Kenny Cooper Sr. (born 11 October 1946) is an English former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and coach. A

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

, he spent ten seasons playing for the

Dallas Tornado The Dallas Tornado was a soccer team based in Dallas, Texas that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1967 to 1981. Of the twelve teams that comprised the U.S. in 1967, the Tornado franchise played the longest–15 seasons. T ...

of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

and eighteen seasons coaching indoor soccer. He was the 1984 and 1988 Major Indoor Soccer League Coach of the Year.

Playing career

Cooper started his playing career in England where he played mainly for

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830 ...

in the Lancashire Combination and Northern Premier League between 1967 and 1970. He left

in late 1970 and emigrated to the United States where he played for Dallas Tornado between 1970 and 1979.

Coaching career

In 1979, Cooper retired from playing and was immediately hired to replace

Timo Liekoski Timo Liekoski (born June 30, 1942) is a Finnish soccer coach who managed teams in the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League, American Indoor Soccer Association and Major League Soccer. He currently holds a variety of coachi ...

as the head coach of the

Houston Summit Houston Summit were a professional indoor soccer team that operated from 1978 to 1980. They played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League. In 1980, the franchise was moved to Baltimore to become the Baltimore Blast. Their roster mainly inclu ...

of Major Indoor Soccer League. Cooper took the Summit to the 1980 MISL championship game, where it lost to the

New York Arrows The New York Arrows were an indoor soccer team that played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992), Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1978 to 1984. They were the MISL's first dynasty, winning the first four championships. H ...

. In 1980, the team's owner, Bernie Rodin, had decided to move the team to the east coast, but was unsure which city. He tasked Cooper with deciding between Baltimore and Boston. When Cooper arrived in Baltimore, he "was excited from the beginning. It just reminded me of Liverpool." He returned to Houston and informed Rodin the team should relocate to Baltimore. In 1984, he coached the Blast to its only championship in the original

MISL Major Indoor Soccer League has been the name of three different American professional indoor soccer leagues: *Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992), known in its final two seasons as the Major Soccer League *Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2 ...

and was the 1984 and 1988 MISL Coach of the Year. Cooper also served as the Blast's general manager. In 1992, the Blast folded along with the MISL. With the collapse of the Blast, Cooper was instrumental in the forming of the

Baltimore Spirit The Baltimore Blast are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Including one championship victory as the original Baltimore Blast, the team has won 10 cha ...

in July 1992. The Spirit entered the indoor National Professional Soccer League. Cooper took the Spirit to the playoffs in both of his seasons as coach. In 1994, stepped down as head coach, but remained as the team president. In 1995, Cooper joined with Bill Collins, a minor-league baseball owner, to enter an expansion team into the NPSL. He went on to serve as general manager and coach for the team, known as the

Tampa Bay Terror The Tampa Bay Terror is the name of an indoor soccer team based in the Tampa Bay, Florida area that competed in the defunct National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). The team existed for two seasons before folding: 1995–1996 and 1996–1997. ...

. He took the team to a 14–26 record in his first season, and took what was described as a "leave of absence" from coaching duties (while maintaining his position as team president) in December 1996. He was replaced first by

Perry Van der Beck Perry Van der Beck (born November 5, 1959, in Florissant, Missouri) is an American former soccer player, former coach and technical director, and the former Vice President of Competition and Operations for the United Soccer League. Van der Beck ...

on an interim basis, then Derrick Marcano, who coached the team to the playoffs. The Terror folded at the conclusion of the 1996–97 season.

Personal life

He is the father of

Kenny Cooper Kenneth Scott Cooper Jr. (born October 21, 1984) is an American former soccer player who played as a forward. He began his soccer career with Manchester United but failed to break through to the first team. He went on to play for clubs in Por ...

, who also played professionally. He and

Mike Renshaw Michael Lawrence Renshaw (April 28, 1948 – February 17, 2021) was a soccer player who played as a left winger. He began as a youth player with Blackpool F.C., Blackpool before moving to the United States to join the Dallas Tornado of the Nort ...

currently co-own a wine import business.Cooper soccer legacy adds a few feet
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Kenny Sr. Living people Blackburn Rovers F.C. players English men's footballers Fleetwood Town F.C. players Men's association football goalkeepers North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Dallas Tornado players Footballers from Blackpool Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) coaches National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) coaches Association football executives 1946 births English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States English expatriate men's footballers English football managers