Lionel Cooper

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This article is about the Australian rugby league player. For the mathematician named Lionel Cooper, see Lionel Cooper (mathematician).

Lionel Cooper
Personal information
Full name	Lionel William Cooper
Born	(1922-02-18)18 February 1922
Died	1987 (aged 64–65)
Playing information
Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1945–46	Eastern Suburbs	27	14			42
1947–55	Huddersfield	333	432
	Total	360	446	0	0	42
Representative
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1945–46	New South Wales	6	8			24
1946	Australia	3	2			6
1949–53	Other Nationalities	14	13			39
≤1954–≥54	Combined Nationalities	≥1
1952	British Empire XIII	3	2			6


Source: RLP

Lionel Cooper (1923–1987) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer of the 1940s and 1950s.^[1] A state and international representative winger, he played in Sydney for the Eastern Suburbs club and in England for Huddersfield.

Australian career

After being spotted playing Australian Rules Football in a services team in Darwin by Ray Stehr in 1941 Cooper joined the Eastern Suburbs club. Stehr invited Cooper to trial with the Roosters following World War II.

A powerful winger, Cooper played in just 6 matches before gaining selection for New South Wales. Later that year Cooper was a member of Eastern Suburbs' 8th premiership-winning team. In 1946 Cooper represented for Sydney, New South Wales and Australia, he played in all three tests against the Great Britain Lions that year at home. Cooper also took out the 'NSW Player of the Year Award' in 1946.

The Gregory's reference describes him as a bullocking, bruising winger who was a great finisher of back-line movements. His hard-running style incorporated a hip-bumping technique to brush off defenders.^[2]

British career

In 1947 he joined English club Huddersfield where he had 9 successful seasons - scoring 432 tries, including 71 in the 1951–52 Northern Rugby Football League season, in one match that year, against Keighley, he scored a record 10 tries. Also joining Cooper were his friend Johnny Hunter, a spectacular full-back, and a little later Pat Devery, an Australian Test Player who played centre (in partnership with Cooper who was on the left wing).

Lionel Cooper continued to play Test rugby league whilst at Huddersfield, playing for 14 matches 'Other Nationalities' in the International Championship between 1949 and 1953. He played for the British Empire XIII versus New Zealand on Wednesday 23/1/1952 at Stamford Bridge. He was in the Huddersfield team that beat St. Helens 15 - 10 in the 1953 Challenge Cup Final at Wembley, kicking at least one goal after the regular goal kicker was injured.

Lionel Cooper played Left-Wing, i.e. number 5 in Huddersfield's 2–20 defeat to Wigan in the 1949–50 Rugby Football League Championship final at Maine Road, Manchester on Saturday 13 May 1950.^[3]

Lionel Cooper played Left-Wing, i.e. number 5 (Following a leg injury to Pat Devery, Lionel Cooper moved to Centre, i.e. number 4, and Pat Devery moved to Left-Wing, i.e. number 5; Lionel Cooper also took over the kicking duties from Pat Devery.^[4]) and scored two conversions in Huddersfield's 15-10 victory over St. Helens in the 1952-53 Challenge Cup final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 25 April 1953.^[5]

Cooper's Testimonial match at Huddersfield took place in 1955.

Family

His brothers Col, Reg and Cec Cooper played with the Canterbury Bankstown club in Sydney, and Noel played for St George.

References

Bibliography

Whiticker, Alan and Hudson, Glen The Encyclopedia Of Rugby League Players
Andrews, Malcolm (2006) The ABC of Rugby League Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney
Pollard, Jack (ed) Gregory's Guide to Rugby League (1965), Grenville Publishing Sydney

Footnotes

↑ Whiticker, Alan, Hudson, Glen (2006). The Encyclopedia Of Rugby League Players. Australia: Gary Allen Publishing. p100.
↑ Pollard, Jack (1965). Gregory's Guide to Rugby League. Australia: Grenville Publishing. p157.
↑ "1949-1950 Championship Final". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
↑ Goodman, Tom (27 April 1953). "St. Helen's hooted in R.L. Cup final". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
↑ McCorquodale, London S.E (25 April 1953). The Rugby League Challenge Cup Competition - Final Tie - Huddersfield v St. Helens - Match Programme. Wembley Stadium Ltd. ISBN n/a

External links

v t e Eastern Suburbs squad - 1945 NSWRFL Premiers (9th title)

1. Ray Pratt 2. Lionel Cooper 3. Paul Tierney 4. Johnny Hunter 5. Ken Foster 6. Wally O'Connell 7. Sel Lisle 8. Ray Stehr (Ca./Co.) 9. George Watt 10. Jack Arnold 11. Bert Rollason 12. Sid Hobson 13. Dick Dunn Coach: Arthur Halloway

v t e Huddersfield Giants Hall of Fame Inductees

Harry Lodge Milford Sutcliffe Harold Wagstaff Douglas Clark Albert Rosenfeld Ben Gronow Leonard Bowkett Ray Markham Alex Fiddes Russell Pepperell Jeffrey Bawden Lionel Cooper Johnny Hunter Pat Devery Dave Valentine Frank Dyson Peter Ramsden Ted Slevin Thomas "Tommy" Smales Don Close Ken Senior

v t e Huddersfield Giants squad – 1953 Challenge Cup Final Winners

1 Johnny Hunter 2 Peter Henderson 3 Russell Pepperell 4 Pat Devery 5 Lionel Cooper 6 Peter Ramsden 7 Billy Banks 8 Ted Slevin 9 George Curran 10 Jim Bowden 11 Jack Brown 12 Jack Large 13 Dave Valentine Coach: Bill Smith

Persondata
Name	Cooper, Lionel
Alternative names
Short description	Rugby player
Date of birth	1923
Place of birth
Date of death	1987
Place of death

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