John Cooke (footballer, born 1942)

John Cooke

Personal information
Full name	Edward John Cooke[1]
Date of birth	18 March 1942[1]
Place of birth	Birdwell, South Yorkshire, England[1]
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Youth career
	Port Vale
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1960–1964	Port Vale	7	(0)
1964–1971	Macclesfield Town	208	(0)
	Altrincham
	Chorley
	Morecambe
Total		215	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Edward John Cooke (born 18 March 1942) is an English former football goalkeeper who was a member of non-league Macclesfield Town's highly successful team of the late 1960s and early 1970s. He preciously played in the Football League for Port Vale, and later represented Altrincham, Chorley and Morecambe.

Playing career

Cooke passed through the Port Vale youth team to sign professional forms under manager Norman Low in June 1960.^[1] He was only ever utilized as an emergency keeper when Ken Hancock was injured, and after just seven Third Division appearances in almost four years he was given a free transfer away from Vale Park in May 1964 by manager Freddie Steele.^[1]

He was taken to Macclesfield Town by manager Albert Leake, a former half-back at Port Vale.^[2] He held his place in the reserves before he made the first team goalkeeping position his own from the 1965–66 season.^[2] From then on Macclesfield went on to win the Cheshire County League in 1967–68, the Northern Premier League in 1968–69 and 1969–70; and also lifted the FA Trophy at Wembley in 1970, the Cheshire Senior Cup in 1969, and the Cheshire League Challenge Cup in 1967.^[2] Cooke was also the goalkeeper for Macclesfield's Third Round FA Cup tie with Bobby Robson's Fulham at Craven Cottage on 27 January 1968.^[2]

"Choosing the goalkeeper was an almost impossible task, given the great tradition the club has enjoyed. In the end I opted for the hero of Fulham 1968. Besides, the number of goals conceded by the team during his stay, in the free-scoring sixties, is an eloquent statement in Johnnie Cooke's favour."

— Graham Phythian, author of Saga of the Silkmen explains why he chose Cooke as the goalkeeper in his Macclesfield Town dream team.

He later played for Altrincham, Chorley and Morecambe, and after retiring he ran a plastering and construction business before becoming contracts manager for Shimizu Europe Limited.^[2]

Statistics

• Sourced from John Cooke profile at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Port Vale	1960–61	Third Division	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
	1961–62	Third Division	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	1962–63	Third Division	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	Total		7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
Macclesfield Town	1964–65[3]	Cheshire County League	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
	1965–66[4]	Cheshire County League	22	0	0	0	5	0	27	0
	1966–67[5]	Cheshire County League	35	0	6	0	7	0	48	0
	1967–68[6]	Cheshire County League	40	0	9	0	12	0	61	0
	1968–69[7]	Northern Premier League	35	0	2	0	17	0	54	0
	1969–70[8]	Northern Premier League	36	0	3	0	22	0	61	0
	1970–71[9]	Northern Premier League	35	0	1	0	22	0	58	0
	Total		208	0	21	0	85	0	314	0
Total			215	0	21	0	85	0	321	0

Honours

with Macclesfield Town

• Cheshire League Challenge Cup winner: 1967
• Cheshire County League champion: 1967–68
• Northern Premier League champion: 1968–69 and 1969–70
• Cheshire Senior Cup winner: 1969
• FA Trophy winner: 1970

References

1. Kent, Jeff (1996). Port Vale Personalities. Witan Books. p. 66. ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
2. "Profile". silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
3. "Stats". silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
4. "Stats". silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
5. "Stats". silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
6. "Stats". silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
7. "Stats". silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
8. "Stats". silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
9. "Stats". silkmenarchives.org.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2016.