He was considered a highly capable officer and was promoted to Chief Clerk, Northern Division, in July 1868, a position that he held until his retirement in December 1905.

In this role, Crump was considered to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the rules of football, an enthusiastic love for the game, and an ability to quickly identify the point of an issue with a strong power for analysis.

Crump was a member of the Football International Board, where he was renown for his ability to solve difficult problems in connection with laws and regulations of the game.

In common with a number of football club leading figures, on retirement from the playing game Crump became a referee, taking charge of FA Cup ties[6] and the first League matches.

He was also a referee and took charge for instance of the 1883 FA Cup Final (featured in the British television series The English Game), and the first official match at Molineux, the Wolverhampton Wanderers pitch.