Tom Cooper
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Tom Cooper (born 9th April 1904, died June 1940) was an England international footballer who played for Derby and Liverpool.
[edit] Life and playing career
Born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, Cooper played for Trentham and Port Vale before being signed by Derby boss George Jobey after he had shone in a F.A Cup tie between the 2 clubs.
Cooper settled straight into The Rams line-up and become a integral member of the team, so-much-so he was eventually made skipper in 1931
The Football Association saw his quality and selected him to represent England 15 times, his first cap came on the 22nd October 1927 in a British Championship match at Windsor Park Belfast, Northern Ireland were the hosts and won the game 2-0.
Cooper was given the ultimate honour of captaining his country twice, his last 2 appearances for England, the first time was against Czechoslovakia on the 16th May 1934, the Czech's won the game 2-1. He would surely have been selected to play even more representative matches if it hadn't have been for the injuries including having both knee cartliages removed.
After 267 appearances for Derby, Liverpool manager George Patterson paid £7500 in the December of 1934 for the 30 year olds services, he immediately made his debut on the 8th in an away fixture at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea spoilt the day for Cooper by humbling the Reds 4-1, Cooper failed to hit the target for his new club, this after only scoring once for Derby, although, to be fair to Cooper, he was an excellent defender who was one of the toughest tacklers in the game and he wasn't just a stopper, his passing was of the highest order.
His Anfield career was pretty much the same as his Derby days, as he became a regular starter from day one, he missed just 2 of the remaining fixtures of the 34/35 season and featured in 127 of the 168 games over the following 4 campaigns.
Cooper had amassed 160 appearances up to the end of the 1939/40 before World War ll interrupted his, and so many others, career. His last competitive game was a league game at Anfield, Chelsea were the visitors and the Reds won 1-0 with a goal from debutant Cyril Done. The league was then called to a halt because of the war with regional leagues being set up around the country. Cooper's last match in a red shirt was at Gresty Road on the 22nd March 1940 in a 6-3 victory over Crewe in the Western Division. Cooper also played for Wrexham as a wartime guest.
Like so many of his peers Tom enlisted in the armed forces joining the Military Police. In June 1940 Tom was out on his despatch motorcycle when he colided with a lorry, Tom died in the accident, an enquiry took place into his death with the outcome being an order that stated Despatch riders were no longer allowed to ride their motorcycle's without wearing a crash helmet. Too little too late for Tom and his family.
[edit] Career details
- Derby County F.C (1926 - 1934) - 267 appearances, 1 goal
- Liverpool (1934 - 1940) - 160 appearances
- England (1927 - 1934) 15 caps
