John Gilbert Cock MM MID (14 November 1893 – 19 April 1966) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played for various English club sides as a

centre forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

. He also had the distinction of being the first

Cornishman Cornish people or the Cornish (, ) are an ethnic group native to, or associated with Cornwall: and a recognised national minority in the United Kingdom, which (like the Welsh and Bretons) can trace its roots to the ancient Britons who inh ...

to play for the England national team, a decorated

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

soldier, and an actor. His younger brothers, Donald Cock and Herbert Cock, also played professional football.

Playing career

Born in

Hayle Hayle (, "estuary") is a port town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the mouth of the Hayle River (which discharges into St Ives Bay) and is approximately northeast of ...

, he started his football career with amateur clubs West Kensington United, Forest Gate and Old Kingstonians. He played three Southern League Division Two matches in March 1914 as an amateur for

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

, scoring one goal, before signing professional forms with

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

side

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

later that year, though the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

broke out shortly afterwards. He served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

during the conflict, rising to the rank of Acting

Sergeant-Major Sergeant major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's infantry, and ranked about third in th ...

and earning the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the British Armed Forces, armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, below commissioned o ...

for "Bravery in the Field" and a Mentioned in Despatches for "gallantry". He was reported as 'missing, presumed dead' at one point during the war. During his breaks from military service, he turned out for

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

sides

and Croydon Common. While with Brentford, Cock scored six hattricks, a wartime record he shares with Len Townsend. Cock also played for England in the Victory International in 1919. With the resumption of league football in 1919, he moved back to Huddersfield who, at the time, were in severe financial trouble. Cock was sold to David Calderhead's Chelsea for a record £2,500 in October that year. A skilful, nimble striker with a powerful shot, he had a fanatical dedication to fitness, often staying behind to train long after his teammates had gone home. He scored twice on his Chelsea debut against

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

and hit 22 more that season in 30 league games, a key factor in the club finishing third in the League and reaching the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

semi-finals. Cock's first season with the Stamford Bridge club proved to be his most successful, and thereafter his goalscoring record was never as prolific, though he was still top scorer at the club in 1920–21 and 1921–22. After scoring one goal in 11 appearances in 1922–23, he was transferred to Everton in February 1923. He ended his Chelsea career with a nonetheless impressive 53 goals from 110 games. Cock remained on

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

for two years, before signing for Plymouth Argyle in March 1925, where he scored 72 League goals in just 90 games, including a club record 32 goals in 39 League games in 1926–27. However, the club finished 2nd in the Third Division South in each of his three seasons there and thus missed out on promotion. His playing career ended on a high note, though, when he moved to

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

and scored 92 goals in 135 appearances, helping the club win the Division Three South title in 1927–28. His 77 League goals there remained a club record until 1973. He is currently Millwall's fourth all-time leading scorer, with 83 goals in all competitions. Cock ended his first class playing career with 234

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

goals from 391 matches. He wound down playing for

non-league Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

sides such as

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...

and Walton & Hersham. He managed Millwall between 1944 and 1948, leading them to the War Cup South final at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

in 1945, where they lost to his old side Chelsea. The club's playing squad was hit hard by

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and they were relegated at the end of the 1947–48 season; he left the job shortly afterwards. He made his England debut against

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in 1919, and opened the scoring after 30 seconds, which is currently the third-fastest timed England goal of all time. He won a second (and final)

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in 1920, again scoring. Owing to his good looks and a

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

voice, Cock appeared on the

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

stage numerous times (during his playing days, he was known for singing before entering the pitch). He also starred in several films, including "

The Winning Goal ''The Winning Goal'' is a 1920 British silent sports film directed by G. B. Samuelson and starring Harold Walden, Maudie Dunham and Tom Reynolds. It was based on the play '' The Game'' by Harold Brighouse. It was set in Lancashire against a ...

" (1920) and "

The Great Game The Great Game was a rivalry between the 19th-century British and Russian empires over influence in Central Asia, primarily in Afghanistan, Persia, and Tibet. The two colonial empires used military interventions and diplomatic negotiations t ...

" (1930). He later ran a

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

New Cross New Cross is an area in south-east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the London_postal_district#List_of_London_postal_districts, SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, London, St Jo ...

. He died in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

on 19 April 1966, at the age of 72.

Honours

Brentford *

London Combination The Football Combination was a football competition for the reserve teams of English Football League clubs from Southern England, the Midlands and Wales; other clubs from the Midlands and those from the North playing in the Central League (it is ...

: 1918–19

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cock, Jack 1893 births 1910s missing person cases 1966 deaths People from Hayle Footballers from Cornwall Men's association football forwards English men's footballers England men's international footballers England men's wartime international footballers Brentford F.C. players Brentford F.C. wartime guest players Chelsea F.C. players Croydon Common F.C. players Everton F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Walton & Hersham F.C. players English football managers Millwall F.C. managers British Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal Recipients of the Military Medal Middlesex Regiment soldiers Folkestone F.C. players English Football League players English Football League representative players Missing in action of World War I Formerly missing British people Military personnel from Cornwall

Playing career

Honours

See also

References