Sam Cookson (1896–1955) 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 le ...

who played in the right full back position.

Early life

Sam Cookson was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

in 1896. He began his footballing career playing for

Stalybridge Celtic Stalybridge Celtic Football Club is an English football club based in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester. They are currently members of the and play at Bower Fold. The team traditionally plays in a blue and white strip. In 1921 Stalybridge Celtic ...

. During weekdays Cookson was a miner and worked down a pit. At the weekends he played football "purely for enjoyment". p. 46 The mine work endowed Cookson with a powerful physique "which sometimes proved deceptive to opposition forwards". He subsequently played for

Macclesfield Town Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional association football, football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was liquidation, wound-up after a High Court of Justice, High Court ruling on 16 September 2020. Initially kno ...

before joining

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

Manchester City

In 1919 he signed for

, whom he would play for until 1927, making 285 appearances for the team in the League and 306 appearances overall. His only goal for the club came in a 3–3 draw with Corinthian in the

1925–26 FA Cup The 1925–26 FA Cup was the 51st staging of the world's oldest football cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup. Bolton Wanderers won the competition for the second time, beating Manchester City 1–0 ...

. Cookson is often described as one of the best uncapped full backs of his generation. p. 28 He formed a long-lasting defensive partnership with

Eli Fletcher Eli Fletcher (15 December 1887 – 6 August 1954) was an English footballer who played as a left-back for Crewe Alexandra, Manchester City, Watford, Sandbach Ramblers, and Ards. Career Fletcher played for Crewe Alexandra and Manchester City. ...

at City. His first team debut occurred in a 1–0 win over

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

in December 1919.

Tommy Browell Thomas Browell (19 October 1892 – 5 October 1955) was an English footballer who played as a forward for Hull City, Everton, Manchester City and Blackpool. He is the eighth-highest Manchester City goalscorer of all time with 139 goals for the ...

scored City's only goal in that game. That season City finished seventh in the First Division with 45 points. In the 1920–21 season, Cookson made 42 appearances for Manchester City who came second in the league, five points behind champions

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

, which was City's highest position in the league since the 1903–04 season, when City had a team which included

Billie Gillespie William Jardine Gillespie (2 October 1873 – 1942) was a Scottish footballer who played as a centre forward; he 'hung around in the penalty circle and picked up lots of goals'. He played for Manchester City between 1897 and 1905. Career Gilles ...

, Frank Booth and Billy Meredith. The following season, 1921–22, Meredith returned to Manchester City and played alongside Cookson on the right side of the City team. Cookson made 39 league appearances for Manchester City that season and City finished tenth in the league with 45 points. In the 1922–23 season the City team was further enhanced by the acquisition of Frank Roberts from

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

. He joined a City attack which also included

Horace Barnes Horace Barnes (3 January 1891 – 12 September 1961) was an English footballer, who played for Derby County, Manchester City, Preston North End and Oldham Athletic. Early life Horace Barnes was born in Sheffield in 1891. He began his footbal ...

and Tommy Johnson. The team finished eighth in the league, again with 45 points. In the 1923–24 season Manchester City moved to a new ground, Maine Road, and Horace Barnes scored the first goal at the new stadium in a 2–1 victory against Sheffield United on the opening day of the season. The team ultimately finished eleventh in the league on 42 points. Cookson played in all of City's eight games in the FA Cup that season. The team were ultimately defeated 2–0 in the semi-final by

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

. In the following season City's defence was enhanced by the acquisition of Sam Cowan from Doncaster Rovers. Cookson made 37 appearances for City that season and the team finished in tenth place with 43 points. In the 1925–26 season, Cookson was part of the Manchester City team which were relegated to the Second Division. Cookson would never appear in the First Division again. Cookson also played for City in the FA Cup final that season against

, but finished on the losing side. England international

David Jack David Bone Nightingale Jack (3 April 1898 – 10 September 1958) was an English footballer who played as an inside forward. He scored 267 goals from 490 appearances in the Football League playing for Plymouth Argyle, Bolton Wanderers and Arsena ...

scored the only goal of the game. In the 1926–27 season, City finished third in the Second Division, eight points behind winners

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

. His final appearance for the club came in the 1927–28 football season in which the team won promotion to the First Division.

Later career

Cookson subsequently played for

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

, whom City purchased

Eric Brook Eric Fred Brook (27 November 1907 – 29 March 1965) was an English Association football, footballer who played in the outside left position. Brook was also an England national football team, England international. He was a muscular player with ' ...

and

Fred Tilson Samuel Frederick Tilson (19 April 1904 – 21 November 1972) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre forward for England along with Barnsley, Manchester City, Northampton Town and York City. With the Sky Blues he won the 1 ...

from. Despite a long and distinguished career, the only honour that Cookson won was gained at the age of 39, a

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

title with Barnsley. His brother

Jimmy Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...

also played for Manchester City, where he did not make the first team, and later played for

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

and

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

Legacy

Cookson is regarded as one of Manchester City's greatest ever players. In 1977 Manchester City Council named eleven streets in a new estate in Moss Side after famous City players including Cookson,

Frank Swift Frank Victor Swift (26 December 1913 – 6 February 1958) was an English footballer, who played as a goalkeeper for Manchester City and England. After starting his career with local clubs near his home town of Blackpool, in 1932 he was signed b ...

, Sam Cowan,

, Max Woosnam,

Jimmy McMullan James McMullan (26 March 1895 – 28 November 1964) was a Scottish football player and manager. He won 16 Scotland caps as a player at half-back and was part of the famous ''"Wembley Wizards"'' side of 1928. Playing career Early life and Th ...

, Billy Meredith and Tommy Johnson. In Ian Penney's book ''The Essential History of Manchester City'', Cookson is listed as the club's 49th greatest ever player. p. 188

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cookson, Sam 1896 births English men's footballers Footballers from Manchester Barnsley F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Year of death missing Stalybridge Celtic F.C. players Macclesfield Town F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football fullbacks