William Cooper (24 October 1909 – 18 May 1994) was a professional footballer who played as a full back for Aberdeen, his only club at the professional level.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Cooper | ||
| Date of birth | 24 October 1909 | ||
| Place of birth | Aberdeen, Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 18 May 1994 (aged 84)[1] | ||
| Place of death | Aberdeen, Scotland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Full back | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| – | Mugiemoss | ||
| 1927–1948 | Aberdeen | 331 | (2) |
| International career | |||
| 1934–1935 | Scottish League XI | 2 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Cooper played junior football with Mugiemoss before starting his professional career with Aberdeen in 1927. He played almost 400 official games for the club in a 20-year career which was temporarily halted by the Second World War in 1939 (he also made over 180 appearances in the unofficial regional competitions held during the conflict, several of which were won by the Dons, culminating in the nationwide 1946 Southern League Cup Final which his team won before a crowd of 135,000 at Hampden Park). After regular competitions resumed, Cooper played a large part in Aberdeen's 1946–47 Scottish Cup run but missed the final through injury; the Scottish Football Association gave Aberdeen permission to award him a winners' medal, despite him not playing on the day.[2] He had also collected runners-up medals from the Scottish Cup in 1937, and the Scottish League Cup in 1947.
He represented the Scottish League XI twice, before the war.[3]
Career statistics
editClub
editAppearances and goals by club, season and competition[4]
| Club | Season | League | Scottish Cup | League Cup | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Aberdeen | 1927-28 | Scottish Division One | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 2 | 0 |
| 1928-29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1929-30 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 14 | 0 | ||
| 1930-31 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 22 | 0 | ||
| 1931-32 | 37 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 38 | 0 | ||
| 1932-33 | 34 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | - | 37 | 0 | ||
| 1933-34 | 38 | 2 | 4 | 0 | - | - | 42 | 2 | ||
| 1934-35 | 38 | 0 | 7 | 0 | - | - | 45 | 0 | ||
| 1935-36 | 38 | 0 | 5 | 0 | - | - | 43 | 0 | ||
| 1936-37 | 37 | 0 | 5 | 0 | - | - | 42 | 0 | ||
| 1937-38 | 32 | 0 | 4 | 0 | - | - | 36 | 0 | ||
| 1938-39 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 14 | 0 | ||
| 1939-40 | 3* | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 3* | 0 | ||
| 1940-41 | Competitive Football
Cancelled Due to WW2 | |||||||||
| 1941-42 | ||||||||||
| 1942-43 | ||||||||||
| 1943-44 | ||||||||||
| 1944-45 | ||||||||||
| 1945-46 | ||||||||||
| 1946-47 | Scottish Division One | 14 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 29 | 1 | |
| 1947-48 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| Total | 331 | 2 | 37 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 377 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 331 | 2 | 37 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 377 | 3 | ||
*Games played before league season was suspended
Honours
editAberdeen
- Scottish Cup: 1947
- Runner-up: 1937
References
edit- ^ John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ a b "Willie Cooper". AFC Heritage Trust. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
- ^ "[SFL player] Willie Cooper". Londonhearts.com. London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
- ^ "Aberdeen Football Club Heritage Trust - Player Profile". afcheritage.org. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
External links
edit- Aberdeen players, Neil Brown