top score of 93 not out. He took 171 first-class wickets, with an average of 17.13 and a best performance of 7 for 25.<ref>{{cricketarchive|id=28845}}</ref>
From 1888, Cropper played football for the Derbyshire side of Staveley. While playing for Staveley, on 12 January 1889 against Grimsby Town at Clee Park, Lincolnshire, Cropper collided with Dan Doyle, the Grimsby rightback, after fifteen minutes. He was badly injured by Doyle's knee in his abdomen and left the field in obvious distress. The collision resulted in a ruptured bowel and he died in the dressing room at Grimsby in the arms of his Staveley and Derbyshire County Cricket Club teammate George Hay.
Cropper was buried in Brimington churchyard and a memorial stone was erected – from the proceeds of a subscription fund raised by his family and friends – which can still be seen today.<ref>{{cite web | title = William Cropper R.I.P. in Brimington | url = http://www.youandyesterday.co.uk/articles/William_Cropper | accessdate = 7 August 2007| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080320012910/http://www.youandyesterday.co.uk/articles/William_Cropper| archive-date=20 March 2008| url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[https://www.thedaisycutter.co.uk/2013/01/on-this-weekend-in-football-the-first-reported-death-from-an-injury/ On This Weekend In Football: The First Reported Death From An Injury], The Daisy Cutter, 11 January 2013</ref>
==References == {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cropper, William}} Category:1862 births Category:1889 deaths Category:Men's association football forwards Category:Derby County F.C. players Category:Derbyshire cricketers Category:English cricketers Category:North v South cricketers Category:Staveley F.C. players Category:English men's footballers Category:English bricklayers Category:Sport deaths in England Category:Lord March's XI cricketers Category:Non-international England cricketers Category:Association football players who died while playing Category:19th-century English businesspeople Category:People from Brimington Category:Cricketers from Derbyshire