Charlie Cooke

For the player born 1898, see Charles Cook (footballer).

Charlie Cooke

Personal information
Full name	Charles Cooke
Date of birth	(1942-10-14) 14 October 1942
Place of birth	St Monans, Scotland
Position(s)	Winger
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1960–1964	Aberdeen	125	(26)
1964–1966	Dundee	44	(11)
1966–1972	Chelsea	212	(15)
1972–1974	Crystal Palace	44	(0)
1974–1978	Chelsea	87	(7)
1976–1978	Los Angeles Aztecs	54	(7)
1978–1980	Memphis Rogues	54	(3)
1980–1981	Calgary Boomers (indoor)	18	(4)
1981	California Surf	29	(3)
1981–1982	Cleveland Force (indoor)	19	(4)
1985	Dallas Sidekicks (indoor)	2	(0)
International career
1962–1965	Scottish League XI	4	(3)
1965–1975	Scotland	16	(0)
Managerial career
1980	Memphis Rogues
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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.

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 Docherty'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 career

He was a Scotland 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.

Post-playing career

In 1980, he replaced his old Chelsea team mate, Eddie McCreadie, as the head coach of the Memphis Rogues. 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.

Playing statistics

Season	Club	Division	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1965–66	Chelsea	First Division	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	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	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 Cup (1:) 1969–70
• European Cup Winners' Cup (1): 1970–71

External links

• NASL/MISL stats
• Charlie Cooke, London Hearts Supporters' Club
• CHARLIE COOKE, Post War English & Scottish Football League A – Z Player's Database
• Charlie Cooke at the Scottish Football Association