Cropley’s next ring fight was with an aspirant named Tom Hazel (misprinted Lazel under Cropley, in “Fistiana”), on the 21st of August, 1807, at Crawley Common, after Dutch Sam had conquered Tom Belcher. A subscription purse of thirty guineas had been raised by Captain Barclay, Lord Say and Sele, Lord Archibald Hamilton, and other amateurs, for Hazel to try his capabilities, much being thought of his pretensions to the art. Cropley entered the ring, but Hazel proved a mere pretender in actual combat. Cropley took the lead and kept it, throwing all Hazel’s cleverness out, and in fifteen rounds proving the difference between smart and courageous boxing and clever tapping with “the mufflers.”
The year 1808 was unlucky for our hero. His first match was with Dutch Sam, on April 5, for fifty guineas, but was stopped by the authorities, as was that of Jem Belcher and Dogherty, calendared for the same day. It accordingly went off until the 10th of May, 1808, when Gully beat Gregson a second time at Markyate Street, Herts. The “big battle” over, Dutch Sam and Cropley mounted the stage at half past six o’clock in the evening. In the first round Cropley got in heavily, and nearly closed Sam’s right eye, but this was his only gleam of success. He tried “all he knew,” but never again effectively spotted the wily Israelite. Sam was too active, and in twenty-five minutes Cropley’s last chance was gone. Bill gave in at the general desire of the amateurs, though he wished to fight on: it was seven o’clock, and all were “homeward bound.”
On Saturday, June 11, after the fight of Dogherty and Pentikin, a talk about the merits of the recent battle between Bill Cropley and Dutch Sam led to some difference of opinion, and an amateur posted fifty guineas for Bill to fight Tom Belcher in the same ring as Gregson and Tom Cribb (October 28th, 1808). Accordingly, at Moulsey Hurst, the heroes met, when Cropley fell, but not discreditably, as may be seen in the life of Tom Belcher, ante, Chapter II., Period III.
Cropley’s last ring fight was with George Cribb, on Friday, August 9th, 1809, at Pope’s Head Watch House, Reinbow, near Margate, after Richmond the Black had beaten the veteran George Maddox. (See Life of Richmond, Period IV.)
George proved a clumsy and slow fighter, a mere receiver-general. He fought desperately and heavily for sixteen minutes, but at the end of that short time was completely “told out,” and taken away by his friends. “The match was extremely unequal,” says the report, “Cropley being equal to Dutch Sam in skill, and much quicker than Cribb.”
From this time we hear of Cropley as a second and a sparrer for a number of years. As late as May 1821, in a kind of supplementary summary of “Boxers who have retired,” Pierce Egan thus notices the subject of these lines. “Bill Cropley, in his day an excellent fighter. His contests with Dutch Sam and Tom Belcher will always preserve his name from obscurity; but, having no patron [he must have been going on for fifty], he follows his occupation as a coal-whipper, but also keeps a school for the minor amateurs. He seldom exhibits now.” “Boxiana,” second edition, vol. iii., p. 554.
We have not found the date of Cropley’s death.
TOM BLAKE (TOM TOUGH)—1804–1810.
Tom Blake, a civil and ready fellow, whose boyish days had been passed in the navy, deserves a corner in these records of the ring. We shall pass Tom’s “outside” affairs, which were numerous, to come at once to his battle with Jack Holmes, the Coachman, long remembered as one of the most remarkable of the time.
A great company of the patrons of the fistic art having been drawn together by the great battle of Pearce, the Game Chicken, and Berks, January 23rd, 1804, a proposition was made, and a purse of 20 guineas raised, as a prize to be contested for in a few days by two pugilistic heroes, to be approved as a fair match by the contributors to the stake.