Blackmoor Player: William "Billy" Crolley

NOTE: I got some of the facts wrong when I first wrote this article. I confused Crolley with his father and got the ages wrong. Thanks to Bob Meyer for helping me get the the facts right. This article has now been revised and is hopefully rid of mistakes.

I just learned that William Crolley passed away some time ago through obituary of his father at the Star Tribute: . I first heard mention of Crolley back in 2013.He was not on the list I had originally been supplied of the people who played in Dave Arneson's games, but that list was never a complete list. It has taken me a while to get around to people like Crolley and it is a shame that I never got to talk to him or write to him.

William Crolley's 

Blackmoor player Bob Meyer remembers Bill Crolley well:

"Bill was around at the at the time of Blackmoor, and also played in many of the other games we were playing at the time. He was consumed in working on an invention that he was trying to perfect, and ended up moving in with relatives in a western suburb of the Twin Cities. We did not see much of him after that. I lost touch with him long ago. "

Michael Mornard (Gronan) suggested to me that Crolley may have been present when Dave Arneson had first introduced Clerics into the Blackmoor Campaign. I don't like reporting on people having passed away, because it feels so selfish thinking about the things I would have liked to ask of William Crolley and others. At the same time, I think this blog needs to make a record of everyone who in some way added to Blackmoor.


Thanks to Aldarron for pointing me to the most recent information about William Crolley in a discussion at the Comeback Inn. If anyone knows more about William Crolley, his involvement with the Twin City Gamers or has other relevant information, please share in the comments or contact me directly.




More discussion of this article here.


-Havard