Charlie Cooke
Encyclopedia
Charles 'Charlie' Cooke (born 14 October 1942 in St Monans, Scotland) is a former Scottish footballer. He was a talented and skilful winger who played for Aberdeen
, Dundee
, Chelsea
and Crystal Palace
before ending his career in the United States.
's restructuring of the Chelsea side, which saw him take the place of Terry Venables
in the side. He made his debut in May 1966 during a 2–0 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
win over FC Barcelona
. On his league debut the following season against West Ham United
, Cooke waltzed past England
's World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore
en route to scoring the winner for Chelsea. His debut season saw Chelsea reach the FA Cup
final against Tottenham Hotspur
(Cooke's cross had created Tony Hateley
's winner for Chelsea in the semi-final against Leeds United). Cooke had a fierce shot tipped over the bar by Pat Jennings
early on, but Chelsea generally underperformed and lost 2–1.
In the early 1970s, Cooke was one of the star players in a flamboyant, glamorous and often self-destructive Chelsea side, alongside the likes of Peter Bonetti
, Peter Osgood
, Alan Hudson
and Ian Hutchinson. They reached another FA Cup final, against Leeds United, in 1970
. The first game ended 2–2 and, with Chelsea trailing 1–0 in the replay at Old Trafford
with the clock running down, Cooke's run and chipped pass set up Osgood's equaliser with a diving header; Chelsea eventually won 2–1 after extra time. The Cup Winners' Cup was added in 1971 with a replayed win over Real Madrid
in Athens. Chelsea reached a third consecutive cup final in 1972, this time the League Cup
, and though Cooke again created the equaliser for Osgood, Chelsea lost to Stoke City
.
He was sold to Crystal Palace shortly afterwards for £85,000 and made 44 appearances for the South London
side, but returned to Chelsea a year later. By that stage, the club were in decline and were relegated in 1974–75
, though Cooke's experience proved invaluable in helping manager and ex-team mate Eddie McCreadie
's young side earn promotion again in 1976–77
. In his two spells at Chelsea, Cooke made 373 appearances, scoring 30 goals.
Cooke left Chelsea for the second and final time in July 1978 to play for numerous American teams, including the Memphis Rogues
, Los Angeles Aztecs
and California Surf
in the now-defunct NASL
.
international, winning 16 caps. He made his debut in a 4–1 win over Wales
in 1965 and played his final match in 1975 against Portugal
.
. After new ownership moved the team to Calgary
, Cooke himself moved to the California Surf
where he played one last outdoor season. After this however, he continued to play in the indoor leagues, making his last appearance in the 1985–86 season for the Dallas Sidekicks
.
He now runs a soccer school in Cincinnati, Ohio
. In 2006, his autobiography The Bonnie Prince, written with Martin Knight
, was published.
Aberdeen F.C.
Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...
, Dundee
Dundee F.C.
Dundee Football Club, founded in 1893, are a football club based in the city of Dundee, Scotland. They are nicknamed The Dee or The Dark Blues and play their home matches at Dens Park. Their shirt colour is dark blue. Dundee currently play in the Scottish First Division, having been relegated from...
, Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
and Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
before ending his career in the United States.
Club career
Cooke began his professional career with Aberdeen in 1960 and moved to Dundee in December 1964, where he was voted player of the year. He signed for Chelsea in April 1966 for a then club record of £72,000 as part of manager Tommy DochertyTommy Docherty
Thomas Henderson "Tommy" Docherty , commonly known as "The Doc", is a Scottish former footballer and football manager.-Playing career:...
's restructuring of the Chelsea side, which saw him take the place of Terry Venables
Terry Venables
Terence Frederick "Terry" Venables , often referred to as "El Tel", is a former football player and manager, as well as being a media pundit. During the 1960s and 70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers, and gained two caps for England...
in the side. He made his debut in May 1966 during a 2–0 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup 1965-66
The eighth Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was played over the 1965-'66 season. The competition was won by FC Barcelona over two legs in an all-Spanish final against Real Zaragoza...
win over FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
. On his league debut the following season against West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
, Cooke waltzed past England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
's World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore
Bobby Moore
Robert Frederick Chelsea "Bobby" Moore, OBE was an English footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years and was captain of the England team that won the 1966 World Cup...
en route to scoring the winner for Chelsea. His debut season saw Chelsea reach the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
final against Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
(Cooke's cross had created Tony Hateley
Tony Hateley
Tony Hateley is a former footballer who played for numerous English clubs as a striker. He is also the father of former England footballer Mark Hateley and grandfather of Motherwell footballer Tom Hateley....
's winner for Chelsea in the semi-final against Leeds United). Cooke had a fierce shot tipped over the bar by Pat Jennings
Pat Jennings
Patrick Anthony "Pat" Jennings OBE is a Northern Ireland former football player. He played 119 games for Northern Ireland as a goalkeeper, a figure which at the time was a world record and is still a Northern Ireland record, in an international career which lasted for over 22 years...
early on, but Chelsea generally underperformed and lost 2–1.
In the early 1970s, Cooke was one of the star players in a flamboyant, glamorous and often self-destructive Chelsea side, alongside the likes of Peter Bonetti
Peter Bonetti
Peter Phillip Bonetti is a former football goalkeeper for Chelsea, the St. Louis Stars, Dundee United and England. Bonetti was known for his safe handling, lightning reflexes and his graceful style, for which he was given the nickname, "The Cat"...
, Peter Osgood
Peter Osgood
Peter Leslie Osgood was an English footballer who was active during the 1960s and 1970s. He is best remembered for representing Chelsea and Southampton at club level, and was also capped four times by England in the early 1970s.-Chelsea:Born in a small road named Kentons Lane in Windsor, Osgood...
, Alan Hudson
Alan Hudson
Alan Anthony Hudson is a former English footballer.-Biography:Born and brought up near the King's Road, Hudson was rejected by boyhood club Fulham as a schoolboy before signing for Chelsea Juniors...
and Ian Hutchinson. They reached another FA Cup final, against Leeds United, in 1970
FA Cup Final 1970
The 1970 FA Cup Final was contested by Chelsea and Leeds United. The match took place on 11 April 1970 at Wembley Stadium and ended 2–2, making it the first FA Cup final to require a replay since 1912...
. The first game ended 2–2 and, with Chelsea trailing 1–0 in the replay at Old Trafford
Old Trafford (football)
Old Trafford is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 75,811, Old Trafford is the second-largest football stadium in England after Wembley, the third-largest in the United Kingdom and the eleventh-largest in Europe...
with the clock running down, Cooke's run and chipped pass set up Osgood's equaliser with a diving header; Chelsea eventually won 2–1 after extra time. The Cup Winners' Cup was added in 1971 with a replayed win over Real Madrid
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
in Athens. Chelsea reached a third consecutive cup final in 1972, this time the League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
, and though Cooke again created the equaliser for Osgood, Chelsea lost to Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
.
He was sold to Crystal Palace shortly afterwards for £85,000 and made 44 appearances for the South London
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
side, but returned to Chelsea a year later. By that stage, the club were in decline and were relegated in 1974–75
1974-75 in English football
The 1974–75 season was the 95th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Dave Mackay guided Derby County to their second league title in four years having overcome strong competition from Liverpool, Ipswich Town, Everton, Stoke City, Manchester City, Sheffield United and...
, though Cooke's experience proved invaluable in helping manager and ex-team mate Eddie McCreadie
Eddie McCreadie
Edward Graham "Eddie" McCreadie is a former Scottish footballer who played at left-back, mainly for Chelsea. He later became a manager....
's young side earn promotion again in 1976–77
1976-77 in English football
The 1976–77 season was the 97th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:The Football League revamped the tie-breaking criteria for teams level of points, replacing the traditional goal average tie-breaker with one based on goal difference to try to encourage more scoring...
. In his two spells at Chelsea, Cooke made 373 appearances, scoring 30 goals.
Cooke left Chelsea for the second and final time in July 1978 to play for numerous American teams, including the Memphis Rogues
Memphis Rogues
The Memphis Rogues were a professional soccer team in the former North American Soccer League. They operated in the 1978, 1979, and 1980 seasons and played their home games in Memphis' Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.-History:...
, Los Angeles Aztecs
Los Angeles Aztecs
The Los Angeles Aztecs were a soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League from 1974-81. The team was based in Los Angeles, California and part-owned by Elton John.-History:...
and California Surf
California Surf
The California Surf were a soccer club based in Anaheim, California who played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1981. Their home field was Anaheim Stadium.They originally were the St. Louis Stars...
in the now-defunct NASL
North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...
.
International career
He was a ScotlandScotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
international, winning 16 caps. He made his debut in a 4–1 win over Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
in 1965 and played his final match in 1975 against Portugal
Portugal national football team
The Portugal national football team represents Portugal in association football and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's home ground is Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, and their head coach is Paulo Bento...
.
Post-playing career
In 1980, he replaced his old Chelsea team mate, Eddie McCreadie, as the head coach of the Memphis RoguesMemphis Rogues
The Memphis Rogues were a professional soccer team in the former North American Soccer League. They operated in the 1978, 1979, and 1980 seasons and played their home games in Memphis' Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.-History:...
. After new ownership moved the team to Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Cooke himself moved to the California Surf
California Surf
The California Surf were a soccer club based in Anaheim, California who played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1981. Their home field was Anaheim Stadium.They originally were the St. Louis Stars...
where he played one last outdoor season. After this however, he continued to play in the indoor leagues, making his last appearance in the 1985–86 season for the Dallas Sidekicks
Dallas Sidekicks
The Dallas Sidekicks were one of the longest operating professional soccer teams, either indoor or outdoor, in the United States, based in Dallas, Texas, and operating from 1984 until suspending operations following the 2004 season. The team was founded as a member of the original Major Indoor...
.
He now runs a soccer school in Cincinnati, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. In 2006, his autobiography The Bonnie Prince, written with Martin Knight
Martin Knight
Martin Knight is a British author born in Epsom in Surrey in 1957 mainly associated with working class culture and football literature. In 1999 "Hoolifan" and "The Naughty Nineties" were released; both books dealing with the subject, culture and history of football hooliganism. Knight was co-author...
, was published.
Playing statistics
| Season | Club | Division | League | FA Cup FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's... |
League Cup | Europe European football European football is a colloquial term referring to any international football club competition that is organised by UEFA. Any club that wishes to participate in European football must qualify through their respective domestic league or domestic cup competitions... |
Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| 1965–66 | Chelsea Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four... |
First Division Football League First Division The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship.... |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1966–67 | 33 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 3 | ||
| 1967–68 | 41 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 5 | ||
| 1968–69 | 26 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 36 | 2 | ||
| 1969–70 | 35 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 5 | ||
| 1970–71 | 31 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 45 | 1 | ||
| 1971–72 | 38 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 52 | 4 | ||
| 1972–73 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | ||
| 1973–74 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | ||
| 1974–75 | 39 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 6 | ||
| 1975–76 | Second Division Football League Second Division From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams... |
17 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | |
| 1976–77 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 1977–78 | First Division Football League First Division The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship.... |
6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| Chelsea total | 299 | 22 | 34 | 3 | 23 | 4 | 17 | 1 | 373 | 30 | ||
Honours
Chelsea- FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
: 1
-
- 1969–70
- European Cup Winners' Cup: 1
- 1970–71
- 1969–70
External links
- NASL/MISL stats
- Charlie Cooke, London Hearts Supporters' Club
- CHARLIE COOKE, Post War English & Scottish Football League A – Z Player's Database